The Gunblade Saga
by Peptuck
Summary: Fate's game has ended. A hero has risen to save existence, and now only the future lies ahead of him and his comrades. A complete, written chronicle of Final Fantasy VIII. Finished at last!
1. Prologue: Branding

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_Standard Issue Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VIII is the property of Squaresoft. All characters, locations, and concepts except for original creations belong to them._

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The Gunblade Saga: An In-depth novelization of Final Fantasy VIII

Book One: The Children of Fate

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Prologue: Branding

"I'll be here . . ."

"Why?"

"I'll be 'waiting' here."

"For what?"

"I'll be waiting . . . for you . . . so . . . if you come here . . . you'll find me.

"I promise."

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She was alone. He wasn't there, in the field, where they would meet. And somehow, she knew, deep in her heart, he wasn't coming.

They promised. They'd be there, together, but he wasn't.

Why?

Had he failed? Or had something happened to him? She didn't know, and the lack of knowledge tore her, left her weak with wondering.

She looked across the field, lost and alone. A cold, silent wind whipped across the meadow, tossing up flower petals. One floated in front of her, and she absently closed her hand over it.

No, he would never come. He couldn't, somehow . . . .

She released the petal, and her mouth opened in wonder, for it had changed, to a white feather, which the wind caught and blew into the sky. Her eyes followed it, her head turning, a hand coming up to brush her black hair out of her eyes so she could follow its movements into the darkening clouds . . . .

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Sparks flew as the two blades intersected, the slender, black-bladed Hyperion being turned aside by the parry of the heavier, silver blade of the Revolver. Their wielders backed off slightly, eyeing each other with deadly intensity.

A warm spring breeze weaved its way among the two combatants, ruffling one's long coat, and the other's long hair. They stood atop a hill, surrounded by gray rocks. In the east, the sun would be rising as it always did in the morning, but dark clouds and high mountains to the east blocked the bringer of day from shedding any more light than that of a bit of silver on the horizon. Overhead, these dark clouds occasionally boomed with thunder, punctuated by flashes of lightning. Periodic bursts of rain had occurred, although no precipitation had yet fallen during the duel. Down below, all around the site of the battle, thick forests marked with morning mists provided a backdrop for the duel. The two combatants were alone up here, in the early morning hours.

"Not bad," said Hyperion's wielder with a smirk. He was tall, over six feet, with short, slicked-back blonde hair, except for a small lock that hung stylishly down over his face. He possessed a regal bearing, like some ancient knight from ages hence, that belied his eighteen years. He was clad in a long white trenchcoat, immaculate and spotless, emblazoned with blood-red sword-crosses on the sleeves. Underneath his white coat he wore a sleeveless blue vest, also featuring a cross, this one sliver. His black pants matched his boots and gloves, and around his throat hung a silver necklace. The blonde warrior arced his head back slightly, his blue eyes regarding his foe with a combination of respect and determination. He raised his blade up again, pointing it at his foe and putting his right foot forward, his free left hand held out to the side, a modified fencing pose.

His foe stood ten feet away, and also regarded the blonde man with the same determined, respectful blue-eyed look. He was much shorter, a couple of inches above five and a half feet tall, with long, messy brown hair, hanging down around his face, a few strands in his eyes. He was only a year behind his opponent in age. He wore a short black leather jacket with thick, soft white fur around the collar, underneath which there was a plain white muscle shirt. He wore a trio of belts, one around his waist, the other two lower down, crossing diagonally over his groin. One held several small pouches, for items and equipment. The other seemed to be like a combination of a swordbelt and gunbelt, featuring a hybrid of a holster and a scabbard. The hybrid weapon holder was angled forward, as if its weapon was to be drawn like a sword, yet was shaped like a gun's holster, except it was longer, like a sword's sheath. Around the man's right leg was a trio of small bandoleers, each containing many small cylinders, like ammunition for a revolver. Like his foe, this man had black pants, these made out of leather like his jacket, and also, like his foe, his boots and gloves matched his pants. Around his neck was a chain, leading down to a crafted lion's head at the end.

The two opponents stood still for a few seconds, each watching the other, waiting for their foe to make the first move.

They broke as one, both advancing, blades clashing with the solid ring of metal on metal. Hyperion's wielder came across in a slash, to which the Revolver rose to block. Hyperion deftly rose over the blocking blade and knocked it down. Even as the Revolver's wielder began to bring his weapon back up, Hyperion weaved underneath the blade and slammed up. The Revolver, already with the momentum of rising up, went flying high out of its wielder's hands at the strike. The weapon spiraled up into the air, turning end over end. Its wielder quickly leaped back out of the blonde man's range, but his foe didn't advance. He simply stood there, Hyperion at his side, as he waited for the Revolver to drop back down.

"You need to learn to tighten your grip," he remarked to his foe with a superior smirk.

The brown-haired man took a step to the side, observing the Revolver and where it would land. The weapon reached the apex of its flight and came down, end over end. It drove down into the ground, standing straight, handle up. The chain on the end clinked slightly as it waved back and forth. A rumbling blast of thunder emerged from the clouds above as lightning flashed, illuminating the battlefield for an instant. Then, rain began falling upon the two warriors and their battleground.

The brown haired man glanced back up at his foe and then reached down for his weapon. His hands closed around the custom-made grip, and he pulled the unique hybrid weapon out of the ground.

The Revolver was a gunblade, a strange and exotic hybrid of gun and sword. The Revolver, as its name would suggest, had the handle of a six- shooter magnum. Where the barrel would be on a magnum, however, there was instead a long, broad blade, marked with an engraving of a crouching lion, with powerful wings sprouting from its back. The blade tapered until the last few inches, where the tip was shaped like the end of a scimitar, the curved edge excellent for slicing, yet straight enough for a powerful thrust. On the end of the handle of the Revolver was a short chain, at the end of which was a small sliver lion's head.

Drawing the Revolver and feeling the solid weight of the gunblade in his hands, its wielder turned to his foe. Hyperion still waited by his side, the smirk still on his face as he waited for the duel to resume. Hyperion, like the Revolver, was a gunblade, although this weapon had the handle of handgun as opposed to a magnum revolver. Hyperion was long and slender, like a fencing blade or saber, and was straight, with a shining, silver edge.

"Come on, let's get this over with," the blonde man said. The brown- haired man nodded, then raised the Revolver and charged. The blonde warrior grinned and his own weapon rose to point at his foe.

The two dueled ferociously, blades clanging and scraping in the spring air. Hyperion and Revolver met repeatedly, sparks rising and falling at each intersection. Hyperion's wielder backed away quickly, and came back in, pulling a dazzlingly fast spin. Hyperion came around fast and hard, aided by the momentum of the spin, but was met by the Revolver. The Revolver came in behind the slash, striking at Hyperion's blonde wielder, but the man spun around and back, away from the slash. Hyperion came out of the spin striking down on the Revolver, knocking it down and away. The Revolver's wielder came back in, his gunblade slicing down at the blonde man, who stepped forward and unexpectedly ducked under the blow, ending up behind the Revolver's brown-haired wielder. The brown-haired man spun around quickly to face his opponent, who stood calmly. He held Hyperion straight up at shoulder level, smirked again, and then raised his left hand, beckoning with his fingers.

Revolver's wielder accepted the offer to come on. He charged, only to see Hyperion come down from its perch by the blonde man's shoulder and thrust out. The brown-haired warrior ducked aside from the first thrust and sent the Revolver across to prevent a slash down into his skull, then blocked a follow-up thrust, and then a third thrust. The Revolver came overhead in a cleaving stroke, only to be met by Hyperion. The blonde warrior bent his knees slightly at the blow, absorbing the power behind that strike, but didn't fall. He smiled as he pushed up and forward, forcing his brown-haired opponent off.

"Good," the blonde warrior said. "This is fun." The smirk on his face and a dangerous glint in his eyes told the brown-haired warrior that despite the "fun" his foe was having, he did not at all consider it to be a game.

"Well, are you just going to stand there!" Hyperion's wielder shouted. "Come on!"

Revolver responded to the challenge with an overhead cleave, to which Hyperion blocked. The blonde-haired warrior disengaged his blade from the Revolver, then smacked the weapon across into the Revolver, forcing the other gunblade aside. The brown-haired warrior backed away as Hyperion came up in a rising slash, and then another rising strike, both aimed for his head.

The brown-haired warrior came right back in after dodging the slashes, his gunblade swinging in rapid succession. The first swing missed as the blonde fighter backed away, but the following slice didn't. Hyperion swung up vertically to block the slice, its wielder putting his free hand across the gunblade's flat side to help absorb the shock of the hit, and the subsequent trio of strikes that shuddered his weapon. A sixth slash came in, but he parried it aside, and followed up the parry with a slash that forced his foe back.

"Enough of this bullshit!" Hyperion's wielder hissed as his enemy backed away. "Time to end this."

Revolver's wielder came back in again, gunblade behind him and ready for another powerful slash.

"Dodge this!" Hyperion's wielder shouted as his hand shot forward, a ball of fire forming in his open palm. The brown-haired warrior barely had any time to respond before the magic spell went off, the incasdescent ball of flame erupting from his foe's hand. He brought the Revolver up in time to absorb the brunt of the magic attack, but was hurled back onto his rear by the shock of the blast.

Shit, Revolver's wielder thought. He had magic! He should have seen that coming . . . Even as this thought went through his mind, training kicked in, telling him to get up and on his feet before his opponent took advantage of the moment of weakness. The brown-haired warrior began to rise, only to see his foe towering above him, Hyperion raised high.

A curse sounded in his mind as he saw the look of insane glee in his foe's eyes.

Then, Hyperion slashed down across the warrior's face. Pain erupted along a line running from his forehead down to the left side of his nose. Blood streamed out of the wound and stained the ground. Droplets of the red liquid flowed into his left eye, blinding him there.

The warrior turned his attention back up to his blonde enemy, who stood still, smiling. Rage twisted its way onto the brown-haired warrior's features, and he rose suddenly. His fingers tightened around the gunblade's handle, and then he stood straight. The blade of his weapon dragged along the ground, kicking up sparks and shards of stone, and then the weapon rose up into his opponent's surprised and satisfyingly shocked face, slicing the man from the right side of his nose all the way up to the left side of his forehead. Blood spurted forth, and the brown-haired warrior stumbled back, looking at his stunned, bloodied opponent.

Then, his world began to go hazy, and darkness engulfed the Revolver's wielder as he fell back to the ground. His gunblade clattered down beside him, the reverberation of metal on stone being the last sound he heard before he blacked out.

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Well, what do you think? Not bad, huh? Took me a while, as I had to make sure I got EVERY slice and thrust from the intro cutscene in. Since I've only got the PC edition, and the PC the game is installed on is the same one I'm writing the story on, it took a while, as I had to watch the intro, type in the moves. Watch the intro, type in moves. Watch the intro . . .

You may notice a few slices and thrusts aren't actually in the intro, as well as some of the character's lines. I wanted to connect the different sequences in the battle, since at several points the video cuts to Rinoa and Edea, and then back to the battle at a different point.

If you're wondering why I didn't use any names, I wanted to recapture the feel of watching the cutscene for the very first time. Where you didn't know they were training, or anything about Garden, or even their names. You just knew two men were fighting, and it seemed to the death. That was the feeling I wanted to empart, just like the guys did at Squaresoft.

By the way, anyone catch the Matrix reference? I'm a HUGE Matrix fan, after all!


	2. Balamb Garden

Chapter 1: Balamb Garden  
  
Sunlight shined down through the window overhead, blinding him as he awoke. A scent of flowers and warm spring air wafted in through the opened window, the wind carrying it playing with the curtains over the window. Outside, birds could be heard chirping and singing.  
  
He was lying on a nice, soft bed, most likely in the infirmary, he realized, judging by what he last remembered. The brown-haired warrior muttered something and opened his eyes.  
  
"How are you feeling?" asked a kind voice from beside him. He glanced up to see Dr. Kadawoki standing there, holding a chart. The doctor was a middle-aged, heavyset woman, dark-haired and with a kindly demeanor. She was wearing her usual white doctor's coat, and had a small medical chart in hand. The image of the doctor was blurred somewhat, likely due to the head injury he'd suffered.  
  
He felt a slight ache in his forehead, but aside from that, he was all right. He sat up, feeling somewhat disoriented as his body adjusted to the new position.  
  
". . . . . Ok, I guess," he said. Kadowaki nodded and scribbled something on her chart. She glanced back at the man and bent over slightly, looking into his face. He saw her older face become clearer, to which the doctor nodded.  
  
"Looks like your eyes are focusing. Say your name for me."  
  
"Squall," Squall Leonhart said immediately. Kadowaki nodded and smiled.  
  
"Looks like you're fine. No serious head or brain injuries, not too much blood loss. But why don't you take it easier in training? Next time you might not be so lucky."  
  
Hmph. Squall thought back to the "duel" he'd fought earlier. His opponent had been the cause of all the trouble.  
  
"Tell that to Seifer," Squall muttered with a shake of the head. Kadowoki shook her head at the mention of Seifer Almasy's name. Like nearly everyone else inside Balamb Garden, she knew all about how reckless and irresponsible Seifer Almasy was.  
  
"That Seifer . . . Won't listen to anyone. Why don't you ignore him?" Kadowaki blurted out that last part by accident, since she was so used to advising other cadets of the same thing. Squall's relationship to Seifer was different, however. Him, ignoring Seifer?  
  
Squall scoffed at that notion. Easier said than done when it came to Seifer. If he wanted attention, then Hyne damn it, Seifer got attention. Other people would try to ignore him, but Squall understood that that would be hopeless. He preferred taking Seifer head on. From their earliest days at the academy they'd been rivals, and Squall refused to retreat in Seifer's face. Pride was a driving factor in their rivalry, albeit a stupid one. Neither refused to give an inch of ground to the other.  
  
"I can't just run away," Squall said determinedly.  
  
"You want to be cool, huh?" Kadowaki said with a knowing smile. She understood Squall's reasons for facing up to Seifer. "Well, don't get hurt in the process!" Kadowaki paused for a moment, recalling something. "Your instructor is . . . Quistis! I'll call her now. Just wait here a moment." The doctor walked out of the room and across the infirmary towards the intercom on her desk, positioned across from the medical rooms so she could monitor her patients. Squall sank back onto his bed and rested for a moment, throwing his arm over his face to block the sunlight. He sighed in vexation.  
  
Quistis could be a pain at times, and he figured she was going to be one again. Nevermind that she was a good, if not great instructor, but she got to be a bit nagging and troublesome when she tried to solve others' problems or help anyone out.  
  
"Quistis, come get your student," Kadowaki said into the intercom. A voice replied, too distant to hear well. "Yes, yes, his injury's not serious, it'll probably leave a scar." Quistis, on the other end, said something in reply. ". . . Right, now please come by."  
  
Squall laid there for a moment, relaxing on the bed, and relaxing even more when he heard Kadowaki leave the infirmary. He enjoyed being alone, in solitude, without anyone bothering him. Some time passed, with Squall just listening to the sounds of the birds outside and the calls and laughter of other cadets in the courtyard outside or in the Quad, north of the infirmary.  
  
"Squall," a soft voice called from the adjoining room. He turned his head quickly, to see a young girl, a few years older than himself, looking through the glass between his room and the next. "So we meet again," she said, turning to leave. Squall blinked in confusion, and sat up slightly, looking into the glass as the girl walked away. The next room was darkened, so the glass reflected the image of Squall and his own room, making it difficult to see the girl's features.  
  
"Who?" he wondered. Squall blinked again and shook his head, something telling him that this girl was familiar. But by the time he'd looked back into the room, the girl was gone. A quick glance around told him that whoever she was, she had disappeared. "Who was that?" he muttered in confusion.  
  
Even as he spoke, Squall heard the infirmiry door hiss open. In strode a young woman, about the same age and height as Squall, clad in a black uniform with gold trimming, a knee-length skirt, and boots. She was blonde, with long hair that hung down either side of her face in front, and done up in the back so it doubled back on itself before coming down. She wore glasses over her large, blue eyes, which rolled as she looked at Squall. The woman sighed, put her hands on her hips, and smiled at Squall knowingly.  
  
"I knew it would be either you or Seifer!" Quistis Trepe remarked, stepping across the room to stand beside Squall, who sat up. She crossed her arms and bent over, looking Squall in the eye. "Come on, let's go. The field exam's today."  
  
Squall rose from the bed and walked out of the infirmary behind Quistis. As he stepped out, Squall felt the warm air of springtime hit him. Judging by the sunlight shining down from the opposite side of the Garden to the east, and the students moving around, it seemed classes hadn't started yet.  
  
Must be mid-morning then, Squall realized as he followed Quistis down the infirmiry's steps and along the breezeway. Quistis waved and greeted a burly, muscled cadet as he walked by, then slowed down so Squall could catch up with her.  
  
"Squall, is there something on your mind?" she asked him as he came alongside her. Not even looking at her, Squall opened his mouth.  
  
". . . Not really," they both said at once. Squall paused and turned back to his instructor, annoyance crawling over his face as Quistis began to giggle.  
  
"What's so funny?" he asked, a bit indignantly.  
  
"Funny?" Quistis stopped laughing after a moment, and waved her hand, dismissing the idea of her finding humor in Squall's discomfort. "No, no, its not that. I'm just happy. I feel like I'm beginning to understand my student a little, that's all."  
  
Squall shook his head as he turned back and resumed walking. "I'm more complex than you think," he countered.  
  
"Then tell me," Quistis said, matching Squall's pace. "Tell me more about yourself."  
  
"It's none of your-" Squall began.  
  
"Business!" And Quistis finished, chuckling again. Squall stopped, and glared down the breezeway. Quistis, her point made, walked past him. After a moment, Squall followed her, the path taking them into the central structure of Balamb Garden.  
  
Balamb Garden was an immense building, towering over three hundred feet into the air. It was somewhat conical, with a rounded tip. The central structure of Balamb Garden loomed over the whole Garden grounds, painted white for the most part but with many decorative touches all around the main building. Directly above the central building, rotating in the air, was an immense glowing ring that slowly spun around the entire structure. Squall wasn't sure how it remained aloft (physics wasn't his specialty) but it certianly gave the building an almost otherworldly air. Even after spending twelve years at Balamb, Squall was still awed by the immense ring overhead.  
  
Balamb Garden was one of only three structures like it around the world, all of which belonged to the worldwide Garden organization. Another Garden was located on the Monteresau Plateau inside the Republic of Galbadia, on the continent to the west of the Balamb continent. The other Garden was located in the frigid northlands of Trabia. Each Garden had its specialties. Balamb Garden trained SeeD special forces and also conducted research into the powers of Guardian Forces. Galbadia Garden trained officers for the Galbadian army and also produced SeeD special forces, and conducted technological and weapons research. That particular Garden was the largest and most populous Garden of the three, due to the contracts with the Galbadian military. Trabia Garden operated an exchange program, sending its students to Balamb for SeeD training, since their Garden was too small and isolated to conduct SeeD exams. Trabia Garden also conducted research into magic and magical theory.  
  
Actually, it wasn't "magic," per say; it was "para-magic." The techniques called "magic" used by Garden and other armed forces around the world were actually just the manipulation of the latent magical energy of the world. With the appropriate training, and having the appropriate spell energy on hand, anyone could use magic. The problem was getting the magical energy itself. Spells could be refined from the bodies of creatures and monsters, from certain magical objects, or taken from magical "fountains" which sprouted from the ground, containing magical energy. Garden also used its own method for obtaining magic, known as "Draw." Drawing allowed one to call forth magic directly from monsters and the "fountains" which Garden referred to as "draw points."  
  
Squall's Garden, Balamb, utilized powerful beings known as Guardian Forces in conjunction with physical training and practice with the use of magic to produce their elite SeeD special forces. Cadets at Balamb Garden trained hard to become SeeDs, also going through classes involving more "mundane" skills, such as mathematics, sciences, arts, etc. In effect, each of the Gardens was like a combination military academy, elementary, middle, and high school, and a university. But the special thing about the Gardens was that they were absolutely free. Anyone who wanted to and proved they had the right stuff could join at no cost. Garden didn't make its money off of its students, not immediately, at least. Aside from the money from the Galbadian government to train officers, Garden earned its income entirely off its SeeD special forces, who were hired out as mercenaries in conflicts around the globe. A SeeD's job was exceedingly dangerous, but it was also exciting and very well paying, which was the lure that brought many cadets in. And all of those cadets trained hard, endured all the studying, practice, and training, in order to reach this day. The day when all their training was put to the test, to determine whether one was fit to be a SeeD or not.  
  
The day of the field exam.  
  
Squall stepped through the doorway on the second floor and into Quistis's classroom. Hers was the last in the hallway, just before the Training Room, a large dojo-like area where the Garden cadets trained, in everything from the deadliest of martial arts to gymnastics; both of which were highly important to SeeD training, for obvious reasons.  
  
He walked across the classroom, passing the seats and study panels, large computers where cadets did their work and studies, and also used as terminals for Garden's online community. The panels were arranged in three lines, extending to the back of the classroom. A wide window at the back of the classroom provided illumination during the daytime. Most of the class was already assembled, sitting and talking among themselves. All of the students were around Squall's age, middle to late teens, and most of them wore their cadet uniforms. For both males and females, the uniform was dark blue, with a jacket featuring silver trim and slivery shoulders featuring beautiful, flowing designs. Males wore matching dark blue pants and boots along with silver collars on their jackets, while females wore short skirts, boots, and a yellow scarf tied around their necks.  
  
Right behind Squall came Quistis.  
  
"Good morning, class!" Quistis called with a bright smile. Many, very many, of the guys in the class, smiled right back at Quistis. There weren't many instructors her age in Balamb, and of those, none were quite as beautiful as Quistis. A testament to this fact was the existence of the "Trepies," Quistis' own personal (and highly obsessive) fan club.  
  
Squall reached the far-left end of the classroom, where his seat and panel were located. He moved to sit down, then saw Seifer sitting across from him, at the rear center panel. Well, he wasn't sitting so much as reclining back in the seat, his arms up on the back as if he were relaxing at home instead of attending class at a military institution. The white- coated cadet turned his head to look at Squall and an obnoxious grin - one that Seifer had patented specifically to show how superior he was - emerged on his face. Squall could clearly see the dark line running from the right side of his nose up to the left side of his forehead.  
  
At least he didn't get away unscathed, Squall thought with a slight degree of satisfaction. He took his seat and looked back up towards Quistis as she sat behind her desk at the front of the classroom, positioned in front of a huge viewscreen, currently showing a map of planetary orbits.  
  
"There seem to have been some rumors flying around since yesterday," she began. Quistis waited until the entire class's attention was focused on her before continuing. "Yes, the field exam for SeeD cadets is later this afternoon. Those not participating and those who failed last week's written test are to remain here in study hall. Field exam participants have free time until the exam. Just be sure you're in top condition." Several students looked around excitedly at the announcement and talked among themselves.  
  
"Any questions?" Quistis asked the classroom. When no one responded, Quistis glared at Squall's rival. "Oh, and Seifer," she called. The blonde cadet looked up at Quistis, a "Who, me?" expression written on his face.  
  
"Do NOT injure your partner while training. Be careful from now on."  
  
A mixture of disgust, surprise, and anger worked its way onto Seifer's face. He glanced over at Squall, then looked back at Quistis. Anger took over in his expression and he slammed his fist down on the top of the panel, as close to an acknowledgement of the order and simultaneous beratement as one could expect from him.  
  
"Field participants, I will see you later. And Squall," Squall glanced up at Quistis as she stood. "I need to talk to you."  
  
The cadet sighed, knowing what Quistis would say. The Fire Cavern. He still needed to go there. Squall paused and turned on his panel as the rest of the class filed out, among them Seifer, who had nothing to say to Squall, surprisingly. Ignoring Seifer, he quickly logged in and requested the Guardian Forces registered to him.  
  
Login: [Squall] confirmed.  
  
GF data for [Squall] . . .  
  
Searching . . .  
  
GF registered under [Squall] are:  
[GF Quetzacotl]  
[GF Shiva]  
  
Squall drew the two GFs out from storage. A small door opened underneath the panel, and out came a small drawer, containing a yellow and a blue stone. Squall lifted the small stones, no bigger than a large gem, and immediately felt the power of the Guardian Forces Quetzacotl and Shiva, entities of lightning and ice, respectively.  
  
Guardian Forces were powerful entities of pure energy. They embodied tremendous magical power, and when persuaded or defeated in battle, would give their powers over to meager humans. GFs sometimes also could be found inside a monster's body, usually as a result of that monster having consumed one of that GF's stones. In such a case, a SeeD could draw the GF from that creature's body easily through the same process they used to draw magic, or if they couldn't draw for some reason, then recover the stone from the dead monster's body.  
  
Guardian Forces were said to be avatars of the gods of creation themselves, allowing only small part of their essence to exist in the mortal world. These avatars were the beings that bestowed their aid to humans when defeated or convinced. Guardian Forces could be called on directly, at which point they emerged and wreaked havoc on their summoner's foes, or in a few cases, bestowed healing and power on their allies. However, Balamb Garden utilized Guardian Forces in another manner.  
  
Balamb Garden, drawing on knowledge obtained by the legendary Doctor Odine in the far-off eastern nation of Esthar, discovered a way to combine a Guardian Force's powers with magical energy to give an otherwise ordinary human incredible power. The power of the GF could strengthen a man's muscles, harden his skin, toughen his body, increase his reflexes and speed and even bolster and shield from magical assaults. Guardian Forces were used in this manner by Balamb Garden's SeeD forces, giving them a tremendous advantage on the battlefield, especially against ordinary humans who did not possess the edge a GF granted.  
  
Squall held the stones a moment longer, then concentrated on them. The stones were the keys to summoning the Guardian Force or using its powers. When the GF was either defeated or convinced to join a human, the human received a stone as a symbol of their ownership. Whoever possessed the stone could utilize the Guardian Force.  
  
As Squall concentrated, the Guardian Forces' stones glowed, then just . . . disappeared, absorbed into Squall's body. He felt, in the back of his mind, the distant, alien thoughts of the pair of GFs.  
  
Garden's method of using GFs was known as "junctioning." The actual act of junctioning a GF was not difficult to learn if one knew how to utilize magic. Magic and Guardian Forces were deeply connected, though Squall wasn't learned in the complexities of the relationship. All he really knew was that with the aid of the GF, he could use magic with ease, strengthen himself, and if need arose, he could summon the GF itself.  
  
Junctioned with his Guardian Forces, Squall paused to concentrate some more, focusing magical energies of spells he had on hand. He'd used up most of his magic he had stocked yesterday in a three-hour long romp in the Training Center downstairs. But he still had a number of Thunders and a few Cure spells, which he junctioned. The electrical magic of his Thunder spells he focused on his physical strength, while the restorative magic of the Cures he junctioned in order to toughen his body. Squall's muscles bulged slightly as magical power strengthened them. Done with his junctioning, Squall rose from his study panel and crossed the room to where Quistis waited.  
  
Quistis was chatting with a group of the "Trepies," but as Squall approached, they apparently decided to make room.  
  
"You haven't been to the Fire Cavern yet, have you?" Quistis asked, to which Squall nodded. "You won't be able to take part in today's exam without passing the prerequisite and fighting Ifrit."  
  
"I know," Squall responded. He had been intending to go that morning but Seifer . . . .  
  
"Hm? Well, do you have an excuse?"  
  
A very good one; how about getting my head cut open, Squall thought indignantly. But even as he thought that, he remembered that the whole reason they'd gone out to "train" in the first place was due to Seifer rather aggressively demanding it and Squall not backing down. The whole fight had really been over pride. And pride was no excuse.  
  
"No, not really," Squall said.  
  
"Then let's get going," Quistis replied. "I'll be waiting for you down at the front gate, so come down when you're ready."  
  
With that, Quistis walked out of the room, waving to the trio of Trepies as she passed through the doorway. Squall moved to follow, and as he reached the door, he could hear a few mutterings from behind him.  
  
"I . . . I'm so jealous! Maybe I should take that subject too . . ." one person said, sounding appropriately envious.  
  
"Alone with Instructor Trepe . . ." another envious person muttered, unsurprisingly male.  
  
"If anything happens to Instructor Trepe, the Trepies will get you back!" called the last of the trio. Squall glanced over his shoulder at the girl who threatened him, and shrugged at her remark before stepping through the door. As Squall headed down the hallway, he went over what he'd need.  
  
He was going to need to load his gunblade before leaving. Both the ammo and the weapon itself were waiting in his room, along with the rest of his gear. Squall was also going to need some more magic, so he would have to visit the Training Center. His growling stomach, however, defined Squall's first priority. He'd need some breakfast, fighting on an empty stomach was not the best-  
  
Squall was apparently so deeply in thought that he didn't hear the steps of the cadet running down the hallway.  
  
"I'm late, I'm late, I'm LATE!!!" was Squall's only warning before a five foot tall human missile collided with him as he rounded a corner leading to the main elevator. Even caught off guard, Squall still wasn't knocked off his feet by the impact, though the cadet, a girl his own age, fell flat on her rear.  
  
"Waaah!" she cried as she dropped. Squall glanced down at her, slightly annoyed at her blundering, but then, he hadn't exactly been all that alert himself, so he had no one to blame.  
  
Most people would have probably asked the girl if she was alright, but Squall, being Squall, said nothing. He did give her a once-over to make sure she was all right, but otherwise was silent as the tiny girl shook her head slightly. The motion caused the curly brown hair rising around her head to bounce a bit as she began to stand. She was tiny, and also remarkably cute, somehow reminding Squall of a plushy toy moogle. The girl looked up at him with her green eyes as she climbed back up to her feet. Squall didn't recognize her, though he thought she might be from Trabia Garden; a group from the northern Garden should have arrived that morning.  
  
"There," she said upon regaining her balance. "Tee-hee. I'm fine." She smiled, making her seem even cuter. "Sorry, I was kind of in a hurry."  
  
I couldn't guess, Squall thought sardonically.  
  
"Oh, yeah! Did you just come from that class?" she asked, to which Squall nodded. "Whoo . . . oh, nooo . . . This place is sooo much bigger than my last Garden! Oh, hey, hey," the girl said suddenly, an idea seeming to form in her head. "I just transferred here from Trabia, you think you could give me a tour of the Garden?"  
  
Squall was a loner, and he didn't like people, but that didn't mean he was uncaring. He was willing to show the girl around, though he wouldn't have exactly jumped for joy at the job. In any other situation, he would have helped her, but right now he had a lot to do.  
  
"Don't have the time," Squall said, to the girl's disappointment.  
  
"Oh, bummer," the girl muttered. She began to walk away, waving at him. "That's too bad. Well, see ya."  
  
Squall watched her walk down the hall, and felt just a bit bad for her. It was hard to not help her, since she was so cute and endearing, even to the taciturn Squall.  
  
Yeah, too bad, he thought. If she was really lost, she could use-  
  
"Hey," he called after her. The brown-haired cadet stopped and looked back. "I can't take you on a long tour, but at least I can show you the directory." She brightened immediately. It was a good compromise; the directory would at least ensure she wouldn't get lost again.  
  
"Whoo-hoo!" she shouted. "Alright, let's go!" The pair headed down the hallway towards the elevator.  
  
This particular hallway was more of an ornate bridge connecting the classrooms to the central elevator shafts. The classrooms were positioned on the second level, in a ring around the central elevators. To reach the elevators, one had to cross the bridges connecting the shafts with the classroom hallways. There were a good hundred feet between the first and second levels, so one on the bridge was offered a spectacular sweeping view of the interior of Balamb Garden.  
  
The central structure of Balamb Garden was mostly open space, at least around the first level. There were a series of walkways arranged like the spokes of a wheel connecting the various first level facilities. Each walkway connected with a central circular walkway, which surrounded a raised platform where the central elevators were located.  
  
Separating the central platform from the walkway was a raised pool that surrounded the elevator platform. Ornate and beautiful fish statues acted as fountains for the pool. The water filtered down underneath the walkway to spill down into an outer pool that ran underneath the connecting walkways to the various facilities. Throughout the expansive room were numerous plants and shrubs. Combined with the flowing water and the general student life, these gave Balamb Garden a vibrant, lush atmosphere, that of an indoor paradise.  
  
As Squall reached the elevator, it rose up and out stepped another cadet, clad in casual clothes and not his uniform. The cadet was looking at a handful of cards in his hands, and it took him a second to notice Squall as the pair began to step past him.  
  
"Oh, hey," the cadet said, causing Squall to turn to face him. "You want these?" he held up the handful of cards. "My brother gave them to me, but they're not my thing. You want them?"  
  
Squall glanced at the cards, which were, unsurprisingly, for the insanely popular card game Triple Triad. Triple Triad was played around the world, even receivng advanced, formalized rules in many places. The game was rapidly replacing poker, blackjack, and many other forms of gambling. Garden had had the Triad craze since as far back as Squall could remember, and even had its own card club clique. While Squall himself wasn't a fanatical player of Triad, he certainly wasn't alien to the game, and had his own modest deck.  
  
After inspecting the cards, Squall shrugged. "Sure, why not?" he said as he pocketed them. They were low-powered cards, the kind you'd expect from a beginner's deck, but he could still use them as backups.  
  
With that done, Squall and his lost charge entered the elevator and headed down to the first floor. As soon as the elevator reached the first level, Squall gestured to a large panel positioned between the elevators and the main entrance.  
  
"That's the directory," he said. The girl nodded, smiled her thanks, and headed down to the directory. His job done, Squall looked north, to where the dorms were located. He had a lot to do-  
  
"Umm, question," the girl called, catching Squall's attention. He turned around and saw her standing by the directory, looking confused. "How do you work this thing?"  
  
Another sigh of vexation escaped Squall's lips as he stepped down the stairs connecting the upper platform to the walkway. He stepped up to the directory next to the girl, and tapped a button. A screen showing a general map of Balamb Garden's first level appeared.  
  
"You just move the cursor around and press the button to select an area." Squall was going to leave it at that, but he felt he had to be just a little more helpful. "Now, here's an explanation of the various facilities." Squall traced a finger along the screen, the cursor following it. He pointed the cursor to the northernmost section. "To the north are the dormitories, which take up the whole North Block. Most of the students and all of the SeeDs live there, along with a few instructors. Not many students make the commute from Balamb or elsewhere."  
  
"Yeah, I'm in the dorms, too!" the girl said with a nod.  
  
"West of the North Block is the cafeteria. There's always a big rush for the hot dogs, so you'd better get there early."  
  
"Got it!"  
  
"East of the North Block is the garage. That's where students, SeeDs, instructors and any other employees keep their cars. We also use it to store Garden's own vehicles. When a mission comes up, we usually use the Garden cars." Squall moved the cursor down to the bottom of the map, indicating the front gate. "The gate's to the south, you know that . . ."  
  
That's right, he needed to meet Instructor Trepe down there when he was ready . . . .  
  
"Hm?" the girl asked. "What's the matter?"  
  
"Nothing," Squall said with a shake of his head. "Next, we have the Quad, in the west Block. There's an event being planned there . . ."  
  
"I know! I know! It's the Garden Festival! Its going to be great! I'm planning to be on the committee! You wanna help too!?"  
  
"Let's just move on," Squall said quickly, not wanting to be steered in that direction. With this girl's unbearable cuteness, she could probably convince him to do anything to help her out.  
  
"South of the West Block is the infirmary. You can go there to get treated for injuries." Like mine, Squall thought to himself. "The doctor's name is Kadowaki," he added. "Now, for the East Block. This is the Training Center." Squall moved the cursor over the easternmost of the facilities. "It's the only facility open at night. Its used for training, obviously, and it has real monsters running loose inside. If you don't take it seriously, you could end up dead. Just be careful." The girl gulped as she understood Squall was dead serious.  
  
" . . . Okay."  
  
"South of the east Block is the Library. You can look up a lot of material there, but the study panels in the classrooms are more efficient. But you can't take the study panels back to your rooms, while you can with the books in the Library. And you know about the classrooms on the second floor, right?"  
  
"Yup. I'll remember those."  
  
"Also, on the second floor you'll find the Training Room, where we practice combat training, and also our labs. And by the way, the Headmaster's office is on the third floor. You'll need permission to get in."  
  
"What's the headmaster's name?" she asked.  
  
"Cid Kramer," Squall replied. "That's about it. Anything else?"  
  
"Nope, got it!" she said. "Heeey, um . . . are you taking today's SeeD exam?"  
  
"Yeah," Squall said with a nod.  
  
"Then maybe we'll see each other again later. I'm taking the exam today too, since I already finished my training at my other Garden. Good luck to both of us, huh!" She began to walk away. "Thanks a lot!" the girl called as she left.  
  
That done, Squall turned north and headed for the cafeteria. He still had a lot to do, and his stomach was still telling him what his biggest priority was at the moment.  
  
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Note: I know, I know, Quetzocotl doesn't grant you the STR-J ability. Guess what? I don't care! Excepting specific abilities, like Recover, Treatment, STR20%, etc. the GFs in this novelization all generally have the same abilities.  
  
Also, the "stone" idea comes from Greenbeans, aka Amanda Anderson, and her fanfic "Sowing the SeeDs."  
  
And yes, Squall is a Triple Triad player! sticks out toungue at nay- sayers How else you gonna introduce the game and get Squall some cards unless he's already at least somewhat into it?  
  
If you haven't noticed, I'm rather detail oriented. I am constructing this thing as if it were an actual novel, and also for those who have never played or only partially played FFVIII, and thus, I wanted to accurately describe every setting, person, monster, creature, or item in FFVIII. I like including the little details (like Quistis greeting the muscular student outside the Infirmiry) And of course, I constantly review my own work, leading me to constantly edit and add teeny-tiny touches here and there. Perfection is the name of my game. 


	3. Rivalry

Chapter 2: Rivalry  
  
"SEIFER, DRINK?" a woman asked as Squall entered the cafeteria. Those words, and the way they were spoken, were all Squall needed to know that Seifer Almasy and the Disciplinary Committee were about.  
  
To his left, Squall spotted the trio, clustered around a vending machine. In the center, as always, stood Seifer, who was looking over the selection of drinks in the machine.  
  
"Oh, yeah, can I get something?" the second member of the group asked. He was huge, even taller than Seifer, with dark, tanned skin, dark hair, and with muscles on top of muscles. He wore an open vest that showed off his massive chest, and a thick necklace of brown balls around his neck. On his shoulder he wore a metal plate with a symbol of some sort Squall didn't know.  
  
"I'd like some water, ya know?" Raijin continued. Seifer, on the other hand, continued to mull over the drink he wanted. He looked up then, noticing Squall. The other two members of the Committee also saw him as well. Seifer smirked and nodded at Squall, the only real greeting he would give to his rival, aside from a challenge.  
  
"IGNORE," the third member said. She was short and petite, with pale skin, dyed silver hair that was cut short, and a blue coat that somehow reminded Squall of a pirate. The "pirate" image was further enhanced by the presence of an eyepatch over her left eye, although Squall didn't know why she wore it. It was hard to imagine that this woman, Fujin, was Raijin's sister, considering how different the two were.  
  
Apparently, Raijin had missed his sister's order to ignore Squall.  
  
"Yo, it's Squall!" He glanced over at Fujin and the vending machine. "Oh, yeah, Fujin's gonna treat us. Want something?"  
  
"RAGE!" Fujin growled, and even as Raijin glanced her way with a confused look on his face, the petite woman kicked her brother in the shin at his stupidity. Raijin yelped and began hopping around on his uninjured leg, whining at his smarting shin.  
  
"Ahh . . . Ouuu . . . Ahhh . . ."  
  
Seifer chuckled at his friends' usual antics, then looked Squall's way.  
  
"Squall, can't you see the Disciplinary Committee's busy? Don't bother us." Squall shrugged off Seifer's remark and walked past the hopping Raijin. The big, muscle-bound teddy bear finally stopped hopping as the brown-haired cadet walked past.  
  
"Squall, psst," Raijin said, trying to sound discreet. "Fujin's kinda harsh at times, so you better watch it, ya know?"  
  
As if he couldn't tell, Squall thought. Apparently, Raijin hadn't been discreet enough, or maybe he'd just forgotten his sister was still right behind him.  
  
"WHAT?" Fujin growled, causing Raijin to spin around, and hop back a bit to get out of kicking range.  
  
"O-Oh! I-It's nothin'!" Raijin stammered.  
  
Not for the first time, Squall wondered if Raijin would ever pass the written test for SeeD, considering he was about as intelligent as the vending machine behind the trio.  
  
The attention of the quartet was suddenly stolen as a cadet blazed past as if he had a T-Rexaur on his tail. The cadet came to a dead stop in front of the cafeteria lady at the counter.  
  
"D-do you have any . . . hot dogs left?" he asked, heaving and panting. Squall recognized the cadet, but then, most people who had met Zell Dincht did. The small, muscle-bound cadet stood out with his unique haircut, consisting of a tall plume of hair sticking straight up just over his forehead. Zell also featured a frightening black lightning-like tattoo over the left side of his face.  
  
"Nope," came the expected response by the cafeteria lady. "You're a bit late, I'm afraid. We're all sold out."  
  
"Damn! Not again . . ." Zell muttered, his voice almost a whine. "Its hopeless if you don't get here early. All right, I'll try again next time . . ."  
  
"I'll try to order more, but there's no guarantee!" the worker called after Zell as he walked away dejectedly. As Zell passed the quartet by the drink machine, Squall thought he saw an evil smirk on Seifer's face.  
  
" . . . Speeding," the head of the Disciplinary Committee said suddenly. "Let's go arrest that student for violation of academy regulations."  
  
"AFFIRMATIVE!" Fujin replied as Seifer took off down the hallway after Zell.  
  
"Roger, ya know!" Raijin agreed as he followed Fujin out.  
  
Squall shook his head at the Committee's typical actions. Seifer had a thing against Zell, and he used his power as head of the Committee to make life difficult for the cadet. Of course, Seifer didn't just use his power to bother Zell, he used (and abused) it whenever he felt like it. Seifer had been made the head of the Committee to help keep his generally violent and aggressive tendencies under control through responsibility, and in that regard, it had somewhat worked. Even though Seifer liked taking advantage of his power, in reality, the Committee was actually not all that powerful. Anyone above a cadet, an instructor or even a SeeD, could override Seifer's decisions, meaning that Seifer had to limit his abuses to minor actions only, and had to generally keep the populace of Garden under control as he was supposed to. If Seifer got too heavy or frequent with his abuse of power, he could expect the committee to be disbanded and given to someone else. So he had to be responsible. It was actually quite a brilliant idea, and followed the same principles that kept democratic politicians in office; if they abused their power or neglected their duties, they lost their offices, and the same held true for Seifer and his position as head of the Committee. And Seifer liked being head of the Committee.  
  
After the Committee had left to ruin Zell's day further, Squall went up to the counter. He knew the cafeteria ladies would yammer on for hours if one allowed them, so he made his order quickly, and left with a heavily laden tray of breakfast foods; today was going to be a long day.  
  
-------------------  
  
Squall returned to his room in the dorms a short time later. He'd found an empty table in the cafeteria, but it had unfortunately been between one occupied by a group of the Trepies and another claimed by a group of cadets who enjoyed insulting themselves and each other. So, Squall had had to endure simultanious complaints and remarks about Quistis. He'd eaten fast and cleared out before he lost his temper at either group's stupidity.  
  
Squall stepped through the doorway leading into his dorm. Actually, it was a double dorm, consisting of a pair of bedrooms and a small study area outside. Squall spotted some bags in the room next to his. He'd spent a long time alone in the double dorm, since no one had wanted to share a double room with him, but it seemed someone had finally moved in, most likely from Trabia.  
  
Who knows, he might be rooming with that girl he met in the hall. Whatever, it didn't matter, Squall knew that if he passed the SeeD exam, which he was certian he would, he would have a single room to himself. But before he could take the exam, he needed to defeat Ifrit.  
  
Squall stepped into his room and opened the weapon case for his gunblade. The case was large, and featured the same lion's head design that Squall's necklace and the chain on the end of his gunblade featured. Flipping the latches, he drew out the Revolver.  
  
He quickly polished the steel of his gunblade, then popped open the chamber.  
  
The gunblade's internal mechanisms were complex, in spite of the simple appearance of sword married to gun. The weapon was loaded with concussive-force shells, or just "bullets" as Squall called them. Each shell contained powerful explosive force that, whenever the trigger was pulled, would be sent down the length of the blade, with the strength to turn flesh to jelly and armored plating to shattered slag. Each "bullet," however, did not release all it's force in each shot, but rather contained multiple charges for multiple blasts. Each time the trigger was pulled, another "bullet" slid into place via the revolver system, in case something had gone wrong with this particular "bullet" and it couldn't fire anymore, and also to just keep the mechanisms inside the already complex weapon as simple as possible. The revolver chambers would keep turning with each pull of the trigger, until all the shells had lost their explosive power, at which point they'd be removed and replaced. Each "bullet" in Squall's gunblade had four charges, more than enough for the coming battle with Ifrit. And even if he did run out of charges, Squall had plenty of additional ammunition on the bandoleers around his leg.  
  
The gunblade, of course, had a tremendous recoil. Or it would, if it weren't for compensators built into the handle to absorb the shock of the blast and to keep the gunblade in line. The compensators ultimately reduced the recoil to almost nothing, allowing the wielder to strike with amazing precision, yet hit his foes with devastating strikes.  
  
But, the gunblade was a difficult weapon to master.The unusual design and shape of the weapon made most conventional sword disciplines worthless, meaning that the weapon required its own martial style. The curving handle and the trigger were among the most difficult aspects of the weapon to properly control, requiring a totally different grip and wrist movement. Properly learning to pull the trigger when swinging added to the difficuly; Squall had spent a few months in Balamb Garden's firing range to get accustomed to firearms, to help him understand the complexities in the weapon. By the time Squall had finally mastered the gunblade, he'd come to understand why only the most skilled and dedicated swordsmen could properly wield the exotic weapon, much less utilize the gunblade to its fullest potential.  
  
Squall took the six shells from inside his weapon case and loaded them into the gunblade. Neither he nor Seifer had loaded their weapons that morning; even if Seifer was willing to use magic when he wasn't supposed to, he wasn't so stupid as to load his gunblade in a supposedly nonlethal match.  
  
Weapon loaded, Squall checked the trio of bandoleers around his leg, confirming he had enough gunblade ammo to last a week's fighting. Squall finished up his preparation by checking his equipment belt. He had a good supply of potions of different types: regular healing potions that worked amazingly fast, antidotes for poisons, eye drops in case he was blinded and needed healing for his eyes, echo screens to restore the ability to cast spells if they were somehow lost due to a magical effect, and a few phoenix downs, powerful potions that restored extremely grievous injuries.  
  
One last thing Squall did was to check his back-up weapons: a pair of solid steel ten-inch combat knives. One he slid into a wrist sheath on his left forearm, the other into a sheath on the right side of his waist belt.  
  
His preparations done, the cadet left his dorm. He had checked over his supply of magic, and figured he could use a few more Sleep spells, and he wouldn't really mind heading to the Training Center to get a few Grats in before he met Instructor Trepe to head for the Fire Cavern.  
  
Squall exited the North Block and headed for the entrance to the East Block. As he walked down the hallway, Squall spotted a pair of students running his way, panic evident on their faces. The two turned around and looked back down the hallway, panting heavily.  
  
"Something wrong?" Squall asked, startling one of the two frightened cadets.  
  
"Ahhh! Oh, its just you, Squall," the cadet said, with obvious relief.  
  
"So, that's the infamous monster," the other cadet remarked, still looking back down the hallway.  
  
"Yeah, I thought I was gonna die," the first student added.  
  
"T-Rexaur?" Squall asked, knowing there were few monsters in the Training Center that could illicit such fear. Both cadets nodded.  
  
"Never seen one before," the second said, shaking his head. "Heard about 'em, but damn! The thing was huge!"  
  
"Yeah, I wet my pants!" the first added, leaning against the wall.  
  
Squall glanced at his watch and stepped past the cadets.  
  
"I'd be careful if I were you!" the first cadet shouted. Squall waved a hand over his shoulder, indicating he knew what he was doing.  
  
The hot, humid air of the Training Center struck Squall like a flying chair as soon as he passed through the doorway. The Training Center was essentially a large enclosed jungle, filled with flora and fauna, and of course, monsters. The vast majority of the monsters in the Center were Grats, a big, plant-like creature, although the Center was home to a collection of other, more powerful creatures, kept as a lesson to all SeeD cadets that they were not invincible.  
  
The Center had two entrances, one on either side of the door leading to the hallway. Both entrances led through the huge electrified fence that separated the jungle itself from the rest of Garden. Squall opted to go through the left entrance. He switched off the electricity around the doorway, stepped through, and flicked it back on. Then, Squall delved into the Training Center.  
  
It hadn't taken long before Squall encountered what he was looking for. He was advancing down a wide, clear road section of the Center, marked by a number of fallen logs, when a lone Grat made its appearance. The Grat had a bulbous central body, like that of a carnivorous plant, with a group of six tiny, skinny legs supporting it. A quartet of long, leaf-tipped tentacles rose up over its body, designed to help the thing batter and pull prey into its spine-tipped maw at the top of its bulb-like body. Grats, Squall knew, were a good source of supportive magic, especially Sleep spells and the magic-inhibiting Silence spells.  
  
Taking the initiative, Squall focused and reached out to the Grat with his mind. He called upon the power bestowed by the Guardian Forces, and was able to sense the magical power within the Grat. Singling out the energies he needed, Squall focused on them and drew them out.  
  
Energy flew from the Grat's body, in glowing purple and blue lines, arcing across the distance between the two. Squall felt the magical power of Sleep spells as they entered his own body, and nodded as he confirmed he had succeeded. "Drawing" magic like this was a basic technique taught to all SeeD cadets.  
  
The Grat, now fully aware of its opponent, spun to face the cadet. Squall tore his gunblade from its holster and readied it as the Grat charged. The creature's tiny legs carried it surprisingly fast, and the thing covered the distance in a matter of seconds. The Grat swung its long tentacles at Squall, attempting to batter him into submission.  
  
The Revolver flashed twice as the tentacles came in, and Squall himself ducked and twisted aside. None of the tentacles had hit, but Squall's strikes with his gunblade had. Two of the Grat's appendages were now shortened stumps, their ends lying on the ground.  
  
Squall came in right behind the Grat's attack. The Revolver dove into its body, tearing a long gash across the creature's hide. The Grat hissed and began backing away, but Squall quickly focused and put a hand to his head. He gestured towards the Grat and felt the Sleep spells he had stocked diminish slightly, as he discharged some of the energy. The Grat was hit precisely by the spell, and it stopped in place, its tentacles drooping. Squall took his chance and drew a number of additional Sleep spells from the monster, as well as a few Silence spells. By the time he was satisfied with the magic he had gained, the Grat was stirring, so Squall calmly walked over to the wounded monster and finished it with a single stroke of the gunblade.  
  
Considering how much magic he had on hand, Squall decided he was finished drawing energy from the Grats. However, there was a spot he wanted to hit before he left, a draw point he had found yesterday with an offensive spell. He moved through the Center at a quick but cautious pace, keeping an eye out for any more Grats, but also keeping an ear cocked for the sounds of any larger and far more dangerous threats.  
  
Squall managed to make it to the draw point with no trouble. He bent down at the site. Here, glowing bits of magical energy seemed to rise and flutter about a specific point on the ground. Squall reached into the energy and felt its power. Using his mind, he drew the magic out like he had with the Grat earlier. Squall felt the magical energy within him: Blizzard, a low-powered ice elemental spell. Excellent for taking on fire- based creatures, such Ifrit.  
  
Squall stood, and turned around. The area he was in featured a small river between his location and the nearest exit. Wooden boards were set across the river to a large stone in the center of the water, and from there, another group of boards led to the opposite bank. Squall started for the planks when he heard the sound of rustling in the trees to his left.  
  
Grats, Squall realized, even as a trio emerged from the foliage. The plant-like monsters advanced, and Squall leveled his gunblade, knowing that the Grats could cut him off from the bridge before he could ever get there.  
  
"Need some help?" called a voice from behind the Grats. Even as the Grats spun around to take in the new threat, the center one erupted into flame. It screeched, a strange sound coming from a plant, and rolled over dead, tentacles drooping. As the creature died, Squall made out the one who had killed it.  
  
"They're only Grats," Squall called to Seifer as the monsters charged, one going for Squall, the other for his new ally. Tentacles pounded down at Squall, but as with his previous foe, the sharpened edge of the Revolver put a stop to that strategy. And as with his previous foe, Squall came in behind the attack, countering with powerful slashes that cut the Grat open and left it dead. Across from him, Seifer had dispatched his Grat with a deft stroke and another well-placed Fire spell.  
  
"Not bad, Squall," Seifer said, observing their handiwork. "But it seems I'm a bit quicker. Two to one."  
  
"I scored another on the way in," Squall countered, deflating Seifer a bit. Squall didn't say anything else, instead walking towards the bridge, not wanting to be around his rival anymore.  
  
"So that's it?" Seifer asked. "Only two?"  
  
"I only came here for magic," Squall replied as he reached the bridge. "No more reason for me to be here."  
  
"No, that's not why you're leaving," Seifer said, his tone indicating he knew something. Squall stopped at the stone halfway across the river, and turned back to his self-declared rival.  
  
"I beat you this morning," said Seifer, grinning and pointing at Squall. "I won."  
  
"You cheated," Squall shot back. "We weren't supposed to use magic."  
  
Seifer's features hardened. He advanced towards Squall.  
  
"Let me ask you this," Seifer began as he reached the edge of the bridge. "You make SeeD. You go up head to head against some enemy soldier. He uses magic on you, knocking you on your ass. But instead of giving you a scar, he chops your skull in, killing you. Will you complain about him cheating? No, you won't; you'll just be dead." With that, Seifer stepped past Squall on the stone and headed to the opposite bank.  
  
"Are you trying to say you're helping me?" Squall asked incredulously. "You're saying this morning was for my benefit?"  
  
"Yeah," Seifer called out as he stepped off the bridge. He stopped and glanced back at Squall. "People fight dirty in real life. When it comes down to life and death, will you care about rules? Or will you care about survival?"  
  
His point made, Seifer left Squall on the stone in the river, alone with his thoughts.  
  
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Heh, yeah, Fujin being related to Raijin? Yup, my story, I do with it what I will! (actually, Nique was the one who inspired that bit.)  
  
And yes, the scene where Seifer met Squall in the Training Center was new. Like a lot of other scenes in this fic. 


	4. Chance Encounters

Chapter 3: Chance Encounters  
  
"Student no. 41269? Squall Leonhart?" The Garden Faculty asked as Squall stepped out of the Training Center. Squall glanced up at him. He, like all the other Garden Faculty, wore a heavy red robe, hood, and yellow hat that covered his whole face. "You're that problem child," the Faculty accused him, to which Squall shrugged. He got that from the sparks he and Seifer threw up from time to time. "Don't you have the final SeeD exam today? You must go to the-"  
  
"Fire Cavern, I know," Squall said impatiently. The Faculty went on as if Squall had never spoken.  
  
"You're making Instructor Trepe wait! What are you doing!?"  
  
The Faculty was standing next to the railing separating the edge of the walkway and the water below, and Squall would have honestly loved to grab him and toss him over. Instead, Squall only shrugged and stepped past him and towards the front entrance.  
  
The Faculty were everywhere in Garden, and tended to be a monumental pain in the ass. They enforced the rules with an iron fist that made Seifer and the Disciplinary Committee look placid and liberal. More than one student had been expelled for lashing out at the Faculty with their fists, and in one case, a spinning kick to the jaw.  
  
Even that didn't knock off his hat, Squall thought ruefully as he recalled the incident. In fact, never once had he seen the Faculty's faces in his entire time at Garden. No one had. The Faculty was a real mystery, working directly for the Garden's mysterious Master, NORG. He was supposedly somewhere inside Balamb Garden, pulling the strings and controlling all of the Gardens through his Faculty intermediaries. No one, or at least, none of the students nor SeeDs Squall had spoken to, knew anything about the Master beyond the fact that he was Garden's owner.  
  
Squall passed the attendant at the front gate and headed out to the exit from the Garden grounds. He passed the wide concrete avenue leading out from the front entrance and down a short staircase, past a beautiful collection of pools, waterfalls and shrubbery, and out to the front gate where Quistis waited.  
  
As she said she would, Quistis was waiting for Squall there, now clad in a more casual outfit, consisting of a high-collared pink zip-up vest, a similarly colored skirt that ran down to below her knees, detached black sleeves, and long black boots. A belt ran from her upper left hip down to her lower right, and hooked to it were her item pouches, backup knife, and a coiled rante, or chain whip, complete with a sharp and nasty-looking blade on the end.  
  
"Ready to go?" she asked as soon as Squall came into view. He nodded, and they headed off at a brisk pace. Squall took the lead as the pair crossed the Alcud Plains to the east, towards the region where the Fire Cavern was located.  
  
They made good time, and within a half an hour the two had come into sight of the forest east of Balamb Garden, right between them and their destination. Squall stopped here and checked his watch. They still had a long time between now and the exam.  
  
"What?" Quistis asked as Squall stood for a moment, considering their options.  
  
"I think we should just avoid the forest," he remarked. "We'll lose a half an hour, maybe a whole one, if we go south and around, but at least we won't have to worry about monster attacks as much on the plains. And we won't risk an encounter with any T-Rexaurs," Squall added. Quistis agreed with his reasoning. The eastern forest was the home of many of the huge, powerful monsters, and when she was taking other students to the Cavern, she too had opted to avoid the woods. Besides, Squall was also right about avoiding other monsters. The plains had its share of creatures, but the open landscape allowed for easier sighting of them, and they weren't as densely populated out here.  
  
The decision made, Squall lead them southwest, skirting the edge of the woods. After about another half-hour, they could see the forest turning back east and then north. Also, this far south, Squall had seen the ocean several miles southwest. He looked that way, and came to a stop.  
  
"What is it?" Quistis asked.  
  
"We still have about six hours before the exam, right?" he replied, to which Quistis nodded. "I was wanting to hit the beaches before we went to the Cavern." Quistis bit back a remark about how this was no time to go tanning, and considered Squall's reasoning. The beaches were dangerous, because . . .  
  
"Fasticolans?" she asked, knowing that was the reasoning in Squall's mind. He nodded.  
  
"If I can harvest the fins from the Fasticolans, I can use Shiva's ice magic refining ability to get some Waters," Squall explained. That was reason enough. Water magic was good against fire, though not as powerful as ice, and it was also a powerful junctioning magic.  
  
Another forty minutes later, the pair had reached the sandy white beaches of Balamb. The large island was well known for its lovely, peaceful beaches, and the only thing keeping it from becoming a tourist destination was the simple fact that the shores were very, very dangerous.  
  
Though one couldn't tell that from just looking at them. Right now, there were no other people, nor any other creatures, on the shoreline for as far as the eye could see.  
  
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Quistis asked as they trudged down the sands, though her remark was kind of diminished considering that both she and Squall were walking with weapons up and senses primed. Squall shrugged and continued his scan. A few minutes later, they found what they were looking for.  
  
A pair of large, red and yellow fins protruded from the sands, two hundred feet away, but rapidly growing larger as the Fasticolans approached. Both the cadet and the Instructor readied their weapons. Quistis checked her magic quickly, and selected a spell she would use if one of the creatures surfaced.  
  
Fasticolans were often called "sand sharks" because that was what they were: a variety of large predatory fish that tunneled under the sands, swimming through the thin soil of the beaches as if they were water. The monsters would often "swim" right past a surface target and bite it while in motion, attacking in groups until the prey had been weakened, at which point the monsters would surface to finish the prey off.  
  
The two fins drew closer, now within fifty feet. Quistis uncoiled her whip and twirled it in the air. The rante snapped forward at the rightmost Fasticolan as it closed in, its steel blade driving under the sands and striking a glancing blow to the creature. The monster veered away slightly, somewhat deterred by a foe that could hit it underground, and swam past her.  
  
The other Fasticolan went for Squall. As the monster came close, Squall slashed his gunblade down through the sands at it. Like Quistis's rante, the blade of the revolver cleaved through the sands, though more effectively, doing some damage to the Fasticolan below. But this sand shark wasn't going to back down, and even as Squall was cutting it, the creature rose from the shielding sands and bit at his leg. The cadet, though, was too experienced, and instinctively pulled his legs back from the fin, and causing the Fasticolan's rising bite to catch only air.  
  
Quistis' monster swung back around towards her and surfaced. Fasticolans were only slightly longer than the huge fins on top of their bodies, the distance from head to tail being only three feet. Two slender but long red fins poked out to either side of their bodies, and another large fin, though not as large or as long as the top fin, was located on its underbelly. Like its fins, the Fasticolan's body was red and yellow. This one was a female; males were decidedly rarer and much larger.  
  
The Fasticolan burst from the sands and veritably flew towards Quistis. In fact, it did fly towards her; aside from being able to swim through sand as if it were water, Fasticolans could hover over the sands for short periods, swimming through air like water or sand.  
  
The creature opened its mouth to take a chunk out of the instructor, who responded by focusing and gesturing powerfully towards the monster with both hands. A flash of brilliant lightning roared down from nowhere on the sand shark, the electricity shocking and sparking the monster. It tumbled to the ground, dead, smoking, and twitching from the powerful Thundara spell Quistis had cast on it.  
  
Squall's enemy closed in again, but this time, Squall intended to finish the monster. The cadet waited for his target to attempt another passing bite. The red fin came in again, and again, it went straight for the cadet. And again, Squall slashed his gunblade down through the sands at the Fasticolan. But this time, he pulled the trigger on his gunblade.  
  
Even as the blade sliced into the monster and it was rising to bite at Squall again, an explosive blast erupted down the gunblade, the shockwaves tearing into the monster and blasting apart its face. The Fasticolan died in mid-surface, and actually flew up slightly, carried on by its momentum, and hit the sands a few feet away.  
  
Returning his gunblade to its sheath, Squall knelt down next to the dead monster and drew his knife. After a couple of minutes, he had finished removing the Fasticolan's fins. A quick glance at Quistis showed she was all right, and she too had harvested a few of the fins from her target as well.  
  
Squall held up the fins in his hand, focused on them, and mentally reached out and touched Shiva. He felt her in the back of his mind, the Guardian Force responding to his request. The dead fins in his hand glowed, then seemed to form a melting light that seeped down into his hand, through the intervening fabric of his glove. He felt the power of Water magic in his mind and body, and then focused, shifting the magical energies around. The Water spells he focused on his ability to utilize magic; magic would be more effective in the coming battle with Ifrit.  
  
Fasticolan fins were but one of many types of magical stones or items. Each of these items contained the essence of magical energy. All it took to extract the magic was the right tool. In the case of a SeeD, or anyone else with a Guardian Force, all it took was that Guardian Force having the ability to refine the item and its magical power into spells.  
  
Their purpose on the beach done, the instructor and cadet headed northeast again, directly for the Fire Cavern. Within half an hour they were back in sight of the forest, now to their west.  
  
"I'm surprised we haven't had to fight any Bite Bugs," Quistis remarked. Squall nodded. Throughout the trip they had occasionally spotted flying specks in the distance, but the most common, and weakest, monster of the Alcud plains had never come closer. Another half-hour passed when Squall spotted something ahead, moving generally in their direction, and much closer than the distant creatures from earlier. It was about time; they had been wondering if they were somehow repelling the all-too-common monsters.  
  
"Bite Bugs," he remarked, drawing his gunblade. Quistis uncoiled her rante and held it ready as she moved up beside him. The monsters, four total, were about a hundred feet away, and had flown out from behind a small hill. They veered in closer towards the duo, but apparently had not yet spotted them.  
  
"Attack or avoid?" Quistis asked, leaving the decision up to Squall. He shrugged.  
  
"Depends on them," he said. "If they pass us, we go on. But if they turn towards us, we take them out." Again, Quistis agreed with his reasoning.  
  
As they had been talking, the Bugs drew near, and one could see the three-foot long creatures more clearly. Bite Bugs were large, blue mosquito- like insects defined by their huge, split jaws that took up a third of their body length. They also featured six legs, the first two of which were larger than the last four, and also a large, oversized stinger on their abdomen. Two pairs of dragonfly-like wings supported the monsters as they flew.  
  
The quartet of Bugs apparently had spotted the two humans, and must have been either hungry or territorial, as they turned directly towards the pair and attacked. Squall immediately advanced, gunblade ready, and moved protectively in front of Quistis.  
  
Quistis nodded, agreeing with Squall's role in the battle. He would engage the monsters in melee, while Quistis would hang back and put her whip's longer range to better use and used her stronger magic as well.  
  
Quistis focused, and again called forth magic. A ball of flame erupted and shot out at the leading Bug, blasting it and turning it into a smoking cinder. The remaining three came on, heedless of the fiery death of their comrade. One dove in at Squall while the other two circled around, one going for Quistis, the other coming in behind the cadet.  
  
"Bite Bug" described the creature's prefered form of attack, which was what the leading Bug attempted to use on Squall. The blue insect came in, jaws wide open, hoping to tear a chunk out of the human in front of it.  
  
The open jaws provided Squall with an excellent place to stick his gunblade.  
  
The Bug headed for Quistis also came in with a straightforward attack, to which her snapping rante's blade convinced it otherwise. A gash was torn along the Bug's exoskeleton, and the monster dove down low, rising up and biting at Quistis's face. The instructor leaned back out of range and punched the Bug in its insectile face as it opened its jaws to bite her again. The monster fluttered back, and Quistis's whip snapped up, the blade burying into the Bug's underside, killing it.  
  
Squall noticed the other Bug swooping in behind him as the first was still squirming on the end of his blade. In one smooth motion he turned to face his next opponent, raised his gunbade, and pulled the trigger, blasting the dying Bug off its end. The second Bug closed, and Squall brought his gunblade down on top of it, pulling the trigger a second time as he did. The monster blew in half like an overripe melon with a grenade planted inside.  
  
Squall bent down and wiped the black ichor from the Bugs away on the grass, then checked the dead corpses. He wasn't surprised to find a couple of small stones imbedded in their bodies that resonated with magic.  
  
"Magic stones," he muttered, prying them loose with his knife. He examined them, disappointed that these were only fragments and not complete stones. The Bugs must not have been that mature if they had only fragments in their exoskeletons. Older and stronger Bugs often had larger magic stones, and the strongest had stones with powerful magic imbedded within them.  
  
The cadet took a moment to focus and refine the fragments, using Shiva's power to transform their magic into more of the Blizzards he would need to defeat Ifrit. That done, he rejoined Quistis and they continued on to the Cavern.  
  
Twenty minutes later they had reached the Fire Cavern, its tall cliffs looming up above the instructor and cadet. At the base of the cliffs, in front of a yawning black cave entrance, stood a pair of Faculty, obscuring yellow hats and all.  
  
"Okay, we're here," Quistis said. "You ready?" Squall nodded and led the way to the sentry-like Faculty.  
  
This was it. The Fire Cavern test. One of, if not the, most important tests a SeeD cadet would take. Nothing proved a man's mettle as much as fighting, defeating, and obtaining a legendary Guardian Force.  
  
Ifrit was an entity of pure fire, existing in the heart of the Fire Cavern. There, he rested in peace, like most other Guardian Forces, unless angered or disturbed, at which point he would emerge and unleash his wrath upon the foolish mortal who had dared challenge him. All SeeD cadets had to tempt that wrath, though Ifrit, while a furious enemy, was also an honorable opponent. The Guardian Force had never attacked a SeeD cadet who had challenged him with truly lethal force. In situations where the cadet had been severely injured, Ifrit even would lighten up its attack until the supporting SeeD had healed them. If a cadet was ever defeated, Ifrit never moved in for the kill.  
  
"Student no. 41269, Squall Leonhart, ready to take the Fire Cavern test," Squall spoke as he stood at attention in front of the Faculty. One of the two stepped forward.  
  
"Your objective: To obtain a low-level Guardian Force," the faculty said. "A SeeD member must support."  
  
"I'm his support," Quistis replied, standing at attention as well and snapping off a salute. "Instructor no. 14, Quistis Trepe."  
  
The Faculty turned back to Squall.  
  
"Select a time limit," he ordered. "Challenging, yet reasonable." As with any other cadet, Squall was given the option to choose his own time limit.  
  
Squall mulled over the objective. The battle with Ifrit would take some time, and he also would need time to make his way there. Other cadets had said that the path, if one avoided monsters, could be navigated in about five to eight minutes, and aside from the Bombs, the monsters didn't take long to fight past even if one stopped to face them. Ifrit, however, was a fearsome opponent that took a lot to bring down, and many students who had taken a shorter time limit to face it had failed due to running out of time. The SeeD member wouldn't help them; they were there only to support and heal, not to fight Ifrit for the cadet.  
  
Furthermore, there was the issue of the time limit itself. The time limit the cadet chose was considered in that cadet's final ranking. A short time limit indicated bravery and confidence, while a longer limit meant caution, all of which were valuable assets for any SeeD. But, a too short limit would indicate unnecessary cockiness or recklessness, while too long a limit would mean uncertainty, any of which were unsuitable for a SeeD.  
  
"Twenty minutes," Squall said after a few more moments of consideration. Short, but not recklessly so, and it still gave him time to handle any monsters on the way in and also to take his time fighting Ifrit.  
  
"Very well," the Faculty said in response, while the other took out a small stopwatch. The first Faculty stepped aside, allowing Squall and Quistis inside. "Good luck."  
  
-------------------  
  
Outside, the air had been moist and warm. Inside, it was dry. And hot. Squall immediately considered doffing his jacket.  
  
Only if it gets too hot, he determined, and advanced deeper into the Cavern.  
  
"My job is to support you in battle," Quistis remarked as the light from outside faded to darkness. "Everything else is up to you."  
  
Squall nodded and said nothing, advancing deeper into the cave. Up ahead, the darkness gave way to a harsh red and orange light, that of the lava flowing throughout the Cavern. Soon, they were on a long, winding stone walkway that descended deep into the center of the Cavern. Beneath them, the flowing lake of molten stone emitted intense heat. Squall could see monsters down below in the inferno, ignoring, even reveling in the heat. He figured a few more would be on the stone trail leading down to Ifrit, but nothing that would seriously slow him down.  
  
"You know, the boys often choke on this test when I come with them," Quistis remarked. "I guess my charm makes them nervous."  
  
Whatever, Squall thought at that. He wasn't impressed, and his cool demeanor let Quistis know that.  
  
"I'm just kidding!" she said a moment later when Squall didn't reply. "I'm just trying to keep you relaxed, that's all."  
  
She wasn't doing a good job then, Squall thought in reply. He was going up against a legendary Guardian Force, and Quistis was trying to keep him relaxed with little jokes? He shook his head at the silliness of that notion, and at Quistis's attempts to lighten things up.  
  
The cadet and instructor descended deeper into the heart of the cavern, keeping their eyes on the trail ahead for any threats. Up ahead, a creature floated around a stalagmite mound on edge of the stone walkway. It was large, about human-sized, and spherical. It featured short arms and flames on top of its round body, and diabolic, grinning face on the front.  
  
"Bomb," Squall remarked as soon as the monster became clear in the red haze. Not hesitating, he focused and cast a spell at the monster. A chunk of ice appeared overhead and then hurtled forward at the monster. It slammed into the Bomb's smiling face and shattered into a million pieces of tiny ice fragments, the cold magic exploding outwards and turning the raging heat of the Bomb's fires into dead cold. The Bomb dropped back onto the ground and rolled a few feet away before lying still, killed by Squall's Blizzard spell.  
  
Not bad, he thought, considering the Waters he had junctioned earlier to his magical power.  
  
With the Bomb dead before it could threaten them, the pair advanced deeper into the Cavern. The stone path began to wind and branch out from here, and the light only got brighter. Squall could clearly tell that the center of the Cavern was ahead, or at least their destination, since the walkway was only a short distance above the flowing lake of molten stone now.  
  
Squall's trained senses warned him as another Bomb suddenly hovered up from the lava below and flew towards them. At the same time, a second Bomb swooped out from around another stalagmite mound. The first bomb hurled a magical burst of flame at Squall. The fireball exploded and knocked him on his rear, conjuring up memories of Seifer's trick earlier that day. The other Bomb flew at Squall head on, only to be stopped by a cracking chain whip. The spherical monster turned its anger towards Quistis, who put her whip into its ugly face again.  
  
Squall stood up and replied to the first Bomb's Fire spell with his own Blizzard. As with the Bomb earlier in the Cavern, this one too took a large chunk of ice in the face, the cold magic dousing its fires and its life. The dead Bomb dropped down into the lava below.  
  
Qusitis's whip had gouged a few nasty holes into the remaining Bomb's hide, but the monster seemed only angrier. It prepared to cast a spell at her, when Quistis's whip wrapped around one of its stubby arms and yanked. Surprised, the Bomb stopped casting its spell long enough for Squall to arrive and bury the Revolver in its backside.  
  
"Ten minutes," Quistis said as they continued down the walkway a few moments later. By now the lava was so close to the stone path that they could have reached down and touched it - not that they would want to! Up ahead, the center of the Cavern and the source of the vast chamber's heat was near.  
  
"I guess I was right," Quistis admitted as they drew closer to Ifrit's fiery home. "Both you and Seifer are in a class of your own. You both have amazing strength and potential." Squall didn't reply to the compliment, focusing instead on the center of the Cavern. It seemed obvious that this was Ifrit's lair; a central area of stone with jagged stalagmite mounds rising up around a wide hole in the ground, which glowed with the sheer heat from deep below. The lava in the Cavern seemed to form from around the Guardian Force's home, flowing outwards like a hellish fountain. The whole place seemed eerie, as if the entire Cavern had been crafted by something, or someone, specifically for this challenge.  
  
"This is it," Quistis said from behind Squall. He glanced back at her, to see the instructor standing a safe distance away from the fiery hole. Her whip was coiled at her side, and she stood waiting. Squall nodded, knowing that she would not be actively participating in this battle, only being there to ensure that Ifrit would not inadvertenly kill him. Squall turned back to the hole, and threw his left hand up behind him, signaling to Quistis he would be alright even as his right hand drew out the Revolver.  
  
"You seem confident enough," she said with a grin, but the words fell dead a moment later, as the ground began shaking. Jets of yellow energy, fiery magic, shot out from the hole. Squall grasped his gunblade tightly. This was it!  
  
Chunks of rock and molten stone flew up from the hole, accompanied by more bursts of magic and a titanic roar. Then, something else rose out of the fiery gap, a massive and mighty creature, an entity of flame and wrath and destruction, poised to annihilate the tiny mortal below.  
  
Ifrit had come. 


	5. Trial by Fire

Chapter 4: Trial by Fire  
  
Ifrit's roar shuddered the very stone beneath Squall, the sonic waves sending ripples through the roiling lava flowing away from its home. Squall wisely backed away as Ifrit took up a perch on the edge of the fiery hole, his yellow eyes glowing with inner flame.  
  
The Guardian Force was huge, twice Squall's height and, if he were flesh and bone, would have weighed at least ten times Squall. He stood on thick, dog-like, heavily muscled legs. Ifrit's chest was massive, at least six feet wide, and was also heavily muscled. Also powerfully built were his thick shoulders, as wide around as Squall's chest, along with Ifrit's mighty biceps and forearms. His fingers and toes were tipped with black claws, and his hide was a dark brown, as if cooked by the hellish flames the Guardian Force commanded. His growling visage looked like that of a hell-spawned lion or panther, and a pair of huge, slender black horns rose from the top of his head and curved back, extending out nearly ten feet. The Guardian Force had long red hair that ran down his back, and also a short red beard around his jawline. Ifrit's eyes glowed yellow, like molten gold, and had no irises or pupils.  
  
The Guardian Force looked down on Squall, and a deep growl resonated within its throat.  
  
"YOU CHALLENGE ME?" a powerful voice spoke, resonating from Ifrit, yet his mouth did not move. Squall didn't answer verbally to the Guardian Force's question, instead only hefting his gunblade. A deep laugh boomed from the Guardian Force, and again, there was no movement of the mouth, save for a smile.  
  
Then, Ifrit's mouth opened and another titanic roar came forth, and even as the shout ended, he was airborne.  
  
"IMPUDENT HUMAN!" the GF thundered as he cocked a fist.  
  
Squall rolled forward as Ifrit came down, his fist shattering the stone where Squall had been standing moments ago. As the cadet came out of his roll, he spun around, and the Revolver slashed twice across Ifrit's backside, both times drawing a red line across the Guardian Force's brown hide. Heat burst from the wounds, as if the cuts had vented Ifrit's inner fires. The GF spun back towards Squall, attempting to backhand the cadet. He quickly backed away, but not without taking a clubbing blow on his left shoulder that spun him around that left his left side aching.  
  
Ifrit wasn't going easy on him, Squall realized. The GF could have killed an ordinary man with that single swing. Ifrit growled again and charged, his right leg coming forward in a snapping kick. Squall hopped back, then ducked and scooted forward underneath the leg, slashing upwards into the limb with the Revolver as he did so, and managing to fire off a shot that blasted the GF's leg. The blade and blast tore another reddish hole in Ifrit, and Squall felt the nearby temperature rise even higher as more magical heat energy flowed from Ifrit's torn body.  
  
The cadet skittered backwards, gunblade ready to attack again. He expected this would be a long battle of hit-and-run if he kept it up with the gunblade, but magic might even the odds.  
  
Then Squall noticed Ifrit's backside as the GF turned back to face him. The wounds he had cut into Ifrit's back were gone. Even as Squall watched, the gaping tear in Ifrit's leg was sealing up, the damage Squall had done seemingly reversing.  
  
What? Hyne, did Ifrit regenerate damage too?  
  
"He regenerates?" Squall called out to Quistis, glancing back at her.  
  
"No!" Quistis replied. "He's an avatar. He can't be killed by a human," she explained.  
  
"Then how do I beat him?!" Squall shouted back. Even as he asked the question, Ifrit had cocked an arm back as if he were throwing something underhanded. Squall as caught off-guard as the fireball blasted him.  
  
"Just fight him like you would anyone else!" Quistis responded as Squall fell back, but managed to hold his footing. "You can't kill him, but you can defeat him if you deal enough damage!"  
  
"Right," Squall replied. Easier said than done. He focused, calling up the magical energies of a Blizzard spell. A chunk of ice formed overhead and struck Ifrit hard, the cold magic sapping his fiery strength, a counter to Ifrit's Fire spell. Ifrit roared in pain and charged Squall, again leaping into the air. The cadet readied to leap out of his way as the GF went airborne again. Squall dove forward once more, dodging Ifrit's powerful fist and dealing out another slash across Ifrit's side in retaliation. Ifrit spun, and Squall expected another backhand, but none came. Instead, Ifrit once again swung his arm as if throwing underhanded, and a fireball blew up in Squall's face. The wily GF advanced right behind the spell, preparing to smash Squall with another mighty fist. The balled hand came in and slammed Squall in the chest, hurling him back with the force of a wrecking ball.  
  
He landed close to the fire pit, and rolled away from its heat, clambering back up to his feet even as Ifrit came at him again. Another mighty punch swooped in, but Squall wasn't there, instead ducking forward and under the GF's arm and slicing up into his armpit. Squall pulled the trigger, launching the explosive force into Ifrit's underarm, and the Guardian Force howled.  
  
Squall slashed across Ifrit's body again and managed to dive behind the Guardian Force before another powerful blow could send him flying. The GF spun around and faced Squall, respect apparent on its face.  
  
"HM! NOT BAD FOR A HUMAN," Ifrit remarked as his wounds sealed. Then, fire seemed to erupt in his palms as he clenched his fists tightly. Ifrit's arms then moved blurringly fast, in throwing motions, and small balls of flame shot at Squall. The cadet ducked under one, rolled forward to evade another, then smacked a third away with his gunblade. A fourth fireball caught Squall in the stomach and sent him back, but he was up in time to block a fifth and dodge a sixth. A seventh came in, which Squall ducked under.  
  
Damn, there was no way Squall could hold out against that barrage. Ifrit had the initiative, he was a lot stronger and tougher, had mastery over fire . . . .  
  
Therein Squall found the answer. Fire magic was directly opposed to ice magic. Either was devastating to the other. Squall closed his eyes tightly, reaching into his mind and touching one of the two entities that waited there, the one that controlled ice energy, the bane of fire magic.  
  
One, two, three more fireballs slammed into the cadet, but these were knocked aside each time as a pale blue shield formed in front of each attack, protecting Squall. Ifrit's glowing yellow eyes widened as he realized what Squall was doing.  
  
Then Squall became transparent, and in front of him, a large icicle shot out of the ground.  
  
The baking heat of the Fire Cavern was gone in an instant, replaced by an absolute, frigid cold. Inside the icicle, a figure moved. The shard of ice suddenly shattered, and standing there was a woman. She was beautiful and shapely, with blue skin. She had long yellow and blue hair, and her body was marked with patches of dark blue.  
  
"THEY HAVE SHIVA?!" Ifrit exclaimed, realizing the power of the ice Guardian Force. Shiva waved a hand over her head, and bluish-white energy formed there, the magical power gathering and strengthening. Then, Shiva thrust forward at Ifrit. A shockwave of frozen air blasted into Ifrit, the absolute low temperatures devastating the fire Guardian Force and freezing the surrounding air as it was swept away, creating a line of frozen icicles around the path of Shiva's attack. Shiva, her duty done, faded away, and the ice she had created shattered and disappeared.  
  
For the first time in the course of the battle, Ifrit seemed truly injured. The GF slumped slightly, but as Squall raised his gunblade, Ifrit straightened. He certainly wasn't done yet!  
  
Both of the Guardian Force's muscled arms shot up. In either hand formed a ball of magma from seemingly nowhere, and then the great GF let the fires loose, hurling both balls at Squall. The cadet had only a split- second to react, and he threw himself backwards, barely avoiding the roiling balls of lava, though he felt their intense heat easily enough as they struck the spot he'd been standing at.  
  
But the magma balls didn't stop with merely impacting; they exploded, a raging inferno that caught Squall off guard and hurled him back. He landed and rolled, feeling many scrapes and burns all across his body. All the minor injuries and blasts over the course of this battle were adding up, and Squall was feeling weaker. He couldn't keep up the battle at this rate.  
  
Ifrit really wasn't holding back, Squall thought. The cadet began to struggle to his feet, and as he stood up, Squall felt waves of revitalizing energy cascading up and down his body.  
  
"Only three minutes left, Squall!" warned Quistis from her supportive position. He glanced at Quistis and nodded his thanks, then turned back to Ifrit, ready for more. The fire Guardian Force had waited patiently for Quistis to heal Squall so he could resume the battle, as it had with all cadets it had faced before. Now, the GF stood ready as well, and as Squall leveled his gunblade, the Guardian Force charged.  
  
Squall answered the charge with one of his own, gunblade raised for his own strike. Squall's muscles tensed, and he prepared to leap aside from Ifrit's coming attack. Ifrit closed in, his fists erupting into flame.  
  
And then Ifrit stopped abruptly and leaped backwards. Squall was caught off guard by the clever GF's manuever, and almost didn't react in time as Ifrit sent more fireballs down at the cadet in mid-air. He ducked, weaved, dodged, and rolled, deflected one fireball away with his gunblade, and felt a number of near-misses sizzle past. Even as the fireballs fell and exploded around him, Squall spotted the GF as he landed in front of his fire pit. Ifrit hurled another salvo of the fireballs, but Squall rolled underneath them. He came out of his roll with his free hand moving. Around Ifrit there formed a solid globe of water, the liquid drowning and dousing Ifrit's flames. Ifrit broke free of the Water spell in time to take a chunk of ice in the face, courtesy of Squall's subsequent Blizzard spell.  
  
Ifrit's shoulders sagged slightly and he began panting hard, and Squall saw the GF must have been severely injured in that barrage. The Guardian Force was close to defeat, and thus, Squall readied the Revolver and charged. The Guardian Force straightened and roared defiantly, cocking a fist at Squall's coming attack. When the cadet was in range, he let fly, the fist flying down at Squall with devastating force.  
  
He hit only the stone where Squall had been standing as the cadet reversed his own momentum, repeating Ifrit's own trick right back on the Guardian Force. By the time Ifrit had even realized his error, the cadet had ducked back under the Guardian Force's outstretched arm and buried the Revolver in his chest. Ifrit tried to grab Squall, but his hands couldn't grasp the cadet, as he pulled the trigger on the gunblade repeatedly and blasted explosive shots into the Guardian Force's chest.  
  
Ifrit's massive body spasmed with each shot, and after nearly a half dozen blasts he pulled away from the unbeatable human cadet, tearing his blasted chest free of the gunblade. Even as Squall prepared to follow up, Ifrit dropped to one knee, gasping and clutching his wound.  
  
"YOU ARE STRONG, HUMAN," Ifrit said slowly. "INDEED, RARELY HAVE I FOUGHT A MORTAL THIS MIGHTY . . ." Ifrit's wound began to seal up, and the GF shakily rose to his feet, head bowed. The glow in his eyes diminished.  
  
"FOR ME TO LOSE TO A HUMAN . . . I MUST SERVE, AS THE ANCIENT RULES DICTATE. VERY WELL," Ifrit rumbled. The GF clenched his fist tightly, and hurled a small red stone at Squall, who deftly caught it. "I WILL JOIN YOU." With that, the Guardian Force's corporeal body erupted into golden flames that rapidly covered his entire form. Soon, the raging flames obscured the GF's appearance.  
  
Squall saluted Ifrit, slashing an "X" in the air with his weapon, and the Guardian Force vanished, the flames suddenly dissippating and then gone. He turned back to Quistis, his gunblade resting on his shoulder, and looked down at Ifrit's stone. He had done it. Ifrit was his!  
  
"Good job," Quistis said, clapping. "I don't recall ever seeing Ifrit quite so put to task. Most cadets need to be healed multiple times in that battle," she added. Squall nodded, and dropped his gunblade back to his side. Wordlessly, the pair left the inferno of the Fire Cavern, Ifrit in tow.  
  
All that was left now was the field exam . . . .  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------  
  
A little touch I added was Ifrit's speaking without moving his mouth. Gives him a more otherworldly aura, I think.  
  
Also, anyone catch Squall's victory animation? 


	6. The Exam

Chapter 5: The Exam  
  
The return to Garden was uneventful, save for another couple of Bite Bug attacks. A few spells and some gunblade blasts from Squall had solved that problem in short order.  
  
"Well done," Quistis said as they passed through the front gate. "We still have about an hour before the exam. Change into your uniform and meet in the first floor lobby, at the directory. And be prepared." With that, Quistis left, heading inside. Squall followed suit.  
  
The atmosphere inside Garden seemed different than when he had last left. There were fewer students in the halls, and those that were moved quickly, with purpose. The whole building seemed to be enshrouded in hushed anticipation, a tenseness that would only be brought on by the knowledge of a coming battle. Squall made his way quickly to his dorm and into his room.  
  
There, he changed into his cadet's uniform, a dark blue jacket with silver shoulders and a comfortable collar. He hadn't worn the jacket too often, preferring his own black leather one, but he was familiar with this outfit. He left his jacket open, exposing his muscle shirt, reloaded and checked his gunblade, checked his knives and equipment, and then reinspected the Revolver again. Squall had to be thorough now; he couldn't afford not to be.  
  
The coming battle . . . he'd heard rumors that this was an actual combat exam against real human targets. Squall wondered who their opponent was. Likely the Army of the Republic of Galbadia; SeeD was constantly hired to stop their assaults on neighboring nations.  
  
The triggering mechanism was in working order, along with the rotation mechanism, the compensators, and the actual gun mechanism that channeled the energy of the gublade's shots.  
  
That mechanism would blast the armored hides of monsters apart, and it would do the same to a human foe's armor. Squall looked into the etched lion on the blade's sides, and considered the coming engagement. It was very likely that this would be a human opponent they were up against, and that meant he was almost certianly going to take a human's life today.  
  
So be it.  
  
The inspection complete, he sheathed his gunblade and made his way back out to the front directory.  
  
-------------------  
  
"Squall, over here!" Quistis called, waving as soon as she had spotted him. She was once again clad in her SeeD uniform, and was holding a clipboard, looking over about ten or so cadets assembled around the directory, some chatting with their instructors or one another. He made his way over to Quistis, who continued as he came closer. "I'll be announcing the squad assignments for the exam now. Let's see . . . you'll be with . . ." She looked over her clipboard. "Zell Dincht. Quite a lively fellow."  
  
Zell? Squall was slightly unhappy at that bit of news. He recalled the muscular cadet from earlier that morning, desperate for hot dogs. Zell had been in Garden for a long time, and though he was an excellent, in not outright amazing, hand-to-hand fighter, Squall knew him well and didn't like the idea of being stuck with someone as aggressive and hot-tempered as Zell Dincht.  
  
"Lively?" Squall muttered. "He's just loud. Can't I switch members?"  
  
"I'm afraid that's not possible," Quistis replied with a shake of her head. "Random selection put you two together."  
  
Squall glanced over to his left to see the hyperactive Zell practicing his martial arts, as usual. Zell loosed right and left roundhouse punches at an imaginary foe, then spun on one behind him, loosing a powerful spinning kick, before planting a pair of left jabs.  
  
"Over here, Zell!" Quistis called to him, and he glanced up from his practice, stopped, and then did a perfect double back flip across the distance, executing a perfect landing with a very broad smile and a thumbs- up. He looked at Quistis, then to Squall standing next to her, and his eyes widened.  
  
"Whoa, I'm with you?!" he said excitedly, which was his usual tone for any situation. Zell Dincht quickly wiped off his gloved right hand on his uniform and held it out to Squall. The taciturn cadet didn't move, except to glance at Zell's hand, then he looked away, a clear indication he wasn't going to shake the offered hand. Zell slumped, realizing that one couldn't expect anything else out of Squall Leonhart. He quickly changed the subject to something that would get a reaction out of the stone student.  
  
"You don't get along with Seifer, do you?" the martial artist asked. At that, Squall did look up. "Heard he whooped you pretty bad this morning. Infirmary, scars, gunblades, y'know."  
  
"We weren't fighting," Squall clarified quickly. "We were training."  
  
"Bet you he doesn't think so," Zell responded, knowing Seifer almost as well as Squall himself did. "Look," Zell began, "Seifer's just being a pain in the ass. Why don't you ignore him?" Squall's eyes hardened. No one got it. He couldn't ignore Seifer.  
  
Quistis knew Squall's response to that bit of advice before he even said it.  
  
"That's-" Squall began to say.  
  
"None of your business," Quistis finished. Her remark caught both cadets' attention, and as they glanced over at her, she decided to deliver the bad news. "Ahem . . . Excuse me, but . . . That Seifer you're talking about . . . he's your squad leader."  
  
Squall cursed silently, while Zell's response was much more vocal.  
  
"SAY WHAT?!" he shouted, taken aback by the news.  
  
"It can't be changed," Quistis said apologetically. "Seifer! Are you here?" she called. As if on cue, Seifer appeared among the assembled students, Fujin and Raijin following him. That made up the whole Disciplinary Committee.  
  
Seifer apparently had forgotten to change into his uniform; he was the only cadet, in fact the only person present, not in uniform. He was still bedecked in his white coat, vest, and pants. Apparently, Garden's style wasn't good enough for him.  
  
"You're the squad leader," Quistis informed Seifer, although Squall could tell she didn't enjoy the prospect. Well, good. He didn't either. "Good luck to you," Quistis added.  
  
"Instructor," Seifer replied, in an almost condescending tone, much to Quistis' ire. "I hate it when people wish me luck." Both Fujin and Raijin nodded. "Save those words for a bad student that needs them," he advised.  
  
"Okay then," Quistis responded, smiling sweetly. She'd had enough of this pompous attitude. " . . . Good luck, Seifer."  
  
It was satisfying to see Seifer's response. His eyes widened, and then narrowed dangerously at the Instructor.  
  
"Add Instructor Trepe to the list," he muttered quietly.  
  
"Well then," Quistis said, satisfied that Seifer was in his place. "You'll all be assigned to Squad B. I'll be the instructor in charge. Remember, teamwork is of the utmost importance. Let's get through this exam people!"  
  
"Listen up!" Seifer said to Zell and Squall, grinning. He glanced back over at Quistis. "Teamwork means staying out of my way! It's a Squad B rule! Don't you forget it!"  
  
Quistis shook her head at Seifer's declaration, while Zell veritably trembled in anger at his arrogance. Squall was more ambivalant.  
  
"Whatever," he muttered dismissively with a shrug.  
  
"Everyone here?" came a call from the stairs. The assembled group turned to see Headmaster Cid Kramer himself descending the stairs leading to the elevators.  
  
Cid was a short, slightly overweight man in his early fifties, with brown, slightly graying hair, gray eyes, and large glasses. He featured something resembling a beard on his chin and wore a reddish vest, white business shirt, a green tie, and some old brown pants. He smiled as he approached his cadets, and there was something in his eyes - pride perhaps - in his cadets. The Headmaster was prone to gesturing theatrically as well.  
  
Quistis made room for him in front of the directory, and Cid stood there for a moment, surveying his students, hands clasped behind his back.  
  
"It's been a while, everyone," he began, still smiling. "How's everyone doing? This exam will involve twelve members from Squads A through D." Apparently, that was as far into small talk as Cid was going to go. "You will be proceeding to a real battlefield. Obviously, the battles are for real." One of Cid's hands came out from behind his back, waving in the air as he spoke, as if he were holding something.  
  
"Life and death," Cid said solemnly, his smile fading. "Victory and defeat, honor . . . and disgrace. Each of these go hand-in-hand. There's only one way, or the other."  
  
Cid brought his hand back behind his back, and bent over, looking each and every cadet in the eye.  
  
"How 'bout it?" Cid challenged. "Are you still up for it?"  
  
The Headmaster straightened.  
  
"You will be accompanied by nine SeeD members," he informed the cadets. "Should you fail, they will get the job done. They always do." Cid then smiled again, holding his hands out wide. "Well, that's one less worry on your mind."  
  
Cid gestured to a group of calm, uniformed individuals, bedecked in battle dress and gear, standing at attention at the top of the stairway behind him. "The pride of Balamb Garden! The elite mercenary force, SeeD! Learn from them, obey their commands, and accomplish the mission." Cid bent over once more, again giving each of the cadets a look in the eye.  
  
"Prove yourself worthy of becoming a member of SeeD." Cid stood straight once again, and nodded at the cadets.  
  
"Best of luck."  
  
Quistis turned to the assembled cadets.  
  
"Let's get a move-on!" she shouted, and the students began to file out, some running, others moving at a steady pace. Seifer joined them at a regal pace, as would be expected from him. Cid stepped forward and tapped Squall on the shoulder as he too, turned to move out.  
  
"We've yet to have a gunblade specialist in SeeD," Cid said quietly. "That's why I hope you and Seifer will be joining us."  
  
"I'll do my best, sir," Squall responded, saluting.  
  
"Good. Now, get moving." Squall nodded and hurried to join the other cadets. Quistis began to move out too, but Cid stopped her as well.  
  
"How was his Fire Cavern test?" he asked. "How did Ifrit treat him?" Quistis shook her head, smiling in disbelief. Ifrit always judged a cadet who challenged him, using his ages-old wisdom to determine how powerful the student was. Thus, Ifrit knew to never throw something at a cadet that could potentially be lethal. Conversely, if Ifrit felt an opponent was strong, he would use much more powerful and aggressive attacks on them, and would not surrender until he had taken much more damage.  
  
"He threw stuff at Squall that I never saw on my test," she admitted. "And Ifrit didn't give in until he'd taken at least twice the punishment most cadets have handed out. He must have judged Squall to be tremendously strong."  
  
"I see," Cid said, nodding. "Only Seifer has ever challenged Ifrit that ferociously. Squall will definitely be part of SeeD then."  
  
"That's what you also said about Seifer," Quistis reminded.  
  
"I know. Maybe he'll do better on this exam than the last two." That could have been called wishful thinking on Cid's part. Seifer seemed to have a chronic disrespect for authority, which was combined with an overblown ego and excessive pride. His first exam had been failed because he had indiscriminately used GF summons, nearly killing civilians multiple times. His second mission had been a failure due to disrespect for his squad captain, insubordination, and general unruliness, not to mention open insults towards their client, who was to be escorted through hostile territory.  
  
"Command might teach him responsibility," Cid finished hopefully.  
  
"We can only hope," Quistis replied with a nod, and with that, she headed off to join the assembling cadets in the garage.  
  
-------------------  
  
Garden had been tense, and so was the atmosphere inside the armored car as it drove towards the docks in Balamb. Zell sat beside Squall in the rear passenger compartment, obviously both nervous and psyched up as well. Quistis sat quietly across from Zell, watching her students. Seifer leaned back calmly, inspecting his gunblade and the handgun magazines loaded with ammunition inside his coat pockets. Squall sat across from Seifer, not looking at anyone, but bent over with his arms on his knees, staring at the floor.  
  
Squall knew Seifer was switching his gaze alternately from Hyperion's mechanisms to the top of his head, but again, Seifer said nothing. He finished loading and checking his weapon, and then slid it into his sheath. That done, Seifer switched to full time glaring at Squall's head.  
  
Zell had been watching Seifer and his gunblade, and though he preferred using his fists and hand-to-hand combat, he couldn't help but be intrigued by others' weapons. The martial artist glanced at Squall and the weapon in his scabbard beside him.  
  
"Yo, Squall, show me your gunblade, will ya?" he asked like a little kid.  
  
I don't think so, Squall thought, and instead considered the coming engagement. Definitely human opponents. Which meant they were certain to kill people today. Humans were smarter than monsters, making them many times more dangerous . . .  
  
"Come on, man," Zell pleaded, and Squall ignored. Zell would get the idea, eventually. At least, Squall hoped he would.  
  
"Just a peek!" Zell pleaded again, using his hands to indicate how much he wanted to see. When Squall still didn't reply, Zell did finally get it. "Tch, fine," Zell muttered, sounding dejected. "Yeah, yeah . . . Why you bein' so selfish?! Scroooge!"  
  
Shut up, Zell, Squall thought. He sounded like a junior classman. Zell apparently was getting frustrated at Squall's continued silence.  
  
"Why don't you say something?" he asked, intent on getting Squall to talk about something, anything. "W-What's on your mind?"  
  
"Nothing," both Squall and Quistis said at the same time. Squall looked up at his instructor, who was stifling a fit of laughter, and gave her an icy look. She finally managed to stop, and he returned to his study of the vehicle's floor.  
  
Actual battle . . . something he'd been training for for years. He'd fought humans, had taken down most, if not all, of the other cadets during nonlethal matches in the Training Room, but actual fighting against real, human foes, where you could be truly hurt or killed by your foes . . .  
  
Squall wasn't new to it. He'd stared death in the eyes before, be it a T-rexaur, or a school of Fasticolans, or an enormous number of Grats, or even in Seifer's at times insane face. He'd broken an arm, had taken a bullet in the back from friendly fire in the Training Center, had even been caught in the jaws of a T-Rexaur, nearly killed if it weren't for a backup knife in the monster's eye.  
  
And he'd killed before. And today, he'd kill again. If an enemy threatened his life, that of his comrades, or any innocents, Squall's gunblade would strike with no remorse. Such was what he had been trained for all his life; such was his job.  
  
The long silence seemed to have gotten to Zell. Bored, he hopped to his feet, tossing punches at an unseen opponent. He bounced around, fists pumping, striking rapidly. Squall didn't mind, as long as Zell didn't bother him anymore.  
  
"Stop that," Seifer said after a couple of minutes of Zell's shadow- boxing. "It's annoying." Zell did stop, to glare at Seifer, who put on a wide, diabolic smile, and leaned forward in his seat.  
  
"Chicken-wuss," he taunted.  
  
"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!" Zell shouted back, and from the furious look on his face and the way Zell's muscles trembled, Squall expected him to beat Seifer to a pulp right there.  
  
Well, he would deserve it, Squall considered. He edged away, giving Zell a clear path to Seifer if he actually did choose to attack him.  
  
While Zell was enraged, Seifer just seemed amused, leaning back and laughing quietly to himself at Zell's response. Of course, this just got Zell angrier.  
  
"I'm gonna beat your ass, you pompous-" Zell threatened.  
  
"Knock it off!" Quistis shouted, standing up. Both Seifer and Zell glanced her way, and reluctantly, Zell sat down, though Seifer still wore a smirk.  
  
The vehicle drove on for some time, and silence once again reigned in the passenger compartment. Squall thought about his encounter with Seifer inside the Training Center, and his words about cheating in combat. Something he'd remember. That, in turn, made Squall remember their duel that morning, and his self-styled rival's own dirty tactics. And that, in its own right, led Squall to remember when he woke up in the Infirmary.  
  
And the Infirmary reminded Squall of something else that had been nagging him in the back of his mind. That girl . . . who was she? Where did she come from? "Squall, so we meet again"? What had that meant? Did he know her? He wondered if someone else had seen her. Dr. Kadowaki had left, but Quistis had come in moments later . . . .  
  
". . . Instructor," Squall asked, looking up at Quistis. His use of words without prompting by others was quite unusual for everyone gathered in the vehicle, so his question attracted the curious stares of both Seifer and Zell, as well as Quistis. "Who was that girl in the Infirmary this morning?"  
  
Quistis leaned back, a thoughtful expression on her face.  
  
"Was there someone there? I don't remember," she answered. "Is there a problem?"  
  
"No . . ." Squall said immediately, wondering if he'd hallucinated the whole incident. He looked back down at the floor. "Not really . . ."  
  
Apparently, his quick response had been misunderstood by Seifer, who began laughing quietly to himself.  
  
Squall, interested in a girl? I had taken him long enough!  
  
"This is great . . ." he muttered. "I have Chicken-wuss and a guy who just reached puberty in my squad . . ."  
  
From his seat, Zell growled and sent Seifer a less than complimentary gesture.  
  
-------------------  
  
The streets of the seaside town of Balamb were clear, meaning that the Garden vehicle moved quickly through the streets, past the large, beautiful hotel that overlooked the docks, and down to the harbor within a matter of minutes. There, a number of Garden vessels waited to send the SeeDs and cadets to war.  
  
The vehicle pulled to a stop, the door slid open, and the trio of cadets piled out. Squall paused to look at the assembled SeeDs on the docks and at the small fleet of vessels floating out at sea.  
  
"So that's the vessel?" Squall asked, looking over Balamb Garden's naval troop transports, the NT-33 Salamanders. The NT-33 Salamander was long and sleek, painted a deep blue, and outfitted with armored plating and sliding doors on the front for deploying infantry forces. On top, there was a hatch leading to an upper observation post, complete with a high-caliber machinegun, which featured its own targeting computer, allowing for fire by someone manning the position or for remote control from the cockpit. The vessel seemed very organic, with smooth lines and curves. The topside post and its machinegun seemed to almost have grown out of the Salamander instead of being built.  
  
"Ain't no turning back now," Seifer said to Squall as he came up behind him. The larger cadet glanced at Squall, and he could see a mixture of determination, tenseness, and a bit of anxiety on his face. "Huh?" Seifer said, noticing Squall looking at him. "You scared too?"  
  
Squall never got a chance to respond before a SeeD ran over to the group.  
  
"Hey! You guys are the last! Hurry up and get in!"  
  
Seifer turned back to Squall, and then looked away, towards the vessel.  
  
"Don't disappoint me now," he ordered, and then ran towards the vessel.  
  
What? Disappoint? Squall wasn't sure what Seifer meant with that, but he suspected that the cadet was reminding Squall of their talk in the Training Center.  
  
"Come on, move it!" Quistis shouted as she climbed out after them, interrupting Squall's wondering. He quickly nodded at her order and scrambled for the vessel. He ducked his head as he went through the side entrance, and descended into the Salamander's cramped interior. He took the seat nearest to the entrance.  
  
The room was a combination armory, passenger compartment, and briefing room, all compacted down into the small vessel, which necessarily economized on space. On the far wall was a large screen, obviously for the briefing purposes. On either side of the compartment were the seats, a low table separating them. On this table, Squall noted, were a number of stones, similar to the magic stone fragments he had harvested earlier, but more . . . complete, was perhaps the proper word.  
  
Seifer and Zell plopped themselves down on seats, Zell still looking nervous and psyched up, while Seifer just seemed bored. He leaned back in his spot, watching the wall blankly and propping his feet up on the table, scattering a few of the magic stones. Quistis remained standing.  
  
Squall heard the hatch close, and the engines fired up. Within moments the vessel was in motion, flying across the ocean towards their destination, wherever that was.  
  
Squall thought he heard someone talking to the pilot, then the hatch leading to the cockpit swung open and into the room stepped an attractive woman clad in a SeeD uniform. Her name was Xu, and she was a familiar enough sight to anyone who worked at or attended Garden.  
  
Cid's second in command and personal assistant, Xu was a cool, confident brunette in her mid-twenties who worked hard at her job. She'd been with Garden for a very long time, and was a close friend of Quistis's. Rumor had it Xu wasn't from around the Balamb region, neither was she from any of the western nations or the reclusive country of Esthar, to the east. She certainly didn't look native; her face was slender and gently angled, her eyes were very dark - her whole general appearance hinted at being foreign.  
  
"Hi, Quistis," Xu said with a smile as she stepped into the briefing room. The SeeD turned to face Squad B.  
  
"These are the members of Squad B," Quistis said, gesturing to the group. Zell hopped up onto his feet, while Squall rose more slowly. Seifer remained seated.  
  
"Nice to meet ya!" Zell said eagerly, saluting.  
  
"Pleased to meet you," Squall added with his own salute, getting the formalities out of the way. Xu nodded at both of them, then looked over at Seifer, who had turned his head to face her.  
  
"Seifer," Xu began with a smile, her tone sounding somewhat sarcastic and amused. "How many times has it been now?"  
  
"Oh, I just love these exams," Seifer responded, both his voice and his grin dripping with sarcasm. Introductions out of the way, Xu stepped past Zell in the cramped compartment and stood by the screen.  
  
"Be seated," she ordered, tapping a button by the screen. "I'll explain the current situation and the mission."  
  
Squall settled back in his chair and listened intently. If there was one thing that had been drilled into him during his years at Garden, it was that one had to listen when a lecture or briefing was given. The instructors had been very, very firm about that; not paying attention was severely punished.  
  
"Our client for this mission is the Dollet Dukedom Parliament," Xu began.  
  
Dollet. One of the western nations, a relatively minor coastal nation, specialized in shipping and transportation. Dollet's capital, bearing the same name, was the largest coastal city in the west, and was home to a large navy that matched the naval corps of the Dukedom's much larger neighbor, the Republic of Galbadia. Dollet was relatively peaceful, though it had been rocked by war over the years. The nation had once been a vast empire, dominating the entire eastern and northern regions of the western continent, until war with Galbadia had reduced it to barely a quarter of its original size.  
  
"A request for SeeD was made eighteen hours ago," Xu continued to explain. On the screen, a map of Dollet's capital appeared. "Dollet has been under attack by the Galbadian Army since approximately seventy-two hours ago. Galbadian units advanced through the mountains west of the capital and assaulted the city." The map showed a collection of dots, indicating Dollet's units. The Dollet troops were shown falling back, mostly moving north towards the mountains, with a few moving south towards the beaches.  
  
"Forty-nine hours into the battle, Dollet abandoned the majority of their positions in the inner city," Xu said. "Currently they have retreated into the mountains and are reorganizing their troops, preparing for a counter-offensive. Scattered units are still holding out inside the city itself, and a moderately-sized force is still fighting on the beaches, cut off from the mountains. That's the current status. Now, onto the mission objective." Xu tapped a button, and the map zoomed into the mountains west of the city. A large blue arrow, indicating the Galbadian forces, was shown moving through the mountains. "According to our reports, the Galbadian army is mopping up the Dollet troops in the mountain region. The majority of their troops are in the west, leaving the city open to counterattack." The map then zoomed out to show a red line leading from Balamb to Dollet; the path Squall knew the SeeDs and candidates were taking.  
  
"We are to make a landing at Lapin Beach, and to link up with Dollet forces on the beaches and still inside the city. We will then eliminate the Galbadian army remaining inside the city and liberate it A.S.A.P." The map switched to show the mountain region again, with red semicircles indicating projected SeeD forces, right in the path of Galbadian blue arrows. "Afterwards, SeeD members and Dollet troops from within the city and the beaches will intercept any Galbadian forces attempting to make their way into the city from the mountain region. Hopefully, we will be able to destabilize the Galbadian forces long enough to allow the Dollet forces to counterattack from the mountains and inside the city, forcing the Galbadian army to withdraw." With that, the map vanished and the screen switched off.  
  
"So," Seifer asked, still seeming uncertian about his coming role. "What are we supposed to do?"  
  
"After linking up with Dollet's troops, SeeD cadets are to liberate the city from the Galbadian army and to hold it in case of assault," Xu explained.  
  
"Sounds important!" Zell said, excited.  
  
"Sounds boring," Seifer shot back, more to deflate Zell than due to any actual boredom involved with the job. Liberating the city meant lots of combat, something Seifer would certainly relish.  
  
"So, what you're saying," Seifer continued, smiling, "is that we do all the little, dirty work. Urban warfare, assaults, face-to-face combat? No silly escort mission like my last exam?" Xu didn't respond directly to Seifer's question, instead continuing with the briefing.  
  
"It hardly needs to be said," she continued. "But the order to withdraw takes priority. Do not forget. Also, you will be assigned higher level magic than normal for this mission." Xu gestured to the stones on the table. "Refine those stones into whatever magic you think you will need. But remember, this test will focus also on your judgment and weapons skills. Only use magic-"  
  
"-when we need to, yeah, yeah," Seifer responded, snatching up a handful of the stones. "Magic is limited and necessary for junctioning, we all know, it's not like we haven't been listening to the instructors for the last few years. I've done this exam twice already, I don't need the lecture a third time."  
  
"I thought you would, Seifer," Xu responded, smiling. "You do seem to forget other important things concerning missions. Which is, of course, why this is your third exam." Seifer scowled at Xu's remark but said nothing. She stepped past them and walked into the cockpit, checked with the pilot, and then came back a second later.  
  
"We're almost there," Xu said. "We anticipate a battle as soon as we disembark. Just be prepared." With that, Xu left the room, headed up the ladder leading to the topside machinegun post.  
  
So, Squall considered, Galbadia was the enemy. Galbadia was a powerful country, armed with cutting-edge technology and weaponry, along with a seemingly limitless number of troops. Although these troops were definately no match for SeeDs; what the intervening SeeD force lacked in numbers they would more than make up for in skills, training and the edge presented by their Guardian Forces.  
  
While Squall had been musing over the mission, Quistis was passing out to each member of Squad B pictures and maps of Dollet, along with clear transparencies that showed the details of the areas and objectives. Squall made note of Dollet's streets, buildings, and docks, as well as the central plaza, strategic bridges crossing ravines, important mountain trails, even a disused tower of some kind up on the cliffs overlooking the city.  
  
"My first real battle," Zell said, sounding excited, eager, and slightly anxious. "I'm getting pretty nervous . . ."  
  
"Better not piss in your pants," Seifer shot at him.  
  
"You talking to me?" Zell responded. Seifer just laughed at him. "Bastard," the martial artist muttered under his breath.  
  
"Okay, enough talk," Quistis said, tired of their typical butting of heads. "We'll be landing pretty soon. Get ready."  
  
"Roger," Zell said, still glaring at Seifer.  
  
"Alright," Squall said blankly, pocketing several of the magic stones, and beginning to refine a few more. He focused the refining on powerful Thundara spells. Galbadia liked to use mechanized weaponry; lightning was best against machines.  
  
"Yeah, yeah," Seifer muttered. He glanced over at Squall. "Squall, go see what's going on outside. Besides, we need someone manning the gun turret."  
  
For an instant, Squall considered refusing his rival's order, but pride didn't win out over pragmatism. Disobeying his captain's order would be very bad for this exam.  
  
" . . . Okay," Squall said after a moment.  
  
"Good," Seifer replied, sounding triumphant as Squall stood and walked out of the compartment. "Because it's MY order."  
  
-------------------  
  
Xu was still up in the topside machinegun post when Squall went up there. She stepped aside and gave the taciturn cadet some room, and he leaned against the guardrail, watching the ocean fly past. The salty air whipped past both cadet and SeeD, and sent both of their hair fluttering in the wind. The ocean looked like a sea of gold, the colors cast by the dipping sun to the west. To either side of the vessel were the remaining nine Salamanders, cutting through the waters effortlessly.  
  
"Seifer send you up?" Xu asked, to which Squall nodded. "Figures. He likes flexing his muscles." Squall remained silent. They stood there for a while, neither speaking.  
  
Finally, Xu broke the silence again.  
  
"You ready for this?" she asked, and Squall nodded once more. "Real battle . . . I remember my exam . . ." she glanced over at Squall, who stood quietly, not even seeming to pay attention to her.  
  
"You ready to kill again?" Xu asked.  
  
"It's my job," Squall responded cooly. "Been practicing to kill for twelve years. You know the saying. Drills are just bloodless combat . . ."  
  
" . . . and combat is just a bloody drill," Xu finished. "I suppose that explained your first kill." Squall nodded. "You still remember it?"  
  
"Hard to forget," Squall replied. "The blood on your hands never washes away. Not completely, at least. But I'm not sorry for it."  
  
"It was you or them," Xu responded, nodding. "At least you and Seifer experienced it early, as opposed to most cadets . . ." Xu trailed off as a dark line appeared on the horizon.  
  
"Dollet's ahead," she said. "Better head down below." With that, Xu clambered down the ladder, leaving Squall alone, manning the gun turret.  
  
Reaching down to his hip, Squall drew the Revolver and inspected it one last time, then checked over his backup weapons and other equipment. With that done, he glanced back up to see Dollet much larger in the distance. Squall quickly dug out one of the pictures, one of Dollet's coast, and overlaid the transparency, checking to see how they would approach. The vessel was right on target, judging by the red line.  
  
Looking up from the paper, Squall saw flashes of artillery shells and explosions, and distant figures on the beach, scurrying and fighting. Dollet's soldiers. If the vessels kept their course, they'd be ending up right in the middle of that war zone.  
  
But, Squall reminded himself, that was their job. Fierce resolve stamped itself on his face, and he grasped the handle of his gunblade. The moment was at hand, the exam, the true test of his mettle and worth as a SeeD. The culmination of all his training and studies. The moment of judgment.  
  
It was time for war.  
  
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If anyone's wondering, I changed the briefing around a bit. After all, there was no explanation as to why there were still Dollet troops on the beaches when they're supposed to be in the mountains...  
  
Also, I have added a bit more to Squall's back story. Later chapters may cover things I hinted at earlier, especially Squall's first human kill. 


	7. The Battle of Dollet

Chapter 6: The Battle of Dollet  
  
"Brace yourself!" the pilot shouted from his position in the cockpit. Squall was almost knocked off his feet as the vessel sped up, then the ship suddenly shuddered as it blasted through some random obstacle. Squad B could hear chunks of stone or concrete scrape against the hull, and the Salamander went flying up into the air before splashing back down into the water.  
  
"This guy nuts?!" Zell shouted, even as the vessel began to slow down.  
  
"We're about to land!" the pilot shouted. "Prepare to disembark!" As one, Squall, Seifer, and Quistis drew their weapons. Then, the vessel slowed down and came to a stop, sliding onto the beach. In front of Squad B, the door opened, three panels spreading outwards like a blossoming flower, one up, and one to either side, while a landing ramp dropped down into the sand.  
  
"Go, go!" Quistis shouted, and the squad ran out onto the beach. Immediately, Squall spotted several squads of olive-clad Dollet troopers ahead, charging towards a machinegun nest that was spraying gunfire at a group of SeeD vessels further down the beach. Two of the soldiers hurled grenades and the nest blew apart. With the nest eliminated, a group of SeeDs quickly advanced, linking up with the allied troops. Squall spotted more SeeDs and cadets moving out. It seemed Squad B was the last to have landed.  
  
"Hurry!" Quistis shouted as Xu ran past her, joining with a combined group of SeeDs and Dollet troops. "Your objective is to secure the Central Square. SeeD cadet support will be behind you, and Dollet forces will be there as soon as possible to back you up. We expect Galbadian units to come through there if they counterattack us. Hold it until reinforcements arrive."  
  
Squall nodded. The Square was the central hub of Dollet's streets, making it a critical location. He glanced back at Seifer, who turned slowly to face the city.  
  
"Let's move out," the order came, and Seifer led the charge up Lapin Beach.  
  
Lapin Beach probably would have been beautiful if it weren't for the smoke, fires, and dead bodies littering its length, with craters dotting the sands. Something exploded to the right as the squad continued to advance. Up ahead, Squall could see another cadet squad, their support, obviously, crouched by a staircase leading up from the beach to the city streets. The support squad seemed to be examining the wall next to the staircase, one rummaging through an access panel. Seifer charged up the stairway, which lead to a street that passed under a pair of archways. The street extended straight ahead, but where they had come up it also turned away to the right. Squad B couldn't advance down the right path, as it was blocked by a gaping hole from an artillery blast and the burning remains of a vehicle.  
  
Seifer began to advance down the street ahead when he spotted something and fell back. He held up two fingers to his comrades behind him, and ducked around the corner of the building around which the street turned. Squall quickly grabbed Zell and pulled him to the side behind Seifer, understanding the signal and Seifer's movement to ambush. A moment later, a pair of Galbadian soldiers came charging down the street and past the hiding cadets.  
  
The Galbadians were clad in combat uniforms and armor, consisting of a blue uniform, along with steel armor over their chest, shoulders, forearms, and shins, black boots and gloves. Each soldier wore a steel-gray helmet that covered the entire head, excepting the mouth, nose, and chin. The helmet had no clear visor or goggles, instead featuring a small trio of red sensors on the front over the soldiers' eyes that gave them full night, thermal, and electro-magnetic vision, as well as normal vision. Around their waists they wore belts with items and a few grenades. Their shoulder armor proudly displayed the white Galbadian insignia. Both soldiers carried steel swords with saber-like handguards, and also had rifles slung over their shoulders, standard issue weapons for Galbadian soldiers.  
  
The soldiers spotted the waiting cadets too late, one spinning to face them and opening his mouth in surprise.  
  
"Huh?" he asked in confusion as Seifer leaped upon him. The man raised his sword up in time to block an overhead swipe, but Seifer broke off and spun around low, sweeping Hyperion up under the soldier's sword, the blade slicing up into his chest, cleaving through the armor.  
  
"Dollet reinforcements?!" The other cried in shock as he fell back, and Squall and Zell advanced towards him. The man set his teeth and readied his sword behind him. As Squall advanced, the man suddenly swept his blade forward, and a blast of fire shot out at the cadet. Squall deflected the fireball, then the man's sword as he attacked, hacking down at Squall's face. Steel met steel inches in front of Squall's nose.  
  
Squall countered, slashing his gunblade low, forcing the Galbadian back. Before either could move to continue the battle, Zell came up beside Squall and closed in on the Galbadian. The martial artist struck with a single, quick blow, a flying roundhouse kick that landed a solid blow against the soldier's temple. There was a wet crunch of shattered vertebrae, and the force of the impact sent the soldier flying away with its Guardian Force-enhanced strength.  
  
The area secured, Seifer gestured down the street.  
  
"Come on!" He charged ahead, not waiting for either of his companions to follow. Squall heard the sound of feet clanging on the staircase behind them, and spun to face whoever was there, gunblade ready in case they were more Galbadians.  
  
He lowered the blade when he saw that they were just the SeeD cadet support. Immediately, they looked down and around, examining the nearby phone and HD cable lines.  
  
"There should be an info-net cable around here somewhere . . ." the cadet remarked.  
  
"Whatcha looking for?" Zell asked the cadets.  
  
"Info-net cables, so we can hack into the Dollet mainframe, or at least get some intelligence," another cadet replied. "We gotta do what we can without the use of radio waves!"  
  
"So, unlike you guys, we use our heads!" the first cadet said, tapping his temple and smiling superiorly.  
  
"Backup duty," Squall muttered, shaking his head. He had never liked the idea of being support. "Sounds boring."  
  
"Yeah!" Zell shouted, agreeing. "We're going to be the heroes on the front line!"  
  
"Yeesh," the second cadet muttered, shaking his head. "All you meatheads are the same, flexing your muscles and waving your swords. Get to your station, will ya?" Squall nodded, realizing they'd waited too long, and moved out down the street. Seifer was waiting for them, and frowned at their delay.  
  
"Hurry your asses up! Squad C is up ahead!" he ordered before resuming the charge.  
  
Squad B continued advancing, alert for an ambush. They passed numerous shops and stores, and were surprised this area hadn't been as badly hit as the other sections of Dollet. It was as if no one had used these streets during the battle. There was no one out on the streets now, not even any dead bodies. Squad B certainly didn't encounter any threats as they advanced towards the Central Square. The streets were eerily empty.  
  
"Where the hell are they?" Squall asked, looking around. "Xu said there were more Galbadians inside the city, but there aren't any here." Seifer shook his head unhappily.  
  
"Just our luck, we got the route with the fewest enemies," he hissed. "The Galbadians are probably all over on the other side of the city, fighting the rest of the SeeD force." Seifer and the rest of the squad paused in front of a tavern, featuring a neon sign that read "The Shining Bomber" above its door. "They get to have all the fun while we're stuck on the back streets!"  
  
"I'm fine with that," Squall responded, shrugging. "As long as we get done with this exam." Seifer snorted but said nothing. Then, the captain froze. He quickly looked up, Hyperion rising into a ready position.  
  
Squall followed his gaze and spotted a squad of Galbadians directly overhead, standing on a walkway that led from the tavern's second floor to across the street. Already the Galbadians had spotted the cadets, and more than half of them drew swords and leaped down to the attack. The remaining soldiers unslung their rifles and pointed them down at the cadets below.  
  
Two of the dropping men didn't make down unscathed, as Seifer slashed one open before he'd even hit the ground. The other man was surprised as Zell ducked right beneath him and grabbed one of his legs. The martial artist spun, redirecting the momentum of his opponent's fall and hurling him like a rag doll through the glass window of another shop.  
  
Squall blocked a dropping slash aimed for his head, and his left foot shot out in a snap-kick that caught the Galbadian in the stomach. As his opponent stepped back, knocked off balance by the kick, Squall sent the Revolver across to block another slash from a second foe, and then sliced across with his gunblade, the blade tearing through the first man's chest armor and biting at his lungs. Squall spun to face his other foe, in time to see two more enemies charging after Seifer, and another pair of soldiers going after Zell. And there were still at least three or four more men above with rifles aimed down at them. The odds didn't seem that great.  
  
That was, they weren't great for the Galbadians.  
  
Squall's single opponent came in with a slash, which he quickly blocked and countered. A wide, arcing cut with the Revolver knocked the Galbadian's blocking sword aside, and Squall came in right behind the opening that had presented. The cadet slammed his body, shoulder-first, into the enemy soldier, hurling him back and down. He kicked the prone Galbadian in the stomach so hard he went rolling down the street, coming to a stop about fifteen feet away, no longer interested in combat, or even in standing up. The cadet did not forget about about the armed men above, and now that he was no longer engaged in close combat, Squall knew he was a clear target.  
  
Seifer was fast and cunning, and his two foes found their blades couldn't get past the cadet's defenses, and could barely stop his own counters. Inevitably, one of them was knocked off-balance by one of Seifer's strikes, and then Hyperion drove home.  
  
The other soldier backed away quickly as the highly-skilled cadet came in at him, only to take the blade of the Revolver in his back. Squall grabbed the dying soldier's armor and spun him around with one hand, using his GF-enhanced strength to easily prop the soldier up as he ducked under the body, putting the man between him and his foes above. And it was just in time too, as bullets struck Squall's impromptu shield. Seifer, meanwhile, took a more direct approach to evading the enemy bullets, ducking under the walkway and getting out of his enemies' line of fire.  
  
Zell's opponents came in with wide grins, expecting to take out their unarmed foe easily. The grins vanished when Zell ducked under the first slash, grabbed that man's extended arm with his right hand, and slammed his left fist into the soldier's elbow, shattering it. The unfortunate Galbadian cried out in pain and dropped his sword. The second soldier came in, sword slashing, and Zell pulled Squall's trick, spinning his first foe into the path of his second, using the man's body as a shield. The second soldier's sword buried into the first man's back, to both Galbadians' shock.  
  
The second soldier spent a moment too long gaping at what he'd done, and even as he was drawing his sword free, Seifer sent a spell his way, a fireball exploding and blasting the remaining Galbadian to the ground, leaving him badly burned and in no condition to fight.  
  
Squall, still holding his human shield, dropped the Revolver and focused. His free hand gestured towards the Galbadian snipers, and a mighty lightning bolt blasted one of the quartet away. The other soldiers were surprised by Squall's magical fury, and hesitated for a brief moment as Squall tossed his human shield aside, snatched up his gunblade, and dove underneath the walkway.  
  
"Did you see that?" one of the soldiers said in shock, looking at his dead comrade.  
  
"SeeDs!" another soldier said, realizing who their foes were. "Elite forces from Garden!" he leveled his rifle at Zell, the only cadet still out in the open. Zell spotted the man and dove under the walkway, bullets marking his path. At the same time, Squall came out from under the walkway, gesturing at them and hurling a bolt of lightning, another Thunder spell. The first soldier was blasted off his feet. The survivors opened fire, but Squall was already gone, back under cover.  
  
However, Seifer wasn't. He took advantage of his opponent's distraction and ran out under the other side of the walkway. Before the Galbadians spotted him, Seifer launched another Fire spell their way, dropping another soldier.  
  
"They're just kids!" the last one protested as he dove below the walkway's solid metal railing and out of Seifer's lethal line of sight. He reached down to his belt and drew a grenade from his belt. ". . . but now, they're dead kids," the Galbadian whispered, smiling. His thumb hooked under the pin, when the door leading into the tavern from the walkway swung open. He looked up in time to see a pair of SeeD cadets come out, both carrying rifles.  
  
A few seconds and a couple of gunshots later, one of the cadets leaned over the railing.  
  
"Squad C's in charge here!" the cadet shouted down to Squad B. "Leave the rest to us!"  
  
"What the hell took you so long!?" Seifer shouted angrily, obviously perturbed by their poor timing.  
  
"We're fire support, not front line!" the cadet responded. "Plus, we're short-handed, one of our members is sick."  
  
"Yeah," the other cadet added, appearing over the railing. "We weren't about to go charging out, guns blazing, against that many!"  
  
" . . . cowards," Seifer muttered. He turned back to his own squad. "Come on, Central Square's just ahead!" Seifer charged on, leading the other two members of Squad B down the street.  
  
The three-man squad continued down Dollet's streets, Seifer leading, and encountered no more Galbadian enemies. As with before, the streets were eerily empty. And of course, this made Seifer understandably unhappy.  
  
"Hey! All you Galbadian cowards out there!" he challenged suddenly and loudly, brandishing his gunblade. "Come out'n show your faces! Don't leave me hanging here!" When no response came, Seifer shook his head and charged on. "If you're not coming out, I'm coming in for you!"  
  
"What an idiot," Zell muttered as he and Squall ran after their captain. They rounded a corner and came within sight of the Central Square. Seifer had already arrived there, and was looking around angrily for targets.  
  
The Central Square was more of a large circle, surrounded by restaurants and hotels, with a tall, exquisitely sculpted statue topping a beautiful fountain in the center. Roads ran from the central hub out to various locations around Dollet, though some of these were blocked off by damaged or destroyed cars or rubble. As Squall and Zell arrived, Seifer turned around and looked back at the two.  
  
"Having fun yet?" Seifer asked them, smiling. Then, behind the captain, a figure moved.  
  
A lone Galbadian leaped out from behind the statue and slashed his sword down at Seifer's head. In a single deft motion Seifer spun away from his attacker, then spun back and sliced his blade down on the man's chest. The threat eliminated, Seifer surveyed the area.  
  
"There may be more . . ." he warned Squall and Zell. "Alright, I want you two to scout the surrounding area for any more enemies." Squall and Zell nodded and fanned out, checking for any more distinctive blue uniforms, while Seifer watched the surrounding area, including a pair of streets that were not blocked off.  
  
Squall did not find any Galbadian soldiers, but a shout, a clang of steel on stone, and a grunt from the area where Zell was checking alerted both gunblade-wielding cadets. They charged over to where the sounds had originated, weapons up and ready.  
  
Both weapons dropped as they saw Zell standing in front of a group of destroyed cars, over the dead or unconscious body of a Galbadian, his sword several feet away. The martial artist flashed them a thumbs up.  
  
"It's clear."  
  
"I think that's all of them," Squall said, nodding. "I didn't find any in my area."  
  
"Well, then," Seifer said, walking back into the Central Square. "We're on standby until the enemy comes." He shook his head as he reached the statue, letting out a dramatic sigh. "Standby . . . how boring." He began pacing, like a caged lion. Both Squall and Zell relaxed, but remained on their guard, watching the intact streets for any coming Galbadians.  
  
They waited a good twenty minutes, with nothing to interest them, save for the occasional staccato of gunfire in the distance. Suddenly, a deep explosion sounded in the distance, the boom catching the attention of Squad B. The explosion was followed by higher-pitched gunfire, and more explosions.  
  
The counterattack had begun. Dollet and SeeD forces were now engaging the Galbadians returning to the city, which meant the enemy should be passing through here eventually.  
  
"Sounds like its starting," he remarked. Seifer grinned in anticipation.  
  
"Bring it on," he responded, gripping his gunblade. He ran across the Square to the street leading to where the general sound of the battle could be heard. "Hey! Galbadians! What are you waiting for!?" Seifer challenged again, gunblade slicing through the air angrily. "Show me what you've got!"  
  
Apparently, the Galbadians didn't hear him, for no one came. He stood there for a good fifteen to twenty minutes, waiting for any sign of the enemy, but in the end, Seifer turned around, disappointed. He leaned against the wall of a nearby restaurant, gunblade bouncing impatiently on his shoulder. Zell began to pace in bored tension after a while. Another half-hour passed, marked by distant ringing of an old clock tower somewhere in the city, and even Squall became tired of waiting.  
  
Where were the Galbadians?  
  
"Nothing," he muttered. Zell glanced his way, clenched his teeth, and pounded a fist into the asphalt.  
  
" . . . the HELL!" he yelled, frustrated. "Now this is what I call boring!" Zell looked up and around, then back in the direction of the battle. "This ain't right man," he said, shaking his head. "You'd think we would have heard or seen something!" Zell resumed his pacing.  
  
"Hmph," Seifer said, watching Zell. He glanced up in the direction of the battle, down the street he'd been standing impatiently at. "Damn Galbadians. Still keeping us waiting . . ."  
  
Squall was about to reply when all three cadets noted the sound of boots running in their direction. Lots of boots.  
  
"Move it, move it!" a shout came from the direction of one of the blocked streets. Squall glanced down the street to see Galbadian soldiers, lots of them, scrambling over the destroyed vehicles. Many carried equipment or heavy backpacks, and some looked to be technicians, judging by the extra equipment built into their armor.  
  
"It's the enemy," Squall warned quietly. Quickly, he dropped back, pulling Zell down behind the fountain statue and out of sight. There were a lot of them, maybe too many to challenge without thinning their ranks using Guardian Forces. Reaching into his mind, Squall contacted Quetzocotl and Shiva, preparing to summon them if need be. The cadet glanced back at Seifer, expecting the captain to brashly attack their foes, but apparently he didn't like the odds either, and had slunk back out of sight around the corner of the building.  
  
The lead soldier came into the Square, and looked around. Squall tensed, preparing to unleash a GF upon them if they were spotted . . .  
  
. . . but the Galbadian simply turned back to his fellow soldiers and waved his hand, indicating for them to hurry up and follow him. The whole force, a half-dozen squadrons at least, ran down another street, this one leading across a bridge into the mountains north of the city.  
  
"Where the hell they going?" Zell asked as soon as the enemy was out of sight. "Nothing up there." Squall ran the maps of Dollet through his mind, recalling if there had been anything of value up in those mountains. Nothing was there, except . . .  
  
Squall looked up, scanning the cliffs towering over the city.  
  
"There," he said, spotting the tall, unused tower he had seen on the maps.  
  
"What's that?" Zell asked. Seifer stepped past them, and Squall noted that his grin had returned.  
  
"Our next destination," Seifer explained, pointing his gunblade up at the tower. Predictably, Zell balked.  
  
"That's against orders! We can't leave the Square!"  
  
"Weren't you just saying how bored you were?" Seifer asked the martial artist. Zell shook his head and turned back to the other member of Squad B.  
  
"Squall!" Zell pleaded, seeking his support. To his surprise, the cadet simply shrugged.  
  
"Orders are orders. My orders are to obey my squad captain. I stand by the captain's decision," he responded. Seifer spun around, smiling at Squall's vote.  
  
"Captain's decision?" he asked, walking towards Squall. He suddenly reached up and roughly slapped Squall on the shoulder, as if he were a longtime comrade. "You want to wreak some havoc too, don't you?" In response, Squall quickly brushed the hand away, and turned, looking Seifer dead in the eye.  
  
"It's a good opportunity to test out my training," Squall replied honestly. "Thanks to you, I feel like I can take on anyone." Squall's eyes hardened, and he glanced at the scar running between his rival's eyes. A scar mirrored on his own face. "Even if they do fight dirty, like you."  
  
Seifer shrugged and looked away.  
  
"You'll thank me when the time comes," he responded quietly. Zell had been watching the exchange, surprised at how the two rivals were interacting. He'd never seen this kind of behavior between them before. It was like they were war buddies or something.  
  
"The hell?" he asked, stepping up towards them. "I thought you guys didn't get along? You're like, all buddy-buddy now." Seifer turned his head and glared at Zell, but said nothing in response.  
  
"Look," Zell continued, "We can't just go off on our own without authorization. We have to hold the Square. This ain't no ordinary battle. It's an exam, an important one. I'm tellin' ya, we have to stick to orders!"  
  
"Then stay here," Seifer snorted, shaking his head. "We don't need any boy scouts." Zell, predictably, took offense at Seifer's insult.  
  
"What was that!?" he demanded angrily. Squall quickly stepped over to Zell and put a hand on his shoulder, to calm the volatile cadet down before he did something both he and Seifer would regret.  
  
"Don't take him seriously, Zell," Squall muttered, then he used the advice the martial artist had given him earlier that day. "Just ignore him." Zell glanced back at Squall, and after a moment calmed down.  
  
"Tch . . . Fine," he growled. Squall turned back to the captain.  
  
"Seifer, if we're gonna go, let's hurry," he said. The captain nodded, and turned to face the street that led to the mountains.  
  
"The enemy is headed for that facility," he ordered. "We, Squad B, are to secure the summit and determine their intentions. Move out!" That done, Seifer took off down the street, Squall right behind him and Zell, reluctantly, following.  
  
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Yeah, in case anyone was wondering, I did get rid of the dog in that scene. Seemed stupid to me. 


	8. Motives

Chapter 7: Motives  
  
It took fifteen minutes to finally reach the bridge leading from the outskirts of the city up into the mountains, and once again Squad B found no humans on the way. Aside from the distant sounds of gunfire, Dollet's streets had been ominously empty once more.  
  
"Is this a ghost town?" Zell whispered as they approached the bridge. All three cadets were alert and ready as the bridge came into sight. The bridge itself connected the city proper with the mountains across a deep but narrow ravine. Each member of Squad B knew that the bridge was an easily defensible and observable location, so it was almost assured that the Galbadians had set up some kind of sentry or defensive position there. They were not disappointed (or rather, Seifer was not), as a group of over a dozen Galbadians stood around the bridge, a few at either end and some scattered soldiers along its hundred or so foot length.  
  
"So, now what?" Zell asked, glancing Seifer's way.  
  
"We charge," Seifer replied in all seriousness. "I'll lead with Squall. Zell, you're right behind us, cover us with magic." That was all that needed to be said, and before anyone could raise a question, Seifer began running down the bridge at full speed, gunblade drawn. Squall nodded and was right behind him.  
  
"Let's take 'em!" Zell shouted enthusiastically, running after them.  
  
The Galbadians had spotted Seifer the moment he and Squall had charged out into the open, but had been surprised at an opponent taking the most obvious and suicidal route possible. By the time their minds had caught up with the surprising actions of the cadets, Squall and Seifer were already engaging the quartet of Galbadians at the near end of the bridge, two to each cadet. The Galbadians at the far end of the bridge raised their firearms at the attack, but then dove for cover as an explosion of fire took down two of their number, courtesy of Zell Dincht.  
  
Seifer sliced a man down with one deft cut, while Squall forced his nearest opponent's blade aside and shoved him over the bridge's railing and into the sea below. Seifer ducked a high Galbadian sword and spun down around in a low, whirling cut, his gunblade taking out the legs of the Galbadian. Hyperion sliced in again and finished the soldier. Squall's gunblade swung back vertically over his shoulder, intercepting the fourth soldier's sword as it came at his back. The cadet spun around, blocking another slash and countering with a single overhead cleave that dropped his foe.  
  
Neither Squall nor Seifer hesitated, realizing that sheer speed and the reluctance of the Galbadians at the back to fire at their comrades engaged in close quarters battle were their best weapons. Both cadets continued their charge down the bridge, their legs pumping furiously with GF-enhanced strength as they closed with a cluster of five enemy soldiers.  
  
Even with their speed and cover advantage, both cadets would have been easy targets for the Galbadians at the far end of the bridge if Zell hadn't been slinging Fire spells at the enemy soldiers and forcing them to scramble out of the way.  
  
Those Galbadians closer to the two gunblade-toting cadets didn't get a chance to raise their weapons. One was cut down by Seifer before his hands touched the grip of his sheathed sword, a second took the butt of the Revolver in the mouth and was laid out unconscious, and a third was able to parry a single slash of Hyperion before being cut down.  
  
Squall leaped over the opponent he'd knocked out and thrust the Revolver one-handed at another soldier who had unslung his rifle. The slightly curving tip of the Revolver took the man high in his gun arm, and Squall's other hand, balled into a fist, smashed into the soldier's face. The Galbadian stumbled back, dazed, but raised his rifle again in spite of the pain in his arm. The rifle fired a burst into Squall's chest, the rounds burying into his skin. Squall stumbled back for a brief instant, then to the Galbadian's utmost surprise, he came forward again, as if he'd never been shot to begin with. The Revolver flashed down and finished the amazed Galbadian, who knew nothing about the defensive junctions Balamb SeeDs used to harden their skin and toughen their bodies, making them more resistant to damage.  
  
The fifth soldier backed away desperately from Seifer as the white- coated cadet charged. The man swung his rifle in front of him like a club, hoping to ward off his foe as other Galbadians from further down the bridge ran to his aid. The rifle's stock smacked into Hyperion's blade, knocking it aside as it came in, but Seifer pulled another of his oh-so-amazingly fast spins and came down with Hyperion again. The Galbadian raised his rifle to intercept the blow. It took Hyperion's slice well enough, but Seifer pulled his gunblade's trigger as it clashed with the rifle. The explosive blast shattered the gun, and before the soldier could react, Hyperion dove through his chest and Squad B's captain was advancing towards the next group of Galbadians, a trio charging with drawn swords. Hyperion met the steel blades of Seifer's foes in a ring of tempered metal and a whoosh of cut air. The sound of gunblade on swords was as one long ringing wail of metal on metal.  
  
Of the Galbadians at the far end of the bridge, only a pair remained, the rest left dead or in no condition to fight by Zell's magic. One jumped out from behind a boulder and lifted a grenade, aiming for the charging cadets and not really caring about the well-being of his comrades. Against these foes, his fellow soldiers were dead anyway!  
  
Squall spotted the man and reacted at the same time as Zell. Even as the Galbadian had popped the pin and was about to throw, a blast of flame and a jolt of lightning took him off his feet. His grenade dropped to the ground next to the other Galbadian, who scrambled over the boulder to avoid the explosive.  
  
He didn't make it.  
  
The threat eliminated, Squall and Zell charged into the midst of the furious melee Seifer was embroiled in with the remaining Galbadians. A thrust, two slashes, an uppercut, and a roundhouse kick later, the bridge was secured.  
  
"Well that was easy enough," Zell remarked, clapping his hands together as if to wipe them clean.  
  
"Don't relax," Seifer remarked, smiling as he turned back to the mountain trail beyond the bridge. "We're not done yet!" Squad B resumed the advance up the mountainside.  
  
Soon, they found the "trail" was actually a laid path of concrete bricks, like a road, leading up the mountainside. Several times the squad found themselves climbing up cut steps as they advanced. Along the way, Squall noticed what appeared to be spent shell casings and some bloodstains.  
  
"Signs of conflict," he remarked, to which the other two nodded.  
  
"Dollet troops?" Seifer mused, and as they rounded a bend in the path, they discovered he had been on the right track. Bodies of about eight to ten or so Dollet soldiers littered the stone path, some shot, others cut, and more marked by burns or small shards of ice.  
  
"The Galbadians must have come this way," Squall remarked. At the sound of his voice, one of the bodies moved, the not so dead soldier crawling out of some bushes. Zell and Squall crouched down next to the soldier while Seifer kept a lookout.  
  
"Who . . . are you?" the soldier asked, clutching a wound in his leg. Like the other soldiers, the Dollet trooper wore an olive uniform that blended in well with the mountainous terrain, along with a helmet featuring a steel visor and a ninja mask covering his face.  
  
"Don't worry," Squall said to the wounded soldier. "We're SeeD cadets, dispatched by Garden to support you."  
  
"What's going on up there?" Seifer asked, looking up the mountain trail. From his vantage point, he could see more Dollet troops dead or unconscious along the trail. "What are they after?"  
  
"The Galbadians . . ." the soldier began. "They've entered the Communications Tower. I don't know why, it's been abandoned for years. On top of that, this place has always been a nesting ground for monsters. If you guys are going up, you'd better be caref-"  
  
The soldier didn't get finished with his warning when a terrible hissing growl erupted from the bushes behind him. Something grabbed the man's leg and began pulling him back.  
  
"Help!" he cried as he was yanked into the shrubbery with a violent jerk. Squall and Zell dove forward, Squall drawing the Revolver while Zell hooked his arms around the man's torso and pulled, testing his considerable strength against that of this unknown foe.  
  
Even as Zell was pulling hard, Squall saw their foe, a huge green- brown monstrosity, like a giant snake, its jaws clamped around the soldier's foot.  
  
The monster was an Anacondaur: a huge, venomous, predatory creature. He had never seen one of the huge snakes before, only studied them in class, but he knew immediately that the creature was poisonous and very strong and durable.  
  
Wasting no time, Squall buried the Revolver in the monster's back just behind the head and pulled the trigger, the explosive blast compounding the damage but far from killing the tough-bodied monster. However, the creature did immediately let go of the Dollet soldier and faced this new enemy, which had been Squall's intention all along. The snake reared up, towering over Squall as Zell dragged the wounded soldier to the side.  
  
A burst of fire exploded into the monster's head and the huge snake turned aside momentarily to face Seifer. In that instant, Squall came in at the monster and sliced it with the Revolver, firing another blast into the Anacondaur's side. The Anacoundaur immediately spun back towards Squall, and though the cadet was too close to be bitten, the monster slammed the side of its head into Squall's chest, knocking him back to the ground. The huge snake immediately slithered over to the prone cadet, pointedly ignoring Seifer as he hurled another Fire spell at it, and opened its jaws. The Anacoundaur's head snapped down at Squall even as he brought his gunblade up. The monster's jaws closed over Squall's gunblade arm, and it snapped its whole body back, lifting the cadet up.  
  
Squall gritted his teeth as he felt the sharp pain of the Anaconaur's teeth dig into his skin and the burn of its poison in his blood. Unlike regular snakes, which ate their prey whole, Anacondaurs were more like alligators or crocodiles, shaking and biting prey they had trapped in their maw. Such was what the monster did to Squall, thrashing its head around and almost dislocating his shoulder in the process. Thinking quickly, Squall's free left hand shot down to his belt, to the backup knife he had sheathed there. Yanking the blade free, Squall flipped it over to an overhand stabbing grip and drove the blade into one of the Anaconaur's eyes. The monster's head jerked back in pain, then it immediately snapped its head down, hurling the cadet to the stone path. He smashed into the ground hard and rolled away. The monster would have followed its prey but Seifer had apparently decided he was finished with his ineffective magic and had buried Hyperion into its side while it was distracted. The snake turned to face Seifer, who backed away and faced it with a confident grin and raised gunblade.  
  
Squall rolled over on his back and grabbed a vial off his equipment belt as he felt the burn of the monster's poison run through his veins. He quickly popped a pill into his mouth as he began feeling light-headed and dizzy. Almost immediately the antidote began working, and Squall began climbing to his feet as the Anacondaur struck at Seifer.  
  
The snake's head snapped down, jaws open and ready to take a bite out of the squad captain. Seifer, however, leaped right over the bite and slashed Hyperion down across the monster's head. The Anacondaur hissed in anger and came in again with a bite, only to take another slice, this one accompanied by the blast of a gunblade shell. As the monster jerked back in pain, Seifer pressed his advantage. Hyperion sliced twice more, both times accompanied by explosive blasts as Seifer closed in. Suddenly, the Anacondaur's head came in again with a smacking strike. Seifer managed to cut the monster again, but wasn't able to get out of its way, and was hurled to the ground. He was back on his feet in a second, ready to continue the fight, but as the monster closed in again, Zell literally leaped into the battle, a spinning, flying kick smashing the monster's face. The snake backed away as it took the hit, hissing as it retreated.  
  
The Revolver buried into its backside again, firing as it cut.  
  
The Anacondur was tough, strong, and mighty, but even its great monstrous power was no match for the cadets' junctions as Seifer sliced in again, while Zell hammered the creature with powerful punches and kicks. Squall's heavy gunblade chopped and blasted, Hyperion dove and cut, and Zell pounded away. Within a matter of moments, the huge snake was dead.  
  
"Monsters?" Squall asked a minute later as he felt the revitalizing power of healing potions binding his nasty wounds.  
  
"More fun for us," Seifer remarked, cleaning his gunblade. "Let's go!" He hurried up the mountainside, Squall behind him.  
  
"Fun?" Zell muttered, glancing at the dead monster mere feet away. "Pu-lease." Still, despite his words, the cadet charged up after his captain.  
  
-------------------  
  
"What?" Xu asked the cadet, her eyes wide in surprise.  
  
"They're not at their station," the girl, a messenger from Squad A, said over the communication line established for SeeD by the Dollet military. "I don't know where Squad B went, but they're not at the Square!"  
  
"Then where did they go?" Xu asked in disbelief, not believing what she had heard. Seifer had lead Squad B away from their assigned position? Even she didn't think he was that stupid!  
  
"I dunno!" the messenger replied. "All I know is that when I got there, Squad B was gone!"  
  
"And you saw no signs of conflict?"  
  
"Nope. They're just gone," the messenger replied. "Squad C said they had gone in that direction. I dunno where-"  
  
"Okay," Xu interrupted. "Go find them. Do whatever it takes, but Squad B has to know when the withdraw is supposed to take place. I don't want them left behind."  
  
"Roger!" the messenger replied, acknowledging the order and then hanging up. Xu returned the phone to its cradle and looked up.  
  
She and her team were still inside the city proper, guarding the main road leading through the city. The SeeDs, along with a platoon of Dollet troops, had held this location despite an intense counterattack by the Galbadians. Dozens of vehicles and heavy weapons, including a few tanks and a number of heavily-armed humanoid robots, lay scattered among the rubble of the destroyed buildings and in the streets. Littered among the burning wreakage were the corpses of many Galbadians, along with a few Dollet troopers.  
  
Xu glanced back down the road behind them, which led down to the Central Square. If the Galbadians had come up behind their position through the unsecured Square during this battle . . . .  
  
"Dammit, Seifer," she hissed. "You could have gotten us killed!"  
  
A shout from ahead alerted Xu; a Dollet trooper waved to her urgently. Ahead, she could hear the distinct sound of gunfire. Some explosions resounded, and then a missile detonated just beyond the trooper.  
  
"They're back for more?" a SeeD asked, a slight grin on his face as he hefted his rifle. The other members of the group gathered around Xu.  
  
"The Galbadians are just gluttons for punishment," she remarked under her breath. "Let's move!" As the squad charged towards the sounds of battle, Xu glanced back down the street behind them just to be sure there were no foes approaching.  
  
But there were. Several armored cars, laden with enemy soldiers, barreled down the street, closing in on the SeeDs.  
  
"Behind us!" she shouted to her squad. The SeeDs turned to face the new enemy as they came in. Magic and gunfire erupted from the SeeD position at the oncoming enemy.  
  
As Xu touched one of the Guardian Forces in her mind, summoning it, she swore that if she got out of this alive that Seifer was dead.  
  
-------------------  
  
"The generator is up and running!" one of the Galbadian techs reported to his commander, who stood in front of the mechanical doors leading into the Communications Tower.  
  
"No problem with the power boosters!" the other tech said optimistically.  
  
His optimism would not have been so great if he had known that they were being observed. On a cliff a good forty feet away from the doors and about fifteen feet up above the soldiers, Squall, Seifer, and Zell crouched, watching the soldiers go about their business.  
  
"What the hell they doing?" Seifer wondered out loud.  
  
"Cable disconnection confirmed!" yet another tech shouted. "Beginning exchange process!"  
  
"Roger," the first tech replied. With that, the group of soldiers turned and moved inside the building.  
  
"Repairs?" Squall guessed as the Galbadians entered the tower. Why would they want to repair an obviously unneeded facility? The Comms Tower could transmit radio waves, but they weren't needed with HD cables that allowed for online communication.  
  
"Who cares," Seifer responded, standing up and dusting himself off. He turned towards Squall. "This must be your first real battle," he remarked suddenly, shifting the subject. "You scared?"  
  
" . . . I don't know," Squall replied, pondering that question. Afraid? He wasn't afraid for is own life, if that was what Seifer was wondering. The adrenaline had pumped in every engagement, but he had ignored the possibility of being killed. Thinking about that would just make him afraid, and if you were afraid, then you wouldn't be able to respond. A lack of response meant you were dead.  
  
"I try not to think about it," he added. "I have objectives to complete, and I will complete them. If someone stands in my way, I'll shove them aside. If they come at me to harm me, my comrades, or any innocents, then I'll cut them down without remorse." Squall left it at that, his voice telling Seifer he was not afraid to kill to protect his life or another's.  
  
"Hm," Seifer said, smiling. "Good. No fear, no regrets. Kill or be killed."  
  
"What about you?" Squall asked. "You scared?"  
  
"Ha!" Seifer responded, barking a laugh. "I love battles. I fear nothing!" He smiled and his voice lowered, as if he were imparting a secret. "The way I look at it, as long as you make it out of a battle alive, you're one step closer to fulfilling your dream."  
  
"What? Your dream?" Squall asked aloud in surprise. What was he talking about?  
  
"You have one too, don't you?" Seifer replied. Squall almost replied, but held his tongue. A dream? A hope? Or ambition? He didn't have any kind of lofty goal or ideal he was striving towards, if that was what Seifer had meant. SeeDship and personal perfection were his goals, nothing more. He was going to be a SeeD, the best the organization would ever know, because . . . .  
  
Why? He suddenly paused, thinking about that. Why did he want to be a SeeD? He knew he had a reason, one that had permeated his very core and being. He wanted to be a SeeD more than anything else, but for what reason?  
  
Seifer was still standing there, watching him as if expecting an answer. Realizing he couldn't give an appropriate answer, Squall decided to not give one at all.  
  
"Sorry," he said. "I'm gonna pass on that subject."  
  
Zell, who had been watching the doors the whole time for any signs of activity, turned to the two gunbladers, interested in their "buddy-buddy" conversation.  
  
"Yo!" he said, stepping up towards them. "Let me in on it, too!"  
  
"Mind your own business," Seifer remarked dismissively. Zell's eyes widened, and a growl escaped his throat as he turned around and snapped off a couple of punches into the air.  
  
Frickin' hell, he thought angrily as he loosed another combo.  
  
"What's the matter Zell?" Seifer asked, smiling. Zell glanced back over his shoulder. "Swatting flies?" Once again, Seifer's remark had gotten under Zell's skin, judging by the look of fury on Zell's face. Apparently satisfied with his mocking of Zell, Seifer turned and walked down the path to their right, which led down to the entrance to the Communications Tower.  
  
"Damn you," Zell growled as his nemesis strode away, and the martial artist punched the bricks beneath his feet. Cracks spread outward from the impact like spider webs.  
  
"There you are!" called a voice from behind and above the two cadets. Both Squall and Zell spun around to see a girl, another cadet, perched on a slight mound of stone behind them, one they themselves had scaled earlier to get to this very vantage point.  
  
Squall recognized the green eyes, small frame, brown curls, and somewhat annoyingly cute appearance of the girl he'd helped to find the directory earlier that day. She still looked as out of place on the battlefield as she had in Garden, though the oversized nunchaku strapped to her back definitely made her look more dangerous now than a plushy toy moogle. Now, Squall thought, she seemed about as dangerous as a plushy toy moogle dressed in a combat uniform with a plastic bazooka.  
  
She looked tired, and was panting hard. Obviously not from the climb; Squad B hadn't broken a sweat on the climb up here, even at the fast pace Seifer had set. Stepping forward, the girl suddenly slipped, her boots sliding along the stones. Her arms pinwheeled for a second, and then down she tumbled, coming to a stop right in front of the pair of male cadets.  
  
"You alright?" Squall asked immediately as the girl rose to her feet. In response, she threw Squall a wink and a poking tongue, and for the first time in a while, Squall was caught completely off guard, something not even Seifer could do easily.  
  
"I'm fine!" she said with another of her high-pitched giggles. "Are you guys Squad B?" she asked, sounding hopeful. The girl's expression brightened when Squall nodded. "Oh, wait a minute," she said suddenly, recognition flashing in her eyes. ". . . I know you! You're the guy who showed me around earlier today! Thanks! I'm a messenger. Name's Selphie, from Squad A. I'm looking for the squad captain, his name is Seifer, right?" Squall nodded.  
  
"He went over . . ." Squall trailed off as he turned to look in the direction Seifer had gone down the trail. The path curved down and around to the left. "Well, he was down there," Squall said, sounding and looking confused. Then, a sudden suspicion hit him. Squall spun to the left-  
  
-and to no surprise, Squall spotted his captian down below, running towards the front entrance to the Communication Tower, Hyperion drawn. Seifer turned back to face Squall, a smile on his face.  
  
"One of these days," he called towards Squall, "I'm gonna tell you about my romantic dream!" With that proclamation, Seifer spun around and hurled himself through the doors into the tower. Selphie sighed in a combination of tiredness, vexation, and resignation.  
  
"This sure is tough," she remarked, stepping up to the edge of the cliff. And then, to Squall and Zell's absolute surprise, she jumped. "Captian, wait up!" she called as she dropped. It took a second for Squall and Zell to catch up with Selphie's rash actions, but as they stepped up to the edge of the cliff to check on her, the messenger ran out into view, unhurt. She spun around, drawing her nunchakus as she did, and waving frantically.  
  
"Hurry up! Come on, come on!"  
  
Squall glanced down the cliff, then at Selphie, then back at the cliff. It wasn't so much a cliff as a steep slope, but it was still almost vertical. Selphie, despite her clumsiness, had made it down alright, but would they be uninjured as well?  
  
Squall reminded himself that Seifer was inside, probably alone against who knew how many enemies. Despite his rival's skills, he might need help, and the trail would take too long to go around.  
  
"You have magic junctioned to your toughness, right?" Squall asked Zell as he looked over the edge. Zell glanced back at him in amazement.  
  
"Squall . . ." Zell said slowly, unsure. "It's a cliff, man. You're not gonna . . ."  
  
"That's the plan, Zell," Squall replied with a shrug, and then, he jumped. Immediately, Squall began sliding down the thirty feet to the ground, knocking loose dirt and pebbles before coming to a stop in front of the entrance. Even as he turned around to see if Zell was following, he heard a tremendous shout from above.  
  
"Geronimoooooo!!!" Zell cried as he leaped clear off the edge, not even bothering to slide down. He landed on his feet, immediately transferring the momentum of his fall into a springing flip forward and coming to a stop, standing unharmed.  
  
"Well, let's get going," Selphie remarked, turning towards the doors.  
  
Doors which suddenly swung open, and out of which scrambled a group of unarmed Galbadian techs, screaming for their lives and running as fast as they could past the cadets and up the trail to the right. Behind them, chasing the men out with swipes of a bloody gunblade, was Seifer.  
  
"Cowards!" he shouted after them, before spinning around and returning to the tower.  
  
"Hey!" Selphie shouted at his disappearing form, but either Seifer ignored her or didn't hear the messenger. "The captain's getting away!" Selphie moaned, running after Seifer, Squall and Zell reluctantly following. The pair stepped into the lower floor of the huge tower.  
  
-------------------  
  
Private Pirgi ran up to his captain, a soldier clad in heavy armor featuring numerous pieces of electronic equipment built in. The captain was fiddling with an access panel on a level about midway up the tower. Several other technicians were also working diligently around him.  
  
"Sir!" Pirgi said, saluting. "The men down below report-"  
  
"Wait, Private," the captain ordered. "Hmm, let's see. Ion flux connector, check. Backup regulators, check . . ."  
  
"But, sir, I-"  
  
"Shut up, Private!" the captain barked. "I have work to do! Connections, good . . ."  
  
"It's urgent-"  
  
"Private!" the captain shouted, catching the attention of the other techs. "If you disobey my orders one more time I'm gonna shoot you myself for insubordination! Our highest priority is to repair this tower, and nothing short of a full on assault is gonna stop that! Do I make myself clear!"  
  
"Yes sir!" Pirgi replied, saluting. "The news that we are under attack below can wait, sir!" The captain began turning back to his panel, but then Pirgi's words hit him like a sack of bricks. He spun around immediately.  
  
"What!?"  
  
"Yes, sir!" Pirgi shouted, happy he'd finally gotten the captain's attention. "The men below report that they are under attack!"  
  
"Why the hell didn't you tell me sooner?" the captain shouted angrily. "Get your weapons! We have hostiles!" the captain ordered his men. "Pirgi, did they say who the attackers were?"  
  
"No, just that they were under attack. Something about 'This guy is attacking us!'"  
  
"Wait a minute!" Pirgi's captain ordered, confused. "One man? A single man is attacking us?"  
  
"That's what they said, sir," Pirgi confirmed.  
  
"Impossible!" the captain exclaimed. "Who would be crazy enough to take on a tower full of Galbadian soldiers?!"  
  
"That would be me."  
  
Both private and captain spun towards the elevator, to see a tall, blonde, white trenchcoat-wearing teenager wielding a wicked grin and a bloody gunblade standing there.  
  
"Who the hell are you?!" the captian demanded, grabbing his gun.  
  
"Funny," the blonde kid said as he slid into a combat stance, his gunblade rising into a guard. "That's what the guy downstairs said right before I killed him."  
  
"Y-you!" the captain shouted, trembling in anger. "You killed our comrades?!"  
  
"Not all of them," the kid replied, shrugging. "Some ran like the cowards all you Galbadians are."  
  
"Okay, that's enough of your mouth!" the captain ordered. "You're dead!"  
  
"Sir," Pirgi began. "I don't think that's wise-"  
  
"CHARGE!" The captain roared, and he and his men hurled themselves at the lone trenchcoated teenager.  
  
Seifer only grinned as they closed in, his white teeth in a predatory smile.  
  
-------------------  
  
The inside of the tower was dark and sparse, with a few faint, blinking lights scattered on metal panels on the walls. A large column stood in the center, which appeared to be part of an elevator shaft that lead to the upper floors. But all that was taken in peripherally, for the cadets' attention was taken away by what else the room contained.  
  
A dozen or more corpses of Galbadian soldiers littered the floor or slumped against walls, slashed, stabbed, cut, or burned by magic. Blood was splattered along the walls or in pools underneath the dead soldiers. Many men still held weapons clutched in a tight death grip, and bullet holes and destroyed electronics were scattered around the room. Several corpses were decapitated or burned beyond recognition.  
  
"Damn . . ." Zell muttered, while Selphie looked around in surprise. Squall surveyed the bodies and carnage, nodding. It seemed he had been wrong. Seifer didn't need any help after all.  
  
"Did . . . did the captain do all this?" Selphie asked in disbelief. No one answered, though Squall gingerly stepped past the bodies and surveyed the room. No other entrances or exits, so the only way for Seifer to have gone would have been up.  
  
"He went up?" Selphie asked as Squall pressed the recall button for the elevator. The elevator began a slow descent.  
  
Then, overhead, they heard a shout. There was a distant clang of metal, and then another shout, followed by a long scream that quickly increased in volume. The cadets looked up in time to see a figure, a Galbadian soldier, fall the rest of the way down to the bottom floor. The man slammed into the metal and rolled a few feet away, dead or unconscious. Squall looked back up above, to the sounds of distant combat.  
  
"Probably," Squall answered Selphie's question.  
  
"Damn," Zell muttered again at Squall's cool demeanor. "Squall, man, I know you two are good, but this is . . . man, this is crazy. Seifer took all of them down by himself?"  
  
Squall shrugged.  
  
"Probably."  
  
Selphie turned to face him, a curious look on her face.  
  
"You're not much of a talker, are you?" she asked.  
  
No shit, Squall thought, shrugging once more. A moment later, the elevator finished its stately descent and stopped. They piled on board, and Squall checked the panel. Knowing Seifer, he might have gone straight to the top of the huge tower, but then again, he could have chosen to work his way up methodically.  
  
Methodically? Seifer? No way. Following that logic, Squall hit the button for the top floor, and the elevator began its stately rise up towards the pinnacle of the building.  
  
"Wow," Selphie said, looking down at the view below them. "This lift is pretty cool!" She leaned over the edge and looked down to the floor far below.  
  
"Be careful," Zell warned. "Don't get too excited or you'll fall!"  
  
"Like I'm really gonna," Selphie responded, sounding a bit indignant and sticking her tongue out at the martial artist.  
  
-------------------  
  
"Major Biggs!" Lieutenant Wedge Lucas shouted over the wailing wind whipping along the top level of the tower. Wedge stepped over to the major, who was engrossed with repair work inside a huge access panel beside a satellite dish. "There have been reports of a monster-shaped shadow on top of the tower." He waited for the major to reply, but none came. After a few moments, he leaned closer and shouted into the major's ears. "Major Biggs!"  
  
Galbadian Major George Biggs looked up from his work momentarily. Like other high-ranking officers, Biggs wore a red uniform with armor that resembled that of any other soldier, excepting heavier armor and extra equipment in the arms, which lended his arms added strength. Mounted underneath his wrists were a pair of machine pistols, giving the major extra firepower.  
  
"Be quiet!" he ordered his subordinate. "I'm busy! This goes like this . . . and . . ." Biggs looked down at the old, outdated spanner in his hands. "Geez, what's with these crappy old tools!? And . . . and . . ." He slammed the spanner down on the metal floor and then punched some random object in anger. "Why do I have to make all the repairs?!" A jolt of electricity shot through the equipment in the panel, forcing Biggs to hop back momentarily. Then, he roared and kicked the metal casing around the panel, stubbing his toe and not denting the metal in the least.  
  
Wedge wisely backed away.  
  
"Sir, I'll check around while the repairs are being done!" Wedge shouted over the wind, and walked away, leaving Biggs to fume and complain. Shortly after Wedge had departed, Biggs resumed his repair work. After a few more minutes of grumbling, pounding metal, and occasionally actually working, Biggs saw he was close to completion.  
  
"Let's see . . . Hmmm . . . Put this here . . ." Biggs was so engrossed that he never heard the sound of the elevator rising up behind him. The platform reached the top, and the trio of SeeD cadets hopped off, scanning for threats or Seifer. "This goes here . . . There! It's complete!" Biggs shouted triumphantly.  
  
Beneath their feet, the trio of SeeD cadets heard a deep thrumming, and tower began vibrating slightly but rapidly. Nearby, Squall spotted a wrench sliding out of Biggs's bag of tools and fall through a hole in the floor panels, dropping hundreds of feet into the sea below.  
  
Deep down inside the tower, old turbines, left alone for over a decade and a half, began to turn. Electricity began flowing through the tower as old connections and fuses activated once more. Lights activated, and in the central shaft of the tower, right next to the elevator, a huge cylinder began rising.  
  
Squall spun as the cylinder, at least fifty feet tall, shot up behind him. It reached the apex of the tower and stopped. Everything was still for a moment, and then the cylinder began turning, like a massive cannon. It rotated to the west, and then, the top half of the cylinder split into three sections around a central antenna. The three sections spread outward, forming a disk around the antenna, then curved inward, becoming a convex satellite dish. The antenna seemed to open up then, with many smaller antennae branching out and pointing in the same direction as the central device. Moments later, a faint white beam of light began to extend outward from the dish, a beam that quickly solidified into a strong white line shooting off into the sky.  
  
While all this had been happening, no one had noticed that the elevator had once again begun its slow descent down the tower.  
  
"Wow," Selphie whispered, staring up. Squall and Zell too were mesmerized, though Squall quickly broke away and looked at the lone Galbadian officer in front of him.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?" Squall demanded, startling the soldier. He spun around, and jumped again as he saw himself outnumbered.  
  
"Huh?" he said in confusion. Then, Biggs snarled, seeing how his opponents were just kids. "Likewise, MISTER! What do you think you're doing?" Then, Biggs paused, realizing that for these kids to have gotten up here, they would have to have gotten past all the men below. That put a new light on these kids. Biggs had heard of SeeD before, and the nasty-looking gun/sword thing one kid had on his sheath did not look like fun. Neither did the girl's huge nunchaku, or the other guy's bulging muscles.  
  
"H-hey!" Biggs exclaimed, now slightly nervous. "What happened to all the soldiers down below?!" He looked around desperately for any of his men, then recalled how Wedge had been present a few minutes ago. "Wedge!" he yelled. "Take care of these twerps!" The cadets glanced around, watching for any other opponents, but none came. "W . . . Wedge?" Biggs called, and he looked around again. Zell stood impassively, hands on his hips, while Selphie just put her hands behind her back casually. They understood that Biggs really was alone up here.  
  
"I . . . ah . . ." Biggs sounded rather nervous now. "Well . . . ah . . . " Then a plan came to him. "I seem to be done here, so I'll just be on my . . ." Suddenly, he raised one of his arms, pointing the machine pistol at Squall. The other arm crossed over that one, the pistol pointing at Zell. With both cadets frozen in place by the weapons leveled at them, he began moving towards the elevator. "I-I'm leaving! Move it!" Zell quickly got out of his opponent's way, glancing at Squall for what he should do. Squall just shrugged.  
  
"Let him go," Squall told Zell, who nodded. Squall glanced to the side, hearing the sound of the elevator rising back up.  
  
"Yeah!" Biggs shouted. "Get out of my way! Move! Move!" The officer had reached the elevator, which had almost reached the top . . .  
  
. . . and was carrying a certain white trenchcoat-wearing squad captain.  
  
Before Biggs knew what had happened, one of his arms was knocked aside by Seifer's gunblade, and then the captain's free left hand shot out and took the officer in the mouth. Biggs was stunned, and before he could recover, Seifer kicked him in the chest, knocking him back.  
  
"Sorry to crash the party. Grab him!" Seifer ordered his squad, and Squall and Zell quickly took the officer, hooking their arms under his and holding him fast.  
  
"Ahhhhh!" Biggs screamed. "Are you CRAZY?!"  
  
"Just shut up!" Seifer replied. "Lookie what we got here. What are you guys planning to do with this tower, huh?"  
  
"You brats!" Biggs replied, struggling to get free, though the GF- enhanced strength of Squall and Zell (especially Zell) held him fast. "Prepare for the worst!" he threatened unconvincingly.  
  
"Looks who's talking," Seifer replied, walking up to Biggs and flicking him on the nose. "You can't do anything to us!"  
  
"Ha!" Biggs replied. If it weren't for his helmet, Seifer would have seen Biggs close his eyes.  
  
A second later, a blast of lightning struck Zell, surprising him. Biggs took advantage of the momentary distraction his Thunder spell had bought and shook his arm free of Zell's grasp. That arm came across in a hook, smacking Seifer in the face and stunning him. Squall tried to hold on, but Biggs brought his freed arm around and fired the gun -practically point blank -into Squall's stomach. The cadet grunted and fell back, releasing Biggs.  
  
"Told you!" Biggs shouted, turning his gun on Zell. He was about to fire when a chain, that of Selphie's nunchaks, wrapped around his legs and yanked them out from under him. Biggs fell prone as Seifer shook his head from the hit. Zell, recovered from the magical blow, immediately moved to grab Biggs, but was distracted as a Galbadian soldier, the less than punctual Wedge, came around the central shaft and attacked Seifer from behind, forcing the captain to spin around and exchange in some quick swordplay.  
  
"Sir!" Wedge shouted, ducking under a high slash and backing away from a low cut. "What is the enemy doing here?!"  
  
Biggs rose to his feet and his arm shot across, clubbing Zell and knocking him back. He spun back towards Selphie, who was sending her nunchacku out again. Biggs caught the nunchaku with the metal guard on his arm, blocking the hit.  
  
"Wedge!" he yelled. "Where the hell were you?! No pay for you this month!"  
  
Wedge turned aside a thrust from Seifer, and countered, only to be blocked and counter-countered.  
  
"Should've stayed home . . ." he moaned, ducking back from Seifer's slash, taking a glancing blow on the arm.  
  
Biggs fired a burst from his machine pistol at Selphie, who quickly and nimbly leaped out of the way. Biggs then had to spin around and block a succession of punches by Zell. A forward kick by the martial artist caught Biggs in the midsection, and though the armor there absorbed some of the hit, Biggs was still hurled back on his rear. He climbed back up on his feet even as Selphie hurled a Fire spell his way. The blast of flame hurt, but Biggs was far from done yet. He spun around, firing a long, automatic stream of gunfire at Selphie. She took a hit to the left shin and cried out, dropping to her knees and clutching the wound. Biggs didn't have time to finish her, as Zell closed back in. A few of Zell's punches sneaked through Biggs' guard, but the major replied with a burst of gunfire at point blank range into Zell's chest. The cadet fell back, clutching his wound, but did not fall, to Biggs' surprise.  
  
"The hell?" Biggs exclaimed as Zell straightened. Suddenly, he had to fall back as a gunblade slashed in at his skull.  
  
Squall, recovered from the hit to the stomach, pressed Biggs hard, in spite of the pain, and Zell came up right beside him. Biggs quickly had to fall back, firing a burst of gunfire that staggered but didn't drop the cadets. Biggs didn't understand why they weren't down and dying by now, but then, he'd never fought a SeeD before, so he didn't know about SeeD's defensive junctions.  
  
"How?!" he protested. "That's impossib-ah!" Biggs was suddenly taken off his feet by another well-placed swipe of Selphie's nunchaku. The major rolled away, coming up with another burst of gunfire at Squall. The cadet rolled to the side, evading the burst, and then smacked his gunblade down on top of Biggs's armored arm. The blade cut into the metal but didn't slice through, so Squall quickly pulled the trigger, the explosive blast tearing apart the armor and almost blowing Biggs's arm off.  
  
"Ahhh!" Biggs screamed, falling back and firing with his other arm.  
  
Another Fire spell from Selphie sent Biggs down on the ground. He lay there, moaning in pain.  
  
Wedge, meanwhile, hadn't fared even as well as Biggs had. His left arm was disabled due to a high cut around the shoulder that had left it limp, and his right was bleeding. He was limping, and Seifer still pressed him hard.  
  
Suddenly, both he and the captain were lifted up by a gust of powerful wind, hurled aside.  
  
"Ahhhh!" Wedge screamed, and slammed into the metal shaft at the center of the tower, swiftly hurled into unconsciousness. Seifer fared better, landing on his feet, only slightly shaken up by the blast. He spun around to face the new opponent.  
  
It was red and purple, with huge, bat-like wings, a pair of massive, muscled arms, and no legs. Instead of the legs, it featured a massive abdomen, tipped with a stinger longer than Seifer was tall.  
  
The monster screamed, and one of its clawed hands came in at Seifer. He ducked aside and sliced the arm as it passed.  
  
"What the hell is this thing?!" he shouted.  
  
Seifer's cry caught the attention of his comrades, who spun around to see the massive beast menacing the captain. Squall immediately took control of the situation.  
  
"Zell, you're with me!" he ordered. "We'll go in and engage that thing up close! Selphie, hold back and support us." Both of the other cadets nodded. Squall and Zell were the best fighters, while Selphie, having come from Trabia Garden, was a better spellcaster and worked better at a distance with the longer-ranged nunchaku.  
  
The two male cadets charged to Seifer's aid, while Selphie reached out mentally to the monster and felt its magical energies, searching for any useful magic she might be able to use. Lightning magic was present, and curative energies as well, plus some energies she didn't instantly recognize, and one particularly massive energy. Almost . . . alive? Living energy?  
  
A Guardian Force!  
  
Selphie touched the GF, felt its mind, and called it. The Guardian Force responded immediately, and energy erupted from the monster, crossing the distance to Selphie. Within her mind, she felt the GF's own conciousness.  
  
"Siren," Selphie whispered the liberated Guardian Force's name.  
  
Squall and Zell closed in on the monster as Seifer ducked aside from another swing. The monster noticed the energies being stolen and faced its attackers. Its mouth opened, and then a wave of wind swept across the two charging cadets, hurling them back.  
  
"Ow," Zell muttered, hopping to his feet in time to see Seifer circling around towards them. The captain suddenly charged the monster, ducking under a stabbing stinger and getting in a trio of cuts on the monster. A clubbing backhand hit the captain as he ran out behind the monster, hurling him away and sending him sprawling on the ground, not moving.  
  
"Weapons won't work!" Squall shouted. "We can't get close enough, it's got a range advantage on us. We'll have to rely on magic."  
  
More energy streamed from the monster to Selphie as she drew out the energy she didn't recognize. As soon as the cadet had the energy, she recognized it from lessons at her Garden, though she had never used it in a real combat situation before. It was Double, magic that allowed for rapid casting of spells. Wasting no time, she cast the spell on herself.  
  
Zell and Squall gestured towards the huge monster, and a mighty bolt of lightning and a powerful burst of fire struck the beast as it turned towards Seifer. The monster came around to face Squall and Zell, showing no discernable injuries.  
  
"Oh, damn!" Zell moaned, realizing that magic was also not having much effect. Thundara and Fira were among the most powerful spells they had stocked, but those spells still couldn't even hurt this thing?  
  
The monster gathered more wind in its mouth and spewed it forth, hurling them back again. Squall slammed his back hard against some equipment, and as he rose up, he was hurting. Suddenly, powerful revitalizing magic swept over him, and he glanced back at Selphie. Both he and Zell were recovered from the hits, and even as he watched, Selphie unleashed another spell on the monster. Frigid cold gathered beneath the creature and then shot up, striking the monster and freezing the ground and air around the point where it rose, making the appearance of a large icicle sticking out of the ground. A second powerful Blizzara spell followed immediately afterward. But, as with Zell and Squall's magic, the attacks had little effect on the monster.  
  
"We need more powerful magic!" Squall shouted. "Selphie, I need you to keep me healed while I distract it! Zell, you have your Ifrit junctioned on you, right?" The martial artist nodded. "Okay, I'll keep it busy and try to get to Seifer! Zell, summon Ifrit on it, we need his more powerful magic, got me?"  
  
Both cadets nodded, and Squall raised his gunblade and charged. Zell clasped his hands and focused, while Selphie stayed a short distance behind Squall, ready to heal him.  
  
The beast's claws came in at him, but Squall ducked under one swipe and stopped the other by putting the Revolver's point in line with the grabbing hand and firing off a shot when it's palm came in contact with the razor-sharp tip. The monster stabbed out with its stinger, scratching Squall across the shoulder, but he ducked under it and ran towards Seifer. As he'd expected, the monster had turned to follow him. Its claws came down again, one missing but the other slicing across Squall's chest. He fell back, as a clubbing blow from its other hand came across and knocked him down.  
  
Selphie immediately moved to heal Squall, casting healing spells in rapid succession. The magic immediately mended Squall's wounds and he was back up on his feet in time to dodge a claw that struck where he had lain moments ago. The monster, not stupid, recognized Selphie's supportive actions and turned to face the small cadet.  
  
An explosion of flame caught its attention as Seifer, recovered from the hit he'd taken earlier, rejoined the battle.  
  
"Need some help, Squall?" Seifer asked sarcastically as he stood next to his rival. The monster, once again decided to use its mighty wind blast, and before Squall or Seifer could even begin to evade it, they were hurled back, Seifer almost going over the edge of the tower and falling to his death. The monster turned its attention back to Selphie, who backed away and loosed another pair of Blizzaras upon it. The frozen icicles of the spell hurt the monster, but not enough to deter it. It swung its claws down at Selphie, who just barely dodged one and took the other across her back, the sharp tips cutting her badly.  
  
"Damn it!" Squall thought as he rose to his feet, pulling out a healing potion. "We can't kill it!" Squall popped the cap off and prepared to drink it, but paused as Seifer rose to his feet, jaw clenched, fires in his eyes.  
  
"No!" Seifer denied angrily. "This bitch isn't taking me down!" Seifer rose to his feet, clenching his gunblade tightly and his teeth even tighter. "No mercy for you . . ."  
  
Seifer reached into himself and drew out the emotions of hate, anger, and desperation. These feelings focused to channel intense energy through his body. A flash of glowing light surrounded Seifer as the energy reached its highest peak: its Limit.  
  
Hate, frustration, anger, all of these emotions were powerful, and with them a human could channel incredible strength and energy. Such power was different for each person, but regardless of the individual, when one's emotions reached this high point, the sheer fury of such anger and desperation could be unleashed. This technique was one of the strongest and most dangerous powers a human could have, and properly harnessing that power would turn it into a devastating weapon. The technique of utilizing one's feelings of rage and frustration was one of SeeD's necessary lessons, and also one of its most potent weapons. Many enemies had believed they had a SeeD or cadet defeated and doomed, when that person would suddenly unleash the power within, catching their foes completely off-guard.  
  
Within SeeD, the power to turn one's anger and frustration into a weapon went by the name of Limit. Such was what Seifer was unleashing now.  
  
"You're dead!" Seifer yelled at the monstrosity, and a blast of fire erupted from his hands. The shot of flame stunned the beast for an instant, an instant wherein Seifer twirled his gunblade faster than the eye could see. "DIE!" he roared, then slashed his weapon down, into the metal floor, and then back up. A shockwave of energy erupted from Hyperion, taking on the form of a spinning blade that slashed straight through the monster, causing blood and ichor to splatter out its chest and the other side of its body. It fluttered back, taken by surprise at the power within Seifer's Limit.  
  
Then, behind the monster, Zell finished his summons.  
  
Flames formed in mid-air, hovering and growing amidst a rising pillar of fire. A moment later, Ifrit emerged from those fires, roaring and breathing hellish flames, coming to the aid of his master. The monster turned back to face Ifrit, who held up his hands and formed a huge, glowing ball of magma in them. Before the monster could react, the mass of lava hurtled forth and exploded. The hellish flames burned and tore at the monster's skin, the flames erupting on its hide. The Guardian Force roared in triumph and vanished, taking with him the heat and fires. The monster was left there, skin burned and smoking.  
  
But it wasn't dead.  
  
Squall, who had been watching the fury of the GF and Limit, realized that he needed to get back into the battle. He swiftly downed the healing potion, and rose to his feet as his strength returned.  
  
The creature roared again. Seifer was still pissed off and leaped at the monster, his GF-enhanced strength propelling him forward. Almost casually, the monster's hand came across and batted the furious Seifer aside. The captain flew away, hitting the ground again and rolling near Zell. He stood up once more, even angrier, but before he could channel his emotions into another Limit, the monster threw him off his feet with another wind blast, the hit catching Zell too, throwing him back over the edge of the platform. Zell grabbed on to the ledge in desperation, dangling and holding on for his life. Seifer shook his head and stumbled to his feet, clearly stunned for a moment.  
  
With that enemy taken care of, the huge monster turned back to Selphie, who was getting back up slowly. A single backhand by the monster sent Selphie back down. The beast raised its claws to finish her off.  
  
Not if Squall had anything to say in the matter. And his gunblade had a lot to say.  
  
The cadet, the only able fighter who could act in time to save Selphie, hurled himself across the platform, gunblade raised. The monster caught Squall out of the corner of its eye and turned to face him, claws swooping down at the cadet.  
  
Squall's leg muscles contracted, and with supernatural strength, he hurled himself into the air, clearing the claws and flying up at the hovering monster's ugly face. The Revolver thrust forward, its curving tip burying into one of the creature's eyes. It opened its mouth, to roar in pain or spew forth more wind, Squall didn't know, but he pulled the trigger on his gunblade. The explosive blast erupted into the monster's skull, blasting deep into its head even as Squall's feet braced against the thing's chest.  
  
The monster thrashed viciously, desperately, but Squall held on, and pulled the trigger a second time, then a third, and a fourth, each blast decimating the creature's vulnerable brain. That last blast did it, for the monster stopped thrashing and just dropped to the platform, very dead. Squall tore his bloody gunblade free and limped to the side, watching the body as it seemed to break apart, pieces of it floating off into the air like dust in the wind. Within seconds, the monster was gone.  
  
Squall turned back to his injured and tired comrades. Zell had managed to climb back up, while Seifer stood up straight, still looking proud and strong despite the bruises the desperate battle had left on him. Selphie too sat up, casting a doubled curative spell on herself, which quickly mended her wounds. Her casting done, she walked over to Seifer, and the absurdity of the situation hit Squall.  
  
All this to deliver one Hyne-damned message, he thought. Judging by the sour look on Zell's face, he was thinking the same thing. It had better be important.  
  
"Squad B captian?" Selphie asked Seifer, who nodded. "S'cuse me, but I have new orders! All SeeDs and SeeD cadets are to withdraw at 1900 hours. Assemble at the shore."  
  
"Withdraw?!" Seifer protested. "There are still enemies around!"  
  
Not likely, Squall thought. Excepting the injured officer and his equally maimed subordinate, Squall didn't think any living or combat capable Galbadians were left in the Tower, especially with Seifer's unexpected methodical sweep of the building.  
  
"I know," Selphie replied. "But I'm just a messenger."  
  
"The order to withdraw takes priority," Squall reminded Seifer. "I don't want to miss the vessel." Seifer seemed about to complain, but then reluctantly agreed.  
  
"1900 . . . " Seifer muttered, checking his watch. "It's 1830 now. We've only got thirty minutes!" He turned back to his squad. "Better run!" Then, he hit the button for the platform, and hopped on. Before the cadets could stop him, Seifer was out of sight.  
  
"Hey!" Selphie called after him, sounding upset. "Wait for us!"  
  
"Who does he think he is?!" Zell complained.  
  
"Why don't you ask him?" Squall replied with a shrug. Still, he too was angered with Seifer's selfishness. They only had thirty minutes. Do he want them to be left behind?  
  
"Damn it!" Zell shouted. "We're gonna have to haul ass! Is there another elevator?" A quick check revealed a second elevator platform on the other side of the shaft, and the trio of cadets wasted no time descending.  
  
-------------------  
  
As their elevator dropped out of view, Biggs, still injured, crawled over to his bag. He reached in and snatched up a control panel, then laughed to himself.  
  
"Those little twerps are the targets!" he whispered in maniacal glee as he hit a number of buttons. "Wait 'till you see one of our new toys . . . Now GO!" he shouted suddenly, pumping his armored fist. "Go and DESTROY them!"  
  
Nearby, a dark shape rose from its dormant state, responding to Biggs's orders. It marked its targets, and with a deep clang of metal on metal, it began moving.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------- I'll have to admit that Prodigy and Peter Eliot's works in their own novelizations (Go read them. NOW. PEPTUCK COMMANDS YOU. They're on Fanfiction.net, just run a search for Prodigy or Peter Eliot there) has influenced my work, although those messy little morality details go out the window in this fic. Squall (or at least, Squall as interpreted by me) has a personal ethos towards killing: "If they try to kill you, your comrades, or any innocents, you kill them. No remorse. Pacifism be damned."  
  
In case anyone was wondering, yes, some Matrix-ish manuvers were implemented by Squall and Co. I figure with junctions, especially Str-J, Vit-J, and Spd-J, plus junctioning magic to Evade and also being able to boost one's abilities, such as with Str20% and so on, the SeeDs could be able to pull of some Matrix-like manuvers. Bullet-dodging, crazy cartweels and flips, wall running, insanely long or high jumps, and being able to pull of combat manuvers requiring incredible strength and speed are among a SeeD's repertiore. Plus, it helps that I am a Matrix fanboy. So, don't be surprised if the characters do something "larger than life." After all, with GFs, they've got gods on their sides. 


	9. Run Away!

Chapter 8: Run Away!  
  
"Twenty-eight minutes!" Squall shouted as they left the tower. They had just over twenty-eight minutes to cover a distance that had taken over an hour and a half to cover before, so understandably, the trio of cadets were running flat-out through the double-doors.  
  
Despite the huffing and panting from their breaths as they left, Zell thought he heard something overhead, far above them. A metallic clanging sound. He glanced up, and spotted something up on the platform where the cadets had just fought for their lives.  
  
A huge, black shape was up there, walking to the edge of the platform. Then, it leaped, dropping down towards them.  
  
"Look out!" Zell shouted, catching the attention of his comrades. They spun around in time to see Zell scrambling back-  
  
-and then a huge, black machine dropped down right where he'd been standing, the mechanized weapon landing nimbly on its four legs. With a thunderous, mechanical piston-like stomping sound, its legs spread out, balancing the heavy weight of the machine. The weapon turned its attention towards the cadets, as if sizing them up.  
  
For a moment, no one moved. Squall had never seen anything like this. It was huge, twice Squall or Zell's height, and as wide as it was tall. It had a long, rectangular body, supported on four large, cylindrical legs, spread out like the legs of a spider, with sharp, clawed tips. It was painted matte black, excepting blueish designs on its legs, red markings across its body, and the steel-gray grating on the front of the machine. Behind this grating, something glowed a dark red, a sensor perhaps. Whatever it was, it was looking directly at the cadets. A quartet of turbines in the back powered the machine, and a pair of black and gray metallic pinchers, like those of a scorpion, waved around like that of a real scorpion just in front of the gray grating of its "head." On its side, in blocky, Galbadian script, one could read the number and letter designation "X-ATM092." Scrawled beneath in crude, white paint were the words "Black Widow."  
  
The machine, apparently finished with its analysis of the trio, stepped forward, its metal legs gouging chunks out of the concrete bricks below them.  
  
"Watch it!" Squall shouted, raising the Revolver as the machine came forward. It suddenly stopped and drove its two forward pinchers into the ground, then one of its legs rose up, and the claw shot out at him, driven like a piston. Squall ducked and spun away, the claw catching him on the shoulder and tearing his jacket, and drawing blood from shoulder skin. He came back around and slashed his gunblade across, the sharpened edge slicing into the metal leg but doing little damage.  
  
The leg retracted and the machine drew its pinchers out of the ground, just as Zell came in and launched a quick combo of punches into the machine's "face." His GF-enhanced strength resulting in some satisfyingly dented metal, but the machine did not seem to be noticing until it raised a pincher and attempted to slam it down through Zell's skull. The agile martial artist backed away, and the claw only smashed stone.  
  
Then, sparks and lightning flew all along the machine's front end as Selphie unleashed a Thundara spell, the powerful lightning bolt playing hell with the front end of the machine, and the electrical blast being carried all throughout its body by its metal armor.  
  
Still, the weapon stood, and came forward again, pinchers jabbing at Squall and Zell. Both cadets ducked and dodged, and Zell hopped over the pincers to land a powerful kick into the machine's front end. The sheer power behind the kick caused the machine to stumble back, almost through the Comms Tower's doors.  
  
Squall, meanwhile, went under, slashing his gunblade up into the underside of the machine's "head." As the Revolver sliced in, Squall fired a quick blast, the blast shattering through the heavy armor to damage electronics within.  
  
Another Thundara roared in and blasted the mechanized weapon, and Squall had to leap back as the machine toppled forward, Selphie's spell finishing the device. It dropped down into the ground and was still, and the cadets breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
"Let's get the hell out of here!" Zell shouted, reminding them of the limited time they had to spare. Immediately, the cadets ran up the trail that would lead them back down the mountian, leaving behind the Galbadian war machine. The brief battle had only lasted a minute, but that was a minute the cadets did not have.  
  
-------------------  
  
Galbadian computer technicians and programmers were quite skilled, and their programming capabilities were shown in their ability to program the army's military robot forces. They had even developed an advanced artifical intelligence program, which was still being experimented on. That AI program was capable of learning from its mistakes and adjusting for them, as well as developing new methods and solutions to a problem. Such an AI had yet to have been tested in the field, so the Galbadian military command had decided to put it into use on a relatively minor military conflict, to determine its effectiveness. That conflict happened to be the one in Dollet, and the AI was included in the latest model of the Galbadian "X-ATM" series, X-ATM092, along with advanced targeting programming, new weaponry, and highly advanced redundant systems and heavy armor. The engineers were proud of their new weapon, which promised to dominate the future world battlefield.  
  
Those engineers would not have been dissappointed in X-ATM092's seemingly easy defeat at the hands of the cadets. In fact, those engineers would have merely smiled at the cadets who now thought they were safe and the weapon was destroyed. In fact, the weapon was far from destroyed; a few spells, some punches, and a couple of cuts and a relatively weak explosion wouldn't stop this mighty a weapon. In fact, were it not for the spells, X- ATM092 wouldn't have even fallen over at Squall and Zell's abuse. And even with the spells, which themselves were not powerful enough to stop the weapon, the damage the machine had taken was relatively minimal.  
  
Even as the cadets fled, within X-ATM092 tiny robots, controlled by the central AI, swarmed over its overloaded and damaged electronics. Like a horde of frenzied mechanics, the tiny robots reassembled and repaired X- ATM092's wounds.  
  
In the meantime, X-ATM092's artificial intelligence reviewed its stored maps of the Dollet region, narrowing down its prey's escape routes. Contrary to whatever the cadets had thought, the machine's sensors had actively tracked their escape and knew where they had fled. It immediately realized that there was only one trail its targets could use to get down the mountain.  
  
With that done, the machine then focused on what it had learned from its targets. Two were close-quarters specialists, and while agile, they did not seem strong enough to stand against the weapon for long in melee. The third target, the smallest, was the most dangerous. Acting in support, that target could deal out tremendous damage with electrical magic. It made a note to eliminate that one first.  
  
Three seconds before the repair robots had brought X-ATM092 back onto its feet, it had already marked its own attack route, had assembled a number of contingency plans to ensure its prey could not escape, and was preparing its next plan of attack. Fully repaired, X-ATM092 stood and marked the path of its targets.  
  
Its piston-like legs pumping and clanging, X-ATM092, the Black Widow, resumed the hunt.  
  
-------------------  
  
The cadets had almost managed to work their way back up the trail to the spot where they had spied on the Galbadians earlier, and still had about twenty-five minutes left. By Squall's estimation, if they kept up this pace, then with their GF-enhanced strength fueling their speed they should be able to reach Dollet in about seven minutes and be back at Lapin Beach in another ten.  
  
Seifer would almost certianly beat them there, Squall knew. Was that his plan all along when he'd stolen the elevator? To reach the beach before Squall? It sounded like the kind of petty competition Seifer would try to one-up Squall on, and-  
  
Squall was jolted out of his thoughts by a familiar metallic stomping, and a quick glance behind him confirmed his sudden fears.  
  
The Galbadian machine was hot on their heels, seemingly undamaged by the brutal barrage it had suffered earlier.  
  
"The hell?!" Zell protested, as both he and Selphie had heard the thing approach as well. "I thought we already busted that thing up?!" Squall was equally surprised, especially at the weapon's complete recovery in a matter of minutes.  
  
On the tail end of that thought was another: that they couldn't risk the time to stop and smash this thing again. They would just have to outrun it.  
  
"Forget it!" he ordered as the machine stomped up the path, its sensors locked on the trio. "Let's go!" The other two cadets nodded, and they hurried up the path, scrambling even faster than they had been before. They quickly left the machine in their dust, judging by how its metallic stomps faded into the distance.  
  
They soon passed the cliff top where Seifer had observed the Galbadians and Selphie had joined them, and continued down the path. Squall led the group, while Zell was in the middle. Selphie was right behind him, only trailing by a few feet.  
  
Then, a black multi-ton mass of metal, legs, and destruction leaped straight up the cliff face and missed Selphie by inches, its legs swooping down towards her head and almost scoring a hit. She cried out in surprise and ducked, rolling away as the machine landed nimbly on the rocks above the cliff top. It spun around immediately and charged again, aiming deliberately for Selphie once more.  
  
Zell and Squall met it, the gunblade-wielding cadet hurling a Thundara at the machine while the martial artist dished out a mighty flying kick into its grille. The spider machine was knocked off-balance for a second, long enough to allow Selphie to recover and add her own Thundara spell to the attack while Squall joined Zell in close-quarters combat.  
  
X-ATM092 took several damaging blows to its front before stepping back and turning to the left, almost defensively. Squall and Zell followed up, trying to disable the machine quickly. They immediately realized their mistake as the machine's forward right leg shot out in a sweeping slash. Zell backflipped out of its way, but Squall took the clawed end across the chest and was knocked off his feet. The machine came right in behind its own attack, stomping over to the downed cadet and attacking him with a pair of raised pinchers, which dove down at Squall's prone form.  
  
The cadet rolled out of the way frantically, the pinchers burying into the rock mere inches from Squall's side. That wasn't the end of Squall's rolling, as he had to scramble aside again as the machine raised another of its legs and attempted to drive the piston-powered claw into his chest. Squall came out beside the machine on its left side.  
  
Then, Zell was overhead again, once more pounding away with superhuman strength into the weapon's front grille. A third Thundara struck the machine, which still stubbornly stood. It tore its pinchers free of the ground and stomped forward, forcing Zell back. The machine shifted its angle slightly, bringing it in line with Selphie once more.  
  
A fourth powerful Thundara blasted the machine's backside, hitting its turbines precisely, courtesy of Squall, who was now located behind the weapon. The electrical blast overloaded and destroyed several of the turbines, and the weapon stumbled, losing power to critical systems. Its legs suddenly stopped moving, but forward momentum still carried it towards Selphie. She dove out of the way, barely getting clear as the huge weapon hurtled past.  
  
And then it fell right over the edge of the cliff, tumbling down to smash into the concrete bricks below. It didn't move.  
  
All three cadets paused for a second to catch their breath. Squall shook his head at the difference in the machine's attack this time, and at its surprising tactical and strategic skills. Instead of blindly pursuing them, it had apparently doubled back on its attack route and instead ambushed them. And the attack had been deliberately focused on Selphie this time, an intelligent move considering she'd blasted it down with powerful magic the first time.  
  
"That was close," Selphie remarked. Zell nodded.  
  
"Yeah," he agreed. "But we can't stick around! We gotta get moving!"  
  
Squall nodded in agreement and the trio charged down the mountianside, leaving X-ATM092's wreck behind them.  
  
Or at least, they thought they were doing that. But only about two minutes down the mountian, they once again heard the familiar metallic stomping.  
  
"Aw, hell no!" Zell denied, looking over his shoulder. The weapon was once more on its feet, and had leaped back up to the spot where it had ambushed them minutes ago. Still, that was a fairly great distance, and the machine only looked like a distant and ominous black shape up there.  
  
"Don't worry!" Selphie shouted, sounding hopeful. "It can't get to us down here! We're too far away!"  
  
-------------------  
  
If X-ATM092 could have had emotions, it would have felt a combination of irritation and respect for its targets. Its ambush had not gone off as well as it intended; the sword-wielder was surprisingly agile and also seemed to be able to deal out electrical damage to a devastating degree. It made the artifical intelligence equivilant of a mental note about that, filing the sword-wielder away as the most dangerous of its targets.  
  
It also made a note to not expose its backside to attacks, especially electrical ones. The failure of the turbines had been most unfortunate, and it couldn't allow that to happen again. It would make sure to keep its foes in front when at all possible.  
  
X-ATM092 also decided to change its tactics. It seemed mere brute force, using leg swipes and pincher attacks, was not going to defeat these targets; it was going to have to use its more powerful weaponry, and make more effective use of its mighty speed and jumping power.  
  
That done, X-ATM092 stood at its position, watching the targets flee. It wasn't watching in helplessness at how the enemy was so far away. Far from it. It knew it couldn't possibly catch up to its prey, at least not quickly, by pursuing them on foot down the trails, and its current location offered it an excellent vantage point. It paid particular attention to the path its targets took, and how the trail narrowed at several points. One of these points, it noted, was at the top of one of the many artificial stairways leading up the path. An excellent position from which to strike at its targets.  
  
The weapon hunched down low, its legs preparing to spring and hurl it up and then down onto that location. Its computers calculated the distance, and factored in the wind speed and direction. The weapon made the appropriate adjustments, all the while watching the trio of cadets below.  
  
-------------------  
  
Squall, Zell, and Selphie ran down the stairs, hurrying as fast as their legs could carry them. They still had twenty minutes left and were not too far from the edge of the city proper. The bridge crossing the ravine was visible ahead, further down the path.  
  
Squall kept glancing over his shoulder at the huge war machine, despite Selphie's proclamation that it was way too far away to threaten them. The spider machine still stood up there, looking ominous yet impotent. Squall could still see the faint red glow of its sensors, even at this distance.  
  
While he had been checking, both Zell and Selphie had gotten further ahead. Those two had gained on and passed Squall earlier up on the trail, who himself had fallen back almost unconciously. He was still concerned about the machine, so he had taken up rear guard so as not to give it another shot at either of his comrades.  
  
"Hurry, Squall!" Zell shouted as the gunblade-wielding cadet stopped halfway down the steps to look back at the machine. It still stood there, mighty but harmless, watching them flee. He turned back to Zell and nodded, then began to run down the steps again. He almost reached the bottom when he looked back up.  
  
It was no longer at the top. Instead, the multi-ton killing machine came right down the side of the mountian, leaping the entire distance to slam down onto the steps no more than ten feet behind Squall. The shockwave from its impact knocked Squall off his feet, but then he stood back up quickly, backing away in preparation for the machine's coming assault.  
  
It didn't advance. Instead, even as the cadet was pulling himself up onto his feet, the machine was spreading its legs out wide, as if bracing itself. Both its pinchers folded up around its head, and suddenly, steam poured out from its turbine engines, rising up over the machine's back. A glowing ball of energy began forming directly underneath the machine's "face."  
  
Squall barely had time to react as a yellow beam shot out from that ball, striking the ground right in front of him.  
  
Then he was airborne, hurled up and back by the force of the explosion as the machine's attack blew the ground at his feet apart like an artillery shell. Squall came down right on top of Zell, who, along with Selphie, had spun around to face the suddenly very real danger that the machine posed once more.  
  
Selphie wasted no time launching another Thundara the machine's way. The electrical blast staggered the machine as it had before, but didn't come close to stopping it. In response, the weapon set its feet once more, and a second ball of energy formed.  
  
"Scatter!" Squall shouted, diving away from Zell. Selphie backed away quickly, and Zell dove in the opposite direction in an attempt to avoid the weapon's beam.  
  
The energy ray shot out again, but to the cadets' surprise, the beam arced along the ground at their feet. Another tremendous explosion, arcing in a semicircle, blasted the surprised cadets off their feet.  
  
"Oww," Selphie muttered as she stood back up.  
  
"Dammit!" Zell roared, leaping to his feet and preparing to charge the Galbadian machine. "You just don't know when to quit, do you?!"  
  
Squall struggled to his feet as well, grabbing a potion from his item belt and downing the blue liquid. As his wounds began to mend, he looked back up at the weapon.  
  
A third ball of energy was forming.  
  
Once more, the cadets were blasted off their feet by the energy attack, the ground now sporting multiple gashes from the unusual ray weapon. The machine, apparently satisfied that its targets were sufficiently weakened, advanced down the concrete steps.  
  
The trio of cadets couldn't keep taking this degree of an assault. They were going to need heavier firepower.  
  
"Zell, Selphie!" he shouted as the others rose to their feet and the machine closed in. "Quick, summon GFs on it!" The others nodded as Squall rose to his feet. At that moment, he noticed that the weapon was angled toward him now, advancing with a single-minded intent. It charged quickly, its pinchers raised. Squall dove out of the way, barely dodging the stabbing metal. He glanced over his shoulder to see Zell and Selphie concentrating, eyes tightly closed.  
  
Squall would have to keep the machine busy until they were finished with their summons. He charged at the machine suddenly, diving right between its pinchers and slashing the Revolver across its grille. He fired a shot as he cut in, and was rewarded with an explosion that forced the weapon to take a couple of steps back. As it turned back to him, Squall noted that the weapon's glowing red sensors seemed dimmer. It took one step forward, then froze in place, as if assessing a new threat. Squall knew immediately that he had bought at least one of the others enough time, and dove out of the way.  
  
Ifrit hurled a massive pair of fireballs at X-ATM092, the fires scorching, warping, and melting metal. The weapon stepped back, caught off guard by the GF's summon. It turned to face the Guardian Force, as if preparing to attack it, when the entity of flame vanished. In an instant, the intense fires and heat faded, replaced by bone-chilling cold.  
  
Shiva's icicle rose out of the ground and shattered, revealing the ice Guardian Force. She wasted no time, hurling an intense shockwave of pure cold at the machine. The frigid air struck the weapon, the cold freezing and immobilizing the machine under a thick layer of ice. It remained under the ice, unmoving, and the ice GF faded away, taking the cold with her. Moments later, the ice around the weapon shattered, and the trio of cadets readied to hurl spells at the unstoppable machine.  
  
Apparently, though, the ice had only shattered due to the weight of the weapon as it fell over on its side, disabled by the fury of the GFs.  
  
Still, Squall held no illusions of safety.  
  
"Let's move!" he shouted, turning around quickly and waving the others to run on. They also spun around, realizing that they had probably stopped the seemingly indestructable machine for only a moment.  
  
Indeed, even as they came within sight of the bridge, the familiar mechanical stomping assaulted them once more as the weapon charged down the trail. All three cadets put on more speed, running with all their GF- enhanced strength. They pitted their supernatural speed against the machine's engines, and for a moment, the trio thought they were faster. The weapon was not gaining on them as they passed through a particularly narrow part of the trail, rock walls rising up on either side of them. A few moments later, the machine slammed into the rock walls, not able to squeeze its unyeilding metal bulk through the gap.  
  
Within seconds the cadets were on the bridge and running flat out. Meanwhile, the weapon still struggled to get through the gap, its own bulk and mechanized power straining against the rock walls. Cracks formed in the granite as nature contended with Galbadian engineering.  
  
"The city!" Squall shouted. "We might be able to lose it inside!" Zell and Selphie agreed and put on as much more speed as humanly possible, hopping over the bodies of the dead Galbadians that Squad B had dropped earlier. They were almost entirely across the bridge when X-ATM092 had managed to squeeze through the gap, or rather, had widened the gap to accommadate itself. It stomped out onto the bridge in time to see the cadets nearing the far end.  
  
Squall looked back at the weapon as it stood at the far end of the bridge, and expected it to chase them across its length. Instead, the machine crouched low to the ground like a cat about to spring, and then it leaped.  
  
The machine covered the entire distance of the bridge and more, landing ahead of the cadets at the very end of the bridge, right where it met the street. It spun around and stomped towards the stunned trio.  
  
"What now?!" Zell asked desperately.  
  
"We have to disable it again!" Squall replied, raising his gunblade. But then, the machine stopped. For an instant, Squall thought it was going to use its ray weapon again, but instead the pinchers folded up in front of the weapon's face, almost as if sheilding it. It leaned back on its legs, once more looking like a pouncing cat, and then hurled itself forward at the cadets.  
  
On the narrow bridge, the cadets couldn't hope to get out of the way of the simple but brutal attack. X-ATM092's muli-ton metal bulk slammed all three cadets and hurled them back off their feet, practically to the far end of the bridge.  
  
"You got to be kiddin' me," Zell complained, pushing himself shakily up on one knee. Selphie sat up, but didn't try to stand, instead gesturing at the advancing machine and loosing her last Thundara spell at it.  
  
The machine stumbled, but didn't fall as the electrical energy interfered with its movements. It continued stomping forward when Squall rose to his feet and charged, gunblade raised.  
  
"Use your GFs again!" he shouted, dodging a jab of a pincher and slashing across with his gunblade. An explosion accompanied the cut as the Revolver fired off another blast. The others nodded and repeated their summoning.  
  
X-ATM092 wasn't stupid, and it realized that the powerful attacks its foes had used before were being employed again. It didn't hesitate, setting its feet once more and ignoring the swordsman as he slashed it across its "face" again. The ball of energy formed underneath its sensors and then the yellow beam shot out at the two cadets.  
  
The explosions hurled them off their feet and right out of their summons, though they weren't injured as the sheilding GFs protected them. The GFs, on the other hand, were not so lucky. Neither Zell nor Selphie could feel the thoughts of the Guardian Forces they had attempted to summon anymore. The GFs were still there, in their minds, but they could not contact them.  
  
That was one of the few weaknesses of Guardian Forces. While being summoned, the GF would project a field of protection around its summoner, powered by its own magical energies. If that protective field sustained too much damage, then the Guardian Force lost its connection with its summoner and was unable to be called forth again for some time. It could not be permenantly damaged, but the entity was unavailable until it had recovered.  
  
Both cadets struggled to their feet, shaking their heads and feeling slightly disoriented. A sharp clang of metal on metal drew their attention, and they looked up to see Squall still fighting with the machine, his gunblade scoring hits on the weapon's armor and the hybrid weapon's blasts damaging its internals. He was doing well, but they both knew that he couldn't hope to stand up in melee for much longer.  
  
Their GFs had been disabled, so neither Zell nor Selphie could summon those again. They also doubted that the weapon would give them a chance to summon up any more GFs. Magic would bring the machine down again, but Zell had no Thundara or Thunder magic on hand, and their other spells were nowhere near as effective against the armored enemy.  
  
"I'm out of Thundaras!" Selphie moaned. Zell agreed with the sound of her voice. Without Thundaras, they didn't stand a chance of defeating the machine, or even beating it off without heavy firepower. "We need a rocket launcher or something! Something big and powerful!" Selphie shouted. Zell agreed, but what could they use? He looked around quickly, frantically, for anything. He spotted the dead corpses of some of the Galbadians they had killed earlier . . . .  
  
And then Zell noticed the grenades on a nearby soldier's belt.  
  
"Selphie, distract it!" Zell shouted as he bent down next to the corpse and snatched a pair of grenades off its belt. "Get its attention!" She nodded and immediately loosed a basic Fire spell on it, the flames scorching but hardly serious to the armored weapon. It turned its attention towards her for a second, allowing Squall to get in another slash into its "face." It stabbed down with a pincher at him, but Squall just hopped back away from the attack.  
  
Even as Squall moved back, Zell leaped forward, hooking his thumbs under the pins of the grenades and popping them free.  
  
"Get back!" Zell shouted as he ducked under the pinchers and came right up in front of the machine's "face." His hands shot out, dropping the grenades through the gaps in the machine's grille. Wasting no time, the martial artist leaped up and kicked off the top of the machine's "head," his superhuman strength hurling him up and back into a somersaulting leap.  
  
Then the grenades detonated.  
  
X-ATM092 was practically blown onto its back by the explosions, its front end lifting up with the force of the detonations as chunks of its "face" flew everywhere. The weapon's front dropped back down, slamming down onto the bridge and laying still, its entire front section ablaze.  
  
"OH, YEAH, BABY!" Zell shouted, pumping his fists triumphantly at the dead hunk of metal in front of him. "You like that, huh?!" Selphie joined him in a cheer of victory against the spider machine. Squall, meanwhile, wasn't as thrilled, though he was relieved now that the machine was down. He glanced at his watch, then tapped Zell on the shoulder.  
  
"Twelve minutes," he alerted them, and the others stopped cheering.  
  
"Time to haul ass," Zell remarked.  
  
Squall couldn't have agreed more.  
  
-------------------  
  
Other nations often cursed the Galbadian weapon engineers for their resourcefulness. It wasn't uncommon for a military force to encounter a Galbadian weapon, then meet up with a similar one a short time later and find it armed with completely new and completely unexpected weaponry or equipment. X-ATM092 was no exception, employing not one, not two, but three redundant power cores and four seperate internal AI computers. What resulted from this internal redundancy was the fact that the weapon could not be destroyed unless everything was eliminated before the AI cores could repair them. Needless to say, doing so was a difficult task in and of itself.  
  
So, while Zell's daring grenade tactic had succeeded in disabling the forward sensors, one power core, and two seperate AI computers, and had knocked out the DH-22 Ray Bomb cannon, it was little more than an inconvienience to the machine.  
  
The repair robots issued forth once more and rapidly worked over the machine's blasted front. Within only a few minutes the front end had been mostly repaired and the forward sensors were reconstructed. The repair robots didn't have time to perfect the repairs, but they got the machine's sensors and forward equipment, particularly the DH-22 Ray Bomb, operating once more.  
  
Five minutes after Zell had blown X-ATM092 down, it was back up on its feet and hot on the trail of its prey.  
  
-------------------  
  
Dollet's streets were as empty now as they had been before, and Squall, Zell, and Selphie hurried through them, knowing they didn't have much time to get to the beach. The tall buildings loomed up overhead like the rock walls of the mountian trails had minutes ago.  
  
"Seven minutes!" Squall warned them as the saw the Central Square ahead. They should be able to take the side road from the Square that lead to Lapin Beach and get there in under four minutes if they continued with the flat-out run.  
  
Then, the impossible happened.  
  
Thunderous metallic clanging sounded down the street behind them.  
  
As one, the cadets spun around, and saw X-ATM092 charging down the street, still bent on its singular purpose.  
  
"That . . . No way!" Zell shouted. "That's imposible! Its supposed to be dead!"  
  
"Go!" Squall shouted, spinning back towards the Central square. "Go! Go!" The cadets took off and charged down the street, the machine hot on their heels. Squall looked back over his shoulder to see the machine closing even faster with them. Despite their GF-enhanced strength, the weapon was faster than them on the straight, narrow streets. They wouldn't be able to escape it.  
  
And in their current condition, wounded, tired, incapable of summoning Guardian Forces in heated combat, and with little or no electrical magic remaining between them, Squall doubted that the others could survive another encounter with that thing.  
  
As the cadets entered the Central Square, Squall spun around next to the fountian and focused, closing his eyes tightly and reaching into his mind and touching the GFs there.  
  
"Squall!" Selphie shouted, noticing he'd stopped.  
  
"What the hell are you doing?!" Zell also shouted.  
  
"Get out of here," Squall responded quietly, barely audible over the sound of the metallic clanging as X-ATM092 neared the Square. "I'll hold it."  
  
"But-!" Selphie began, but Zell only nodded and grabbed her by the shoulder.  
  
"We gotta move!" he replied, and ran down the street towards the beach. "We don't wanna be here when that thing arrives!" Selphie hesitated, then turned and ran as well.  
  
Moments later, X-ATM092 stomped into the Central Square, spotting the lone enemy. It took a step towards Squall, but then paused, realizing its target was summoning a GF again. Its legs spread outward, and the turbines pumped once more, and the DH-22 Ray Bomb powered up.  
  
Then Squall opened his eyes, his summoning complete.  
  
The skies above Dollet, or rather, just above the Square, suddenly sported ominious, spiraling storm clouds. Ran began to pour down upon the Central Square, and then, from the center of the spiraling clouds, a single mighty lightning bolt struck the ground. But, instead of scoring the concrete pavement, from the impact point rose a spinning yellow entity.  
  
It took on the form of a mighy yellow bird as it continued spinning, rising up and growing bigger, crackling blue electricity running along its length as if demanding to be released. Within an instant, the creature had fully manifested, a great yellow bird with black markings across its body. Except this bird had no feathers, or beak, or even face. Its neck and head resembled that of a serpent's, but without eyes or mouth. In fact, the whole body was smooth and yellow, with many white lights playing across its surface as it hovered in the air for an instant.  
  
Quezacotl looked down on its foe, and then the lightning Guardian Force's head snapped forward, seeming to spew lightning from where the mouth would have been on a snake. The lightning swiftly surrounded X- ATM092, then began to form a dome of electrical energy around the weapon, high above the ground. From the apex of this dome, a single brilliant bolt of energy lanced down, striking the weapon dead center and sending tremendous amounts of electricity throughout the machine. Components exploded, the turbines blew apart, and within an instant, X-ATM092 was down once more, this time at Quezacotl's hands.  
  
Its duty done, the Guardian Force faded away, and Squall retreated from the Square. Something told him that the weapon was not dead, even in the face of Quezacotl's fury.  
  
He was right, for even as he had exited the Square, X-ATM092 was back on its feet and continuing the pursuit. It crashed through the archway over the street Squall ran down, plowing under a car parked nearby and charging on.  
  
Squall knew he couldn't outrun his pursuer, so he opted instead to evade it. The cadet ducked down a side alley, X-ATM092 in hot pursuit. The weapon, not an advocate of subtlety and not able to fit its bulk between the buildings, opted to smash right through the walls. A tremendous crashing sound, like a battalion of wrecking crews had been let loose behind him, alerted Squall to X-ATM092's straightforward approach.  
  
Putting on more speed, the cadet glanced back to see the spider machine smashing through the brick walls on either side of the alley, tearing apart metal support and concrete, with multiple tons of construction falling down on top of it as it advanced. Still, the weapon was slowed somewhat by the intervening walls, giving Squall the chance to pull away and reach the far end of the alley. He exited the alley on another street, and quickly bolted down the road, hoping to find another alleyway to continue the evasion in.  
  
Meanwhile, X-ATM092 had finished transforming the alleyway into another large Dollet street and burst free, taking sizable chunks of the buildings that had stood in its way on either side with it. It spun around, scanning for its target and analyzing the maps of this section of Dollet for any hiding spots usable by its prey.  
  
The weapon spotted Squall as he ducked into another alley, and the chase was on anew.  
  
Squall sped down the alley, aware of the all-too-familiar crashing the machine made as it was walking. However, rather than coming from behind him, at the entrance to the alley, the sound was coming from beside him . . .  
  
Then, more tremendous smashing and crunching accompanied the metal clanging, and suddenly Squall realized that the weapon wasn't chasing him through the alley, it was smashing straight through the buildings to get at him!  
  
X-ATM092 exploded out of the wall directly behind Squall, bricks and other random objects flying as it came to a stop and brought its pinchers up for the kill. The cadet rolled away desperately, evading the pinchers by mere inches and running flat out for the far end of the alleyway. The weapon was right behind him, slowed again by the intervening walls but still continuing the dogged pursuit.  
  
Squall burst free of the alley again and ran flat out for the end of the street. At the far end, just beyond the archway marking the end of the road, Squall could see Lapin Beach and the waiting SeeD Salamanders.  
  
X-ATM092 had little use for windows, but in that instant, as it was smashing through the alley's walls, it spotted Squall through one of the windows of the building on its left, fleeing as hard as he could down the road. Rather than continue the process of bursting through the alleyway, X- ATM092 instead simply turned, recalling its maps. It recognized that this road gently curved, meaning that if it went along a straight path while its prey took the road, it could intercept its target. The only thing standing in the machine's way were the buildings, after all.  
  
Squall soon neared the "Shining Bomber" tavern, where Squad C still stood at the overhead walkway, ready with their rifles.  
  
"Withdraw!" Squall shouted at them. "Squad C! Withdraw! Get out of here!" Ordinarily, Squad C wasn't under Squall's command, but the frenzied way he was running and the sounds they had heard moments before, of something big smashing through the buildings in the area from which Squall had emerged, was enough incentive for them. Not wanting to meet whatever it was Squall fled from, the squad simply leaped down the walkway and ran flat out for the far end of the street.  
  
Squall was about five seconds behind them, legs pumping hard. Somewhere to his left, Squall could hear the sound of crashing and brick walls collapsing. He turned to look that way, but now the sound was no longer beside him, it was behind-  
  
-and X-ATM092 smashed through the buildings behind Squall, hurling debris and a nearby car across the street and charging after the fleeing cadet, with all its horrible, unstoppable fury.  
  
-------------------  
  
"Instructor!" Zell shouted as he ran across the beach, Selphie right behind him. Quistis was standing by their Salamander, the last one without any cadets on board, and still waiting for their own squad to return. Xu was also nearby.  
  
"Zell!" Quistis called, looking over his shoulder. She could see two other cadets, from Squad C, hurrying across the sand, but no one was behind them. "Squall?! Where is he?"  
  
"Behind us!" Zell shouted. "There's some kind of Galbadian weapon chasing him, and-" Metallic crashing from the direction of the street caught everyone's attention, and they spun in that direction in time to see X-ATM092 crash right through the archway, hurling debris and then standing at the top of the street, overlooking Lapin Beach.  
  
Among that debris was a human, Squall, who landed in the sand. He began struggling to get up, and the huge weapon turned its red gaze down on him.  
  
"Squall!" Selphie yelled, her shout echoed by Zell and Xu a moment later. The martial artist turned to Quistis.  
  
"Instructor!" Zell shouted, turning to Quistis. "We've got to . . . ."  
  
But Quistis wasn't there.  
  
-------------------  
  
Get up and run, Leonhart! Squall mentally screamed to himself as he stood up. Behind and overhead, X-ATM092 took a step forward, setting one of its clawed feet on the starcase leading down from the street to the beach. The staircase didn't support the monstrous machine's weight, and X-ATM092 suddenly lost balance and went toppling right over the edge of the street to crash into the sands below.  
  
By that time, Squall was up and hurling himself across the beach, running with every once of strength his GFs could give him. He hurried across the sands, spotting Zell, Selphie, and Xu up ahead. Zell was pumping his fists and waving his arms in the universal "hurry up" fashion, while the other two stood intently, watching and calling for him.  
  
As Squall's boots tossed up sand, X-ATM092 stood back up, surprised by the failure of the stairs to support it. It turned its attenton to Squall, locked him in, and charged.  
  
Squall's movements across the beach were quick, but the spider machine's were even faster. It closed the gap between itself and the cadet, pinchers ready to stab out and grab or impale him.  
  
Squall put every last ounce of his strength into running faster. The vessel's open doors were only about fifteen feet away, but the machine was an equal distance behind and approaching much more quickly. He wouldn't make it!  
  
"No!" Squall denied, his leg muscles tensing. He put everything into one final, desperate lunge for the open doors. Squall leaped, his supernatural strength hurling him across the fifteen-foot distance, a length no man could normally cover. It didn't seem Squall would either, for the machine was directly behind him, pinchers ready to knock him out of the air halfway through his flight.  
  
Then, a new and unbelievably welcome sound assaulted Squall's ears: that of the high-power, high-caliber machinegun mounted on the top of the vessel opening fire. He looked up, just in time to catch a bit of blonde hair. Quistis!  
  
Quistis held the trigger down and held the weapon steady, the bullets from her machinegun ripping through the Galbadian weapon's heavy armor. The sheer force behind the bullets kept pushing it back, kept it from stabbing down with its pinchers into Squall's body. He sailed safely through the open doors, colliding with the metal decking. Inside, Xu screamed for the pilot to pull away. He gunned the engines, but X-ATM092 was still out there.  
  
No longer was the machine aiming for Squall. Instead, it tried to stop the vessel from escaping. Its legs rose up, trying to stab down into the vessel's hull and hold it fast. But Quistis kept on firing, her bullets forcing X-ATM092 back. Hundereds of holes now dotted the machine's outer body, the metal slugs tearing apart electronics and ripping through power cores. The AI computers began issuing repair orders even as the weapon made its final lunge, but then they fell silent, and the weapon stopped thinking, as Quistis's bullets tore apart the computers. The weapon's interior quickly came to resemble shredded cheese as more bullets stuck it, and continued to hit it even as it fell down. Smoke issued forth from the dying machine's shredded corpse, and fires erupted within.  
  
Moments later, the vessel pulled away, and as Quistis watched, X- ATM092 detonated, the explosion hurling chunks and components out over the ocean.  
  
Inside, Squall sat back against a bulkhead, and inhaled, feeling as if he hadn't breathed at all since the Central Square. Selphie, Zell, and Xu, also inside, let out their own held breaths.  
  
"Heh," a voice called, and Squall looked up to see Seifer, seated in the same spot where he'd been during the breifing, his feet propped up on the table and boredom apparent on his face. He looked almost as if he'd never left his spot in the whole Dollet battle. "Squall," Seifer asked, smiling. He cocked his head to the side, as if surprised at something.  
  
"What took you so long?" 


	10. Inaguration

Chapter 9: Inaguration  
  
The ride back to Balamb was, thankfully, uneventful. Squall had had enough of surprises for one day. Zell and Selphie were sitting in their seats, tired and exhausted, but in good cheer. Seifer looked bored, while Squall himself just sat back in his chair and let the adrenalin from the last few minutes of his mission seep away.  
  
Within a couple of hours they were back in Balamb, the Salamander sailing in for the docks. Most of the other ships were either docked or had returned to the Garden-owned harbor where they were stored between missions. As soon as the vessel came to a stop by the dock the door swung open, and Squall stepped out, Zell and Selphie right behind them. Squall paused to breathe in the clean air around Balamb, the quiet port town a stark contrast to Dollet's warzone.  
  
Other SeeDs and cadets were also milling around the docks, and from their numbers it seemed that everyone had survived the battle unharmed. The Garden soldiers talked casually among themselves, the SeeDs recounting their battles with the Galbadians, often gesturing with their hands to show how they had fought or describing certain manuevers. The cadets had somewhat less to say, since the only cadet unit to have seen anywhere near as much combat as the SeeDs was Squad B. Squall caught an envious look from the captain of Squad A directed at himself and Zell, and the cadet felt a slight bit of satisfaction at deflating the vain support cadet.  
  
Behind the trio of cadets followed Seifer, who strode out like some conquering hero, standing tall and proudly. He pushed past the trio and headed for the edge of the crowd.  
  
"SEIFER!" came a call from the edge of the congregated SeeD force, and Fujin and Raijin pushed through to stand before their fearless leader.  
  
"How'd it go?" Raijin asked eagerly, wanting to hear of Seifer's exploits.  
  
"Man," Seifer said with a shake of his head. He gestured back to the trio behind him. "All they did was get in my way. Being a leader ain't easy."  
  
"Pompous jerk," Zell muttered, while Squall just shrugged.  
  
"SAFE?" Fujin asked, sounding somewhat concerned. Seifer's response was a look of shock, as if he thought the idea of him being harmed was absurd.  
  
"They were only Galbadians," Seifer remarked with a grin. Fujin nodded, and with that, the Disciplinary Committee took their leave of the SeeD group.  
  
By this time, most of the SeeDs were either heading off in groups into the town for some rest and relaxation, or were heading for their vehicles to go back to Garden.  
  
"Good job!" Quistis called behind them as she exited the vessel. She strode across the dock, smiling proudly. Then Quistis paused for a moment, searching the docks with her gaze. "Where's Seifer?" she asked. Squall shrugged and pointed down towards the other end of the docks, in the general direction Seifer had taken. Quistis sighed and shrugged. It seemed obvious she had wanted to talk to the captain about something, doubtless his blatant disregard for orders.  
  
"Well, that's typical," she remarked. "Be back at Garden by sundown. You're free 'till then. Dismissed." With that, Quistis walked back into the vessel, probably to talk to Xu or the pilot about something.  
  
The trio of cadets, tired and worn out, headed for their car. Only, as they approached the parking lot, the last vehicle left on the lot roared to life and sped away, heading up the road. Without even getting a look at the driver, Squall knew it was Seifer behind the wheel.  
  
"HEY!" Zell shouted in surprise and anger. "Dammit, that was our ride! There goes Mr. Ego . . . ." Squall shrugged, expecting nothing less from Seifer.  
  
"Might as well walk it," he remarked, and started off for the edge of town.  
  
"Walk? Ah, man," Zell muttered.  
  
"Hey, at least we get some exercise," Selphie said optimistically.  
  
"Exercise?" Zell responded, sounding surprised. "What do you call that whole 'Run away! Galbadian robot on our asses!' thing?"  
  
"Our job," Squall added from ahead, without missing a beat. Zell sighed, defeated.  
  
"Hey, at least let's stop by my place," Zell added as he followed them out of the docks sector. "We can take a break, and my mom's a good cook!"  
  
-------------------  
  
Cid sighed as he looked over the report from the battlefield, while sitting in his office. Losses among the friendly Dollet troops had been high, especially from around the main road into the city, where SeeD reinforcements had to be diverted from supporting the soldiers to fighting off another group of Galbadians that had come from what was supposed to be a secured sector. That unsecured sector, the Central Square, was left that way because of Seifer Almasy's actions, and for that, Dollet's Parliament was fuming.  
  
"Our best and our worst," Cid muttered, looking over the report on Seifer's actions. Apparently, he had spotted a group of Galbadians sneaking through the area and had ordered his squad to leave their post to find out what was going on. However, he had done this without asking for authorization from the mission commander.  
  
Despite the brashness of his actions, Seifer and Squad B had located the Galbadians repairing the Dollet Comms Tower, which was an unusual action. The Galbadians had been quietly asking Dollet to repair the tower over the last few months, but the Dukedom had refused, instead stating that there was no need with HD cable communication. No one had expected the Galbadians were this serious about repairing the tower, but it was done, even if Galbadia had been forced out of the city for now. It could have been a more permanent drive if Dollet's Parliament had offered more money for the SeeD intervention; as it was, Garden had only received enough payment for them to come in and assist in a counterattack, and not enough gil had been offered for a long-term deployment to force Galbadia out. If they wanted to badly enough, the Galbadians could retake the city now. It wasn't SeeD's concern anymore now that they had the gil and their troops had withdrawn.  
  
Though Dollet's Parliament had been loathe to turn over the rest of the payment, considering Seifer's irresponsible actions. The Duke himself had been complaining about how much they had to pay for mercenaries who didn't even do their jobs. It was bad enough that they were paying nine- digit figures of gil for less than two-dozen soldiers, but it seemed some of those soldiers couldn't even be relied on!  
  
Seifer's actions had indeed revealed Galbadia's true intent with the attack, but a what cost to Garden? Would Dollet ever trust SeeD and Garden again now?  
  
"Seifer . . ." Cid muttered quietly, shaking his head. That boy had been nothing but headaches throughout his whole time at Garden. He wondered if this was the incident that would finally provoke an expulsion. Expulsion had never been used on a cadet or SeeD who misbehaved in combat before, but then, neither a SeeD nor a cadet had ever so blatantly disregarded orders like this.  
  
There were so many issues . . . .  
  
Cid sighed and returned to reviewing the reports. If Seifer's actions had been irresponsible and insubordinate, then those of his team had been perfect. Zell Dincht and Squall Leonhart had shown sufficient tendencies towards obeying orders. Despite Dincht's protests, he had obeyed his captain's decision to go after the Galabdians, as had Leonhart. And both cadets had shown excellent combat skills, taking down numerous Galbadians and also a marauding Anacondaur.  
  
But, it was immediately afterward that the two had come into their own, as had the messenger from Squad A, Selphie Tilmitt. In the battle at the top of the tower, the report said, the trio had shown remarkable teamwork and skills, and Leonhart had turned out to be quite the leader, formulating battle plans on the fly and using each member of his impromptu squad to their best abilities, even taking advantage of Seifer's independent actions.  
  
Then there was the escape from Dollet with the Galbadian weapon in hot pursuit. Throughout that pursuit, the trio of cadets had shown skill, judgement, and teamwork, bringing down the spider machine repeated times. Tilmitt's supportive actions with magic and Dincht's daring and brilliant manuver with the grenades had both shown the necassary requirements for being a SeeD.  
  
And then there were Leonhart's own actions, including his selfless and brave act of holding off the machine and drawing it after himself, allowing his injured and spent comrades time to escape and alert Quistis so she could bring the weapon down. That kind of act was uncommon, even among the inducted SeeDs.  
  
All three cadets had shown they belonged in SeeD. Cid Kramer entered their names and ID numbers into the "Approved" list on his computer, and then moved to the next set of reports, from Squad D.  
  
-------------------  
  
"Ma!" Zell shouted as he stepped through the door leading down into his house. "I'm home!" Squall and Selphie were right behind him, and were struck by the wonderful aromas coming from the kitchen. So much better than Garden's preprocessed food.  
  
The Dincht household was like many of Balamb's residential buildings, which had been built like apartments as one long, low line of dwellings running down the length of the street. Essentially, each Balamb house was part of the same structure, just divided off into seperate homes for seperate families. The actual floor of the homes was a little below the level of the streets outside, almost giving the one the impression of descending into a burrow when one went down the steps leading inside. Despite being slightly underground, the Balamb houses were far from dark, being well-lit by high windows, and featuring second story bedrooms.  
  
Squall entered the first room of the house, the main den and entry hall. The room was tidy and clean, as expected when a woman ran the place. Squall could see various knick-knacks and a few electronics scattered around the mid-sized room, and a nice throw rug covered the floor. The whole room was of a dark beige color, that of the stone it was made out of, but the color actually gave the room a cozy effect. There were several archways leading out of the room, one to a living room directly across from the entrance, a second leading to a set of stairs that went up to the bedrooms, and a third that Zell was dissappearing through, and where the aromas emerged from, doubtless the kitchen where Mama Dincht was cooking.  
  
"Zell!" a heavyset woman happily in the kitchen as Zell pulled her into a hug. "What a surprise!" She glanced over her son's shoulder to see Squall and Selphie, the latter also entering the kitchen, being drawn in by the wonderful smell of whatever was being prepared on the stove. "Are these your friends?"  
  
"Kinda," Zell said with a nod. "We ended up working together today."  
  
"Oh, you're not off today?" Mama Dincht asked as she resumed her cooking.  
  
"Nah, outdor class," Zell replied. "Hopefully the last one!"  
  
"Oh the exam!" Mama Dincht exclaimed. "I heard about it! Tell me, how did you all do . . . ?"  
  
-------------------  
  
The cadets stayed at the Dincht house for about an hour as Zell and Selphie recounted their parts in the battle over some of Mama Dincht's cooking. Squall listened mostly, and ate some, equally impressed by Ma Dincht's homemade meals.  
  
Wow, he thought as he listened to Selphie tell of how she had tracked down Squad B, frantically following the trail of bodies leading up into the mountians. He hadn't had food like this since . . . .  
  
That brought a pause to Squall's thoughts.  
  
Since when did he have this kind of homemade food? He definately recalled eating food somewhere, but when? It wasn't in recent memory, and he certianly hadn't eaten any food prepared by his parents. Like many other Garden cadets, Squall was an orphan, and he had been in the Garden since being only five years old. And in all that time, he'd mostly eaten food from the cafeteria. Yet he distinctly recalled eating homemade food long ago . . . but when?  
  
Squall shook off the question. It didn't really matter now.  
  
"Don't we need to get back to Garden soon?" Selphie asked as she finished her part of the story. Squall glanced at his watch, and nodded.  
  
"It's at least an hour's walk back," he replied, standing up from his chair. "We'll need to leave soon if we want to make it back by sundown."  
  
"You're walking?" Ma Dincht said in surprise. "I thought you SeeDs came in your vehicles."  
  
"Nah, we did," Zell clarified as the cadets got up. "But our captain had a problem with sharing."  
  
"Oh, that Seifer, right?" Ma Dincht replied, shaking her head knowingly. Zell shrugged and nodded. Seifer wasn't just a well-known troublemaker in Garden, after all. "Well, you can expect that out of him. You kids take care, alright?"  
  
"Hey, no problem, Ma!" Zell said with a grin.  
  
"Yeah!" Selphie agreed. "And thanks for the food! It was great!" Squall said nothing, only nodding in agreement with Selphie's compliment and then heading back out towards the door.  
  
"Squall, wait a sec," Zell said quickly as he reached the door. The cadet turned back to see Zell standing by the staircase leading up towards the second floor. "I need to get something outta my room real quick. I'll be out in a moment." With that, the martial artist bounded up the steps. Squall, not really wanting to just stand around down here in a strange house, took a couple of steps up the stairs after him. He reached the top of the stairs and spotted a door ajar, which presumably led to Zell's room. The fact that a large crayon sign reading "Zell's Room: Keep Out" was hanging on the door also helped. Squall stepped over to the door and was about to push it open when Zell himself threw the door open and almost ran Squall down.  
  
"Whoa!" Zell shouted, hopping back in surprise. Then, his expression turned slightly suspicious. "Squall, were you about to go into my room?" he demanded. Squall just shrugged and nodded, not seeing the harm.  
  
"Dude, man," Zell protested. "That's my room! Its sacred! Just . . . Look man, don't go in there, alright?!"  
  
Whatever, Squall thought, nodding. He could sort of understand Zell's protectiveness of his "space." Squall himself hated to see anyone in his room, touching his stuff, if for no other reason than that was his own private "space."  
  
"Okay, let's go!" Zell said, heading back down the stairs.  
  
-------------------  
  
"Expulsion?" Xu exclaimed in surprise at Cid's suggestion.  
  
"Well, what else can we do?" Cid replied, shaking his head and leaning back in his chair. "Seifer's actions were not only in direct violation of his orders, but he also endangered his squadron and other SeeD forces, and also damaged our credibility with Dollet's Parliament. And do you see any possibility of him changing?"  
  
"Not much," Xu replied, sighing. "But I would have thought the last two missions would have sunk in by now."  
  
"He's independant. A loose cannon, so to speak," Cid added, coming forward and resting his elbows on his desk. "All he cares about is fighting and gaining glory. That is not what SeeD is about. We're professional soldiers, not wild dogs of war. Seifer doesn't seem to be able to grasp this. It seems like he will never be capable of working in a unit, and if he can't work with his team, then why should we continue training him?"  
  
"He might turn around," Xu replied. She didn't like Seifer, but she knew the implications of him being expelled. Cid wasn't on NORG's good side right now, and the Garden's Master had high hopes for Seifer. "He could learn from his mistakes if we properly discipline and retrain him."  
  
"We aren't equipped with the facilities to retrain him," Cid said, shaking his head. "We've never had the need for classes or instruction in this, because most of our students are already properly trained to work as a team by the time of their exams. Seifer, though . . ." Cid shook his head once more.  
  
A long silence permeated the office. Finally, Xu broke the quiet.  
  
"There's no choice then," she said, nodding reluctantly. "Expulsion."  
  
"I'll get to work on the paperwork," Cid said. "I'll have to run this by NORG before we can finalize it."  
  
"He won't be happy," Xu warned. "Seifer's the best we've got, even better than Squall. NORG's not going to enjoy losing such a potential money- maker."  
  
"Of course not," Cid replied. "But I'd rather have NORG upset at losing revenue than a dead squad or no future contracts. He has to go."  
  
-------------------  
  
Squall and his two comrades reached the gates of Balamb Garden as the sun was setting. The trip had taken over an hour, unlike they'd expected, because Zell had led them along a "shortcut." While taking this route, the trio had encountered large numbers of Bite Bugs, not to mention Caterchippilars, a sort of large, worm-like monster. The shortcut had thus taken twice as long to navigate as following the road between Balamb and Balamb Garden would have.  
  
Zell let lose a huge yawn as they arrived.  
  
"Finally made it back," he remarked, stretching.  
  
"Seriously," replied Selphie as she dusted the grime off her boot.  
  
"Well, I guess we'll just wait for the test results," Zell replied. "Well, till then," he added, walking away. "See you later Squall!" Selphie followed suit, and headed off deeper into Garden.  
  
"See ya!" she called cheerfully as she ran off. Squall nodded at them and waited for the pair to get pretty far ahead before he, too, entered Garden.  
  
Normally, he path leading up to the entrance to the central structure of Garden had at least a few cadets, but now, at sunset, this area was unusually peaceful and quiet. Combined with the lush plants and outside waterfalls and pools reflecting the yellow and orange in the western sky, the outer grounds were beautiful, the epitome of Garden's own name. Squall took his time heading in, basking in the peace. He stretched out, exercising his tired and sore muscles. That last run from the machine had taken its toll on his body, GF enhancements or not.  
  
All too soon, he'd reached the decorated entrance to the Garden and entered. As he advanced down the elevated walkway leading towards the elevators and the walkway surrounding them, Squall spotted some students talking by the railing, and beyond them, Headmaster Cid talking with Quistis and Xu. The cadet made his way towards the trio, but en route he overheard the pair of cadets, apparently one from Squad C and the other from D, talking.  
  
"But radio signals are worthless, even if they get the tower to work," the D cadet spoke.  
  
"Why?" the other cadet asked, confused.  
  
"It was on last week's exam, remember?" the D cadet replied, sounding like it was obvious. "How any form of radio signals can't be used." The cadet glanced up as Squall stepped past. "Hey, Squall, how did you answer that question?" he asked.  
  
"The interference," Squall responded flatly, without even slowing down as he passed.  
  
"Exactly," the D cadet responded with a nod.  
  
"Heh," the C cadet replied as Squall stepped out of earshot. "I must have skipped that lesson . . ."  
  
The cadets were obviously talking about the reasoning behind the Galbadians' repairing of the Comms Tower, a question that was puzzling everyone, even Squall. Although he didn't really care about the reasoning himself, however. Online HD cables were the primary source of communication, and in areas that could not be reached by cable there were messengers who could use chocobos, a domesticated riding bird, as a form of communication. Though HD cables sometimes proved unreliable due to occasional line cuts, they were still widely used as the only form of communication due to the worldwide interference in radio signals, which had started seventeen years ago.  
  
The interference had coincided with the end of the second Sorceress war between the western nations and the eastern land of Esthar, and it was widely considered to be no honest coincidence. The cause of the interference was unknown, with speculation ranging from being a result of the mysterious dissappearance of the vast Estharian capital city to a possible new weapon as a prempt for another war (which was still being thrown around by certian politicians who wanted more military spending). Whatever the reason behind the signal interference, radio waves were useless, which made the reactivation of the tower pointless.  
  
But the Galbadians had spent a tremendous amount of manpower and effort to reactivate the tower, which made no sense. But, Squall reminded himself, value is subjective. Which meant, in other words, that the Galbadians placed a higher value on getting that tower up and running than they did the costs of a full-scale military action, and that meant . . . what?  
  
It didn't really matter. Squall preffered to let the thinking be handled by those in charge.  
  
By then Squall was close to the directory, where Headmaster Cid, Xu, and Quistis were still talking. He was intending to ask the instructor about where and when the results for the exam were going to be announced, but she was apparently talking with the Headmaster and Xu, so he patiently waited.  
  
"Mission complete!" Xu said, seeming satisfied. "I think we did a pretty good job, and the candidates are all back safely, right? Although we didn't realize the Galbadian army was after the abandoned communication tower . . ."  
  
"Indeed, that caught us by surprise," Cid confirmed with a nod. "Speaking of which, we've just received word from the Dollet Dukedom. They negotiated with Galbadia after we told them about the tower, and the Galbadian army has agreed to withdraw as long as the communications tower is kept repaired and the uplink remains operational. They retain rights to use and transmit data over the tower's frequency, as well." Both women seemed somewhat surprised at Cid's revelation, but then Xu shrugged a second later.  
  
"Well, we did our jobs," she said. "At least Galbadia's out of there and we're getting paid. But we could have gotten more if Galbadia had stayed and caused more trouble." That last bit was added with a joking grin. She glanced over at Squall, who was still standing nearby.  
  
"Hey!" she called to him. "You did pretty well out there!"  
  
"Of course," Quistis replied for him. "He is by best student." Squall simply shrugged at the compliment and said nothing.  
  
"Not very social, though," Quistis added. "If you're waiting for the results for the exam," she added, "they should be announced soon. Just wait here." Squall nodded and began to walk past the trio, looking for some secluded spot where he could wait without the annoyance of having to talk to anyone.  
  
Apparently, the Headmaster had different intentions, since he nodded to his two subordiantes and stepped over to Squall as he began walking away. The older man tapped Squall on the shoulder, catching his attention.  
  
"Tell me," Cid asked, smiling. "How did it feel to be out there on the battlefield?" Squall considered that question for a second, and also what it meant. Cid might be testing him, seeing how he thought he'd done and his attitude towards the battle and his job. The old man was a clever one.  
  
To tell the truth, his first battle had not been the frightening thing other cadets spoke of. Perhaps it was merely that Squall was better conditioned or more determined. Then again, it might have had something to do with the fact that he hadn't gone into the battle without experience in the department of killing humans. Few cadets ever truly experienced their first real life-or-death battle before the exam, and it was often a wake-up call for them. Squall, on the other hand, knew the feeling of killing men before he'd ever set foot on the sands of Lapin Beach. So when the enemy had come, he had never frozen up or hesitated. They were the enemy, and they were trying to kill him and his comrades; he acted accordingly.  
  
Cid was still waiting for an answer, so Squall gave him the one that really described his feelings toward the battle in Dollet.  
  
". . . Whatever," Squall said, and continued past Cid. The headmaster watched him go, considering Squall's response.  
  
"'Whatever'?" he said thoughtfully. Them the old man smiled. "'Whatever'! That's great! 'Whatever'!"  
  
As Squall continued to walk away from the group around the directory, he found a spot along the walkway where he thought he could be alone and undisturbed. He stopped and leaned against the railing, closing his eyes and relaxing, enjoying the silence.  
  
"Hey, Squall!" called the familiar voice of Seifer, breaking the silence. Squall's eyes snapped open and he looked over to his self-styled rival as the white-coated cadet approached, a wide smile on his face.  
  
"Did you hear about the tower?" Seifer asked, shaking his head. "Damn Galbadians were after it all along! And they never would have known about it if we hadn't found out ourselves! Man, if we hadn't had to pull out, Dollet wouldn't have been forced to negotiate with Galbadia, either." Seifer laughed. "If it weren't for that stupid withdrawal order, we'd have been heroes!"  
  
"You were only looking for a fight," Quistis accused Seifer from behind his shoulder. The captian turned towards his instructor, a mockingly hurt expression on his face as he regarded her and Xu, both approaching.  
  
"My dear instructor," Seifer said, his voice also dripping with sarcastic hurt. "Those are rather cruel words for an aspiring student." He smiled, his hurt expression turning somewhat harder. A sneer appeared on his face. "A mediocre instructor like you would never understand."  
  
Even Squall was shocked by the condescending insult. Quistis's expression turned to amazement, while Xu's eyes narrowed dangerously.  
  
"Don't be so stuck on yourself," she said sharply. "You'll take all responsibility for leaving the designated area and jeapordizing the operation." Seifer shrugged in response, still sneering.  
  
"Isn't it the captian's duty to take the best possible action?" he questioned. Xu crossed her arms and leaned forward, staring Seifer dead in the eye.  
  
"You'll never be a SeeD," Xu told him with all seriousness. It seemed almost like she knew beyond a doubt Seifer would not pass. "Calling yourself a leader, or even a squad captian, is a joke." Xu's words were spoken with conviction, and were as hard as steel. Seifer had been told off before, but Xu's words were the most blunt, direct, and convinced he'd ever heard. His eyes narrowed, and his jaw clenched tightly. His hands balled into fists and trembled in anger as he turned his gaze down to the floor.  
  
Xu was apparently satisfied with the brief but blunt deflation of Seifer's limitless ego, and turned around to walk off. Quistis was about to follow, but hesitated as Cid Kramer walked towards the group. He nodded at Xu as she passed, then stopped next to Quistis. They spoke for a moment, then she nodded, bowed and walked after Xu. Then the Headmaster turned back to Seifer.  
  
"Seifer," he called, getting the captian's attention. Seifer looked up at Cid, who watched him for a moment, then shook his head.  
  
"You will be disciplined for your irresponsible behavior," Cid began. "You must follow orders exactly during combat." Cid paused, scratching the back of his head. "Though I'm not entirely without sympathy for you," Cid added. "I don't want you all to become machines. I want you to be able to think and act for yourselves. I am . . . ."  
  
Cid trailed off as one of the red-robed Faculty approached.  
  
"Headmaster," he began. "You have some business in your office. And NORG would like to speak with you after the ranking ceremony." Cid sighed and nodded.  
  
"Very well," he replied. Cid looked back up at Seifer. "There . . . There are many issues at hand here. I am sorry Seifer. Disciplinary actions will be taken." With that, the Headmaster turned and walked towards the elevators, leaving Seifer alone in silence and anger.  
  
"Dammit . . ." he hissed under his breath. Seifer glanced up at Squall, but said nothing, and stalked off.  
  
-------------------  
  
The results from the exam, it turned out, were not announced by the directory, but instead the students were told to wait in the second floor hallway ringing the Garden's upper classroom level. When Squall arrived up there he'd found an assembled group of the students who had participated in the exam, either standing around looking anxious or bored, or talking among themselves.  
  
"Sup?" Zell greeted as the quiet cadet arrived. The martial artist was pacing anxiously.  
  
Squall glanced around, marking many of the cadets he'd seen taking the exam. He counted eight other cadets, all from the exam, plus Fujin and Raijin, the two other members of Seifer's posse also waiting for something. The unusual brother and sister pair just stood impasively by the archway, the taller Raijin seeming bored, while Fujin looking more focused and, to a degree, angry. Her one eye seemed to radiate hostility, which appeared to be directed mostly at Squall.  
  
"What are they doing?" Squall asked to Zell, who shrugged.  
  
"Hell if I know," the martial artist replied. "The faculty said they're gonna announce the grades one by one. Selphie already went, and so did some other guy from Squad D. Wonder what the hell's takin' 'em so long."  
  
Squall shrugged at that, and then glanced over to where Fujin and Raijin were standing. Fujin still stood impassively, while Raijin had opted instead to walk around, still looking bored. Squall could see Fujin's one visible eye glaring his way, as if she were trying to cut him down with her gaze. Raijin, whose pacing brought him close to Squall, noticed the two looking at each other.  
  
"Heh," Raijin said quietly to Squall, leaning over. "Fujin was sayin' that it'd be all your fault if Seifer didn't become a SeeD." He glanced back over to his sister, who still glared at the taciturn cadet. "Man, she can be pretty scary, ya know!"  
  
Squall shrugged the warning aside, and just as easily shrugged off Fujin's glare as he took up an unoccupied spot on the wall, far from everyone else, and waited.  
  
The cadets were there for a good twenty minutes, and still no word. Squall, despite his patient nature, was starting to get irritated. he was about to begin pacing like Zell or Raijin when the distant sound of the elevator's "bing" got the whole group's attention. They all perked up as the sounds of footsteps, the steady ones of a Faculty member, approached.  
  
The robed Faculty entered the hallway, and held up a piece of paper in front of his face, though his yellow hat still obscured his features. Squall thought he spotted something weird about the Faculty's hand that was holding the paper. He had very elongated fingers, longer than those on a normal human.  
  
'The hell?' Squall wondered, even as the Faculty spoke.  
  
"Dincht," he announced in a monotone voice, as if ordering coffee. "Zell Dincht." The martial artist's response was immediate and likely could have been heard in Balamb.  
  
"OOOHHH YEEEEAAAHHHHH!!!" Zell shouted, fists pumping as he leape din the air. "See ya!" he called over his shoulder as he ran towards the elevators. The Faculty, seeming to not even notice Zell's triumphant roar, continued.  
  
"Leonhart," he spoke. "Squall Leonhart." Squall felt a rush of exultation at the seemingly calm announcement. He had done it: he was a SeeD!  
  
Still, despite the feelings associated with the announcement, Squall did not betray his emotions, and only nodded, stepping past the Faculty.  
  
"That is all," the Faculty ended. "Dismissed." Squall heard a chorus of groans behind him from the dissappointed cadets, and he couldn't help but feel a bit bad for them. A few curses and the sound of a GF-enhanced fist pounding the wall joined the groans as Squall stepped into the elevator.  
  
-------------------  
  
Cid's office was expansive, Squall saw as he and Zell joined Selphie and the other cadet in the Garden's command center. The room was wide and open, with little furniture or knick-knacks cluttering the space. Instead, Cid had several display cases and tables set up on either side of the room, along with a few plush chairs and couches for people to sit in. The floor, surprisingly, was not carpeted, instead being made of polished marble, with many designs painted on it, and a red strip leading right to the Headmaster's desk. The desk was not the massive one a person would normally expect, but instead a modestly sized piece of furniture with a laptop and a small pile of papers and folders neatly placed on the opposite side. Cid himself sat in a large chair, almost like a throne, adorned with the Garden's white and black sigil, and also featured a pair of flags with the same sigil. Instead of a back wall, Cid had a single huge plate glass window that extended across the entire length of the office, and up high towards the vaulting ceiling above. The top of the room must have been a good twenty feet overhead, if not more. Several doors led out of the office, obviously leading to Cid's own quarters.  
  
Aside from the Headmaster himself, a group of high-ranking SeeDs, including Xu and all the participating instructors, Quistis among them, and a small group of Faculty, stood by as witnesses to the ceremony. The four cadets approached Cid in a line, and came to a stop together, standing at attention.  
  
"These are the four cadets that passed today's exam," one of the Faculty announced. Cid nodded and rose, smiling.  
  
"First of all, congratulations," Cid began. "You honor this Garden with your induction. However, from now on, you are members of SeeD. As such, you will be dispatched all over the world for this Garden's benifit." Cid turned to the witnessing SeeDs and instructors.  
  
"We are proud to introduce you to the newest members of SeeD, Balamb Garden's elite mercanary force," he said to them, gesturing to the four cadets. He turned back to the cadets.  
  
"As SeeD soldiers," he addressed them, "you are combat specialists, the best the world has to offer. But, that is only one aspect of SeeD. When the time comes . . ."  
  
"Headmaster, it is almost time for the meeting, and NORG is waiting," the announcing Faculty broke in, stopping the Headmaster. "Please make this short." Cid sighed and nodded, and Squall glanced over at the Faculty out the corner of his eye. Cid's sigh, and also the way he had been interrupted downstairs seemed unusual, almost as if the Faculty were trying to keep Cid from babbling too much. Now that he thought of it, Squall knew he'd seen the Headmaster talking to cadets and SeeDs before, and every time he'd begun to say something about the meaning of SeeD, a member of the Faculty had intervened. He couldn't remember the exact instances, but he definately recalled them. What were they trying to hide?  
  
The Faculty member was speaking.  
  
"SeeD is a valuable asset to Garden," the Faculty said. "Its reputation is soley dependant on each of you. Handle your missions with care," he ended, turning back to Cid. "Is that what you wanted to say, Headmaster?" Cid sent a vexed glare at the Faculty, indicating that it obviously wasn't what he'd been intending to say, but the Headmaster said nothing as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black case. The Faculty noticed the movement and nodded.  
  
"Here is your rank report," he stated as Cid worked his way down the line of cadets, starting from the far left and moving right. Squall was on the far right end.  
  
Selphie was first. Cid approached her and opened the case, taking out a Garden insignia with a number on it, a sign of her rank. He handed it to the small cadet, and smiled.  
  
"I'm looking forward to the Garden Festival," he told her quietly, to which she also smiled and nodded. then, Cid moved further down to the cadet in Squad D who'd made SeeD. Nee was his name, or something. Squall had never known him at all. Cid handed the new SeeD his rank and whispered something about standing out to him. Then, the headmaster stepped up to Zell, who was practically trembling in excitement, like a kid who needed to go to the bathroom really badly.  
  
As Cid gave Zell the rank, he whispered some advice on controlling emotions, to which Zell reddened slightly, and nodded. As Cid approached Squall, Zell stood ramrod straight.  
  
Cid stood before Squall, and opened the case, pulling out the Garden insignia.  
  
"Finally," Cid whispered with a grin. "A gunblade specialist." He handed Squall the insignia, which he took. With that, Cid stepped away and returned to his desk. He stood directly in front of it, and nodded at the assembled group.  
  
"This ends the SeeD inaguration. All SeeDs and faculty, dismissed."  
  
With that order, the older SeeDs and the Faculty filed out. The new seeDs left with a bounce in their steps, while Zell practically bounded out the door in joy. Squall turned to join them, but as he did so, his eyes fell across something in one of the display cases.  
  
An old gunblade, a decades-old model, with the letters "C.K." escribed on the handle. Squall glanced back at Cid, who only smiled and nodded.  
  
"I was once a soldier too, just like you," Cid remarked, to which Squall nodded in new respect for the Headmaster.  
  
"We'll talk privately one day," Cid added as he gestured towards the door. "But you've got things to do now. Go on. Get out of here. Nothing interesting happening up here, now."  
  
Squall nodded again, and saluted Cid before leaving. As the new seed left, another Faculty approached the Headmaster.  
  
"Sir," the Faculty said with a bow. "NORG would like to speak with you concerning an expulsion."  
  
-------------------  
  
The elevator descended, carrying a lone Squall, and as the lift dropped down to the second floor, the new SeeD took a second to look over his new insignia. He was surprised (pleasantly for once) to see a total of nine small bars lining the sigil. Each bar was an indication of that SeeD's rank, and Squall had made rank nine, one of the highest a new SeeD could hope to attain, and one that instantly catapulted him into the five-digit figures when it came to his monthly salary.  
  
As Squall stepped off the elevator on the second floor, he spotted both Zell and Selphie, prancing around like some forest elves, in pure joy. Around them were a group of cadets and SeeDs, a welcoming committee, including those cadets who had failed to pass. The martial artist spotted Squall and grinned even wider.  
  
"Squall, let's get back to class!" Zell shouted.  
  
"Why?" Squall asked, uninterested.  
  
"What do you mean, 'why'?" Zell demanded, acting as if it was obvious. "Don't you know what all SeeDs do when they graduate?" Squall shook his head. He had never cared for SeeD traditions himself.  
  
"They give a speech in front of the entire class," Zell said with a grin. "Although I suppose you'd be exempt, seeing as how your speech would be three words long."  
  
"Whatever," Squall replied, shrugging. Zell's words had hit the mark precisely, however.  
  
"But after the speech, there's the inaguration party! OOOHHHHH YEEAAHHHHH!" Zell cheered before moving off. Squall just shook his head and sighed. The last thing he wanted right now was another social function. He glanced back up at the other three inductees, and then in front of himself as a tall figure loomed up, towering overhead.  
  
Seifer stood with his posse, looking at Squall impassively. Zell also noticed the two rivals, and recalling what he'd heard between Squall and Raijin, and combining that with those two's history, moved up beside Squall and tensed, preparing in case the taller cadet lashed out.  
  
Squall, on the other hand, simply locked eyes with his rival. The two stood there for a moment, neither moving. Then, to everyone's surprise, Seifer nodded.  
  
"Good job," he said, without a trace of his usual sarcasm. Seifer held up his hands, clapping them together. Fujin joined him, as did Raijin, and then many other cadets and SeeDs. A few cheers sounded from the group as well.  
  
Selphie and Zell blushed, the smaller cadet putting her hands to her cheeks in embarassment. Zell's grim, combat-ready expression faded and was replaced by a wide smile, and the other new SeeD, behind them, also grinned.  
  
Squall blinked in confusion at the congratulations he was recieving, then nodded in thanks, not sure how to take it.  
  
-------------------  
  
His new dress uniform was hanging up over his bed, Squall saw. The black and gold outfit was contained inside clear plastic wrapping, neatly pressed and ready to wear. Before donning the new uniform, Squall took a moment to see how much time was left until the obligatory party. About an hour or so, it seemed. Good.  
  
Squall doffed his cadet uniform, throwing off the sweat-soaked and dirty outfit pants, shirt, and jacket, then grabbed his new uniform and headed for the bathroom shared by him and his new and unknown roommate. He glanced into the second dorm as he passed the open doorway, noting whoever the person was, they were not in. He reached for the bathroom door, and the sound of very cheerful and very familiar humming from the other side was his only warning as the door swng open and Selphie Tilmitt slammed headlong into Squall for the second time that day. As with before, Selphie fell back on her butt, while Squall still stood, off guard but otherwise fine.  
  
"You alright?" Squall asked as Selphie stood up, shaking her head. He noticed she was fully clad in her new SeeD uniform, complete with black jacket and skirt, gold trim, and a red tie and boots.  
  
"Augh, I'm fine," Selphie replied, standing up. "We keep on doing tha- " Selphie stopped and stared at Squall. It was rare indeed to see Squall Leonhart, among the most attractive and desirable males in Balamb Garden, only in his boxers. Most other men his age would have been embarassed in that situation, but Squall just stepped back and to the side, so Selphie could get past him.  
  
"I take it you're my new roommate," Squall remarked as Selphie cleared out of his way. "Unless you have something for sneaking into other people's showers." Selphie actually laughed at the deadpan comment as Squall stepped into the bathroom and shut the door. He spent a good, long twenty minutes in there, turning the water temperature up as high as he could stand it. The many bruises, scrapes, and cuts he'd taken on the exam, as well as his sore muscles, complained immediately, but then soothed and felt better. Squall finished the shower, drying off and feeling better than he'd had all day. His duel with Seifer, the battle against Ifrit, and the prolonged Dollet mission, combined with the many miles he had covered and the numerous battles against marauding monsters, would have exhausted any man. The hot shower had mended that.  
  
He donned his new uniform, and was quite pleased with it, upon examining it in the mirror. The tailors had done an excellent job with the uniform, and he had filled it out well. Like Selphie's, this outfit featured a black jacket with gold lining, along with a black belt and a small bandoleer running from the middle of the belt up to his left shoulder. The jacket was much longer than the one on the female uniform, Squall noted. The male uniform also included black pants and boots. He felt some pride welling up at looking at himself in the mirror. He was a SeeD now. After all these years, he had finally become a SeeD.  
  
Squall stepped out of the shower, fully dressed in his new uniform. Selphie had been waiting for him, and as he emerged, she looked him over. The small SeeD grinned and gave Squall a thumbs-up.  
  
"Heeey! Lookin' good!" she complimented him, to which Squall only shrugged. "Alright!" she then said, pumping a fist in the air. "Let's hit that PAAH-TAY!"  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------  
  
Wow, this chapter was both very short and very long. Long, in the sense of how much it covered, but short in actual length. But, bleh. I'm better at fight scenes myself. Look at how long the boss battle in Dollet was! 


	11. Angel and Lion

Chapter 10: Angel and Lion  
  
Garden's ballroom was located on the second floor, and served both as an auditorium for gatherings and as the place where celebrations were often held.  
  
Squall walked down the hallway leading into the ballroom, and found himself standing on a balcony overlooking the vast and elegant chamber. Like the rest of Garden, no expense was spared when it came to art and architecture: a pair of staircases, on either side of the balcony, led down to the central dance floor. Two shorter staircases led from the entrance balcony up to the second floor, which overlooked the dance floor. The dance floor itself was brightly lit, and featured a spotless, shining marble floor. On the lower floor, exquisitely designed archways and columns lined the dance floor, leading to many tables and chairs located in the darker and more sheltered area away from the open floor. Like the floor below, the upper level was also darker and more sheltered, and featured a few doors leading to balconies outside the ballroom into the open air, affording a spectacular view of the Garden grounds. Columns of blue light provided illumination on both floors. At the far end of the chamber, on the lower floor, there was a stage where a small rented orchestra played dance waltzes for the celebration. Squall could see many students and SeeDs down below, the men wearing their SeeD uniforms, while most of the ladies wore elegant dresses. Couples were already dancing on the central floor.  
  
Selphie, who had entered with Squall, immediately took off, leaving the new SeeD alone. He surveyed the entire chamber one last time, then looked up to the massive skylight overhead. Actually, it was much less a skylight as much a single domed glass roof, giving one the impression of the heavens floating overhead.  
  
The SeeD made his way down to the dance floor, since it was certainly expected of him to be down there, seeing as how he was among the guests of honor tonight. Squall would have preferred to stay upstairs, or maybe go up to one of the balconies and keep his distance from everyone, but tonight was an exception. After all, he'd just made SeeD- had just passed a critical milestone in his life; he should at least attempt to enjoy it.  
  
He glanced over at the dancers, and circled around the edge of the floor. He didn't have any intention of getting out there and dancing with them. Not that he wasn't a good dancer; he just didn't have a partner, nor did he want to find one.  
  
Squall worked his way towards the buffet tables set up near the stage, nodding in acknowledgement whenever a SeeD or cadet congratulated him. As Squall looked over the food set out for them, he noted the shadow of someone standing behind him was cast onto the table beside him. Squall turned to see Cid Kramer, holding a small plate of food. He was chewing something, then swallowed and smiled at Squall.  
  
"Headmaster," Squall said with a nod to Cid, who returned the nod with a smile.  
  
"Good to see you in uniform," Cid said approvingly as he looked Squall over from head to toe. "We've been expecting to see you in that for some time." Squall just nodded at Cid's statement.  
  
"Thank you, sir," Squall replied. "I have too."  
  
"How does it feel?" Cid asked, setting his plate down. "To be one of Garden's elite?"  
  
"It feels . . ." Squall said, trailing off as he considered it. How did it feel to be a SeeD, finally? He mulled over that for a moment. "It feels good, sir," Squall finally said.  
  
"You've accomplished something," Cid said knowingly. "A long-held goal."  
  
"Yeah," Squall replied with a short nod. He paused for a moment, then recalled the gunblade up in Cid's office, and the headmaster's words. "You said you wanted to talk to me in private?" The older man chuckled and nodded.  
  
"I think you now know why I always wanted one of you two to make SeeD," Cid said. Squall knew precisely who the "other" person Cid was hinting at was. "Kind of silly, really. I was a soldier in Balamb's army, back when an army was needed during the Sorceress War with Esthar. I actually served alongside Zell's grandfather." Squall nodded, knowing the local stories about Gil Dincht and his role in defending Balamb in the face of Estharian aggression.  
  
"Of course, you can guess what weapon I was specialized in at the time," Cid continued. "That gunblade saved my life more times than I can count. It served me well." Cid paused. "But, every time I look at it, I remember the faces and the blood of those that died by it."  
  
"War is war," Squall said with a shrug. "They tried to kill you. They failed." In Squall's eyes, it was as simple as that. Cid seemed to mull over that, and shrugged as well.  
  
"Whatever," Cid quipped, taking a line from Squall. "It's in the past now. This is the present." Cid gestured out towards the party. "And they are the future."  
  
The hell? The future? Squall was confused by Cid's enigmatic words, but before he could ask for clarification from the cryptic man, a tall, white-clad figure approached the pair. For an instant, Squall thought the man was a member of the Faculty, but that was only because of the man's white uniform.  
  
"Headmaster," the man greeted, catching Cid's attention. Both the headmaster and the white-clad man offered each other something resembling a respectful half-bow.  
  
He was tall, slender, with short dark hair. Looking to be in his late twenties, the man wore a creamy white jumpsuit with black boots and gloves, and a white headband around his forehead. A belt around his waist contained several pouches, and - to Squall's surprise - the man wore a pair of bladed tonfas on that belt as well. An armed man, at a party?  
  
The uniform was not unfamiliar to Squall. He had seen the occasional appearance of a man or woman clad in that type of white uniform before, usually talking directly to Cid or Xu about something. Squall had gotten the impression that whoever they were, these white-clad people were important in Garden's hierarchy.  
  
"Trent, it is good to see you here," Cid remarked. "Business?"  
  
"To a degree," Trent replied. "I was here to check on something, and to deliver this to you." Trent handed Cid a small disk. "It contains something very important."  
  
"Thank you," Cid replied, slipping the disk into a pocket. He then gestured to Squall. "Trent, I'd like you to meet the newest and potentially best SeeD we've inducted thus far, Squall Leonhart. And Squall this is Trent, an important associate of Garden."  
  
Trent and Squall sized each other up, and Squall noted the man's perceptive, knowing eyes. The taller man nodded at Squall, who returned the nod, neither speaking; they didn't have to, for they understood one another well enough. From the way Trent carried himself, his grace and discerning eyes, and especially the tonfas on Trent's belt, Squall knew the man was a warrior, likely a SeeD of some capacity, or formerly one. And both men seemed equally disciplined and aware of their sense of duty, and neither man had any use for unnecessary words.  
  
Trent turned back to Cid.  
  
"I must leave now," Trent said with another half-bow. "I still have things to check before I return to my ship. We will be gone by morning."  
  
"Farewell," Cid said with a nod, and with that, Trent turned and left.  
  
"Well," Cid continued, picking up his plate and turning back to Squall. "I would like to ask you to stay around for a little while, enjoy the party. Maybe even take a dance."  
  
Like that would happen, both men knew.  
  
"Of course, sir," Squall said instead. With that, Cid smiled, nodded, and walked off.  
  
Half an hour later, Squall had found a spot where he could keep his distance yet remain visible and obviously attending his party. He was quietly and unobtrusively leaning against a pillar supporting the second floor, watching the dancers idly, while reflecting on everything that had brought him to this moment.  
  
He'd come to Garden at a young age. Squall had never recalled exactly when he had come, except it was at a young age. He didn't remember much of the younger days he had spent here, something he attributed to the intense training he had gone through. At only eleven years of age Squall had begun combat training, first in the hand-to-hand martial arts, then in general weapons training, before moving on to his weapon of choice, the gunblade. All the while he had also learned other critical skills, such as driving, computer operations, tactics, military history, chemistry, biology, and dozens of other skills.  
  
And during that time, Squall had been among the best, rivaled only by Seifer Almasy. Seifer was there, right now, Squall saw, on the opposite side of the ballroom. The arrogant cadet was standing in one of the columns of light in the darker areas underneath the balcony ringing the chamber. He was still wearing his white coat, and seemed to be talking to Headmaster Cid about something. Both seemed to have serious expressions on their faces. Seifer gestured out with a hand, indicating the whole ballroom, to which Cid looked out, as if scanning for something. Cid must not have found whatever Seifer was gesturing towards, and turned back with a shrug.  
  
Squall himself shrugged as well, internally. Whatever they were speaking of didn't matter. Even now, Seifer didn't matter. Now that Squall was a SeeD, he had proven himself better than Seifer, and the larger, older cadet seemed to accept that fact, judging by the way he had congratulated Squall a couple of hours ago.  
  
As Squall looked away from Seifer and Cid, he spotted Zell, resplendent in his uniform. The martial artist had spent most of the night talking, recounting his exploits in the battle in Dollet, and also dancing. Squall had noted that Zell was most often taking dances with the girl who ran the front desk in the Library. That wasn't surprising, considering the two were a bit of an item around Garden. Even though Squall deliberately distanced himself from the rumor mill, he still couldn't help but catch the occasional tidbit.  
  
At the moment, the martial artist was working his way through the dance floor crowd, and as he broke free, Zell spotted Squall, standing alone. The martial artist grinned and made for Squall with a shout of "Yo!" to alert his fellow SeeD.  
  
"Heh-heh," Zell laughed as he approached. "S'up, Squall? I guess we're both SeeDs now, huh?" Squall nodded at his greeting, but said nothing in reply to Zell's statement of the blatantly obvious. Even as Squall watched, Zell wiped his hand off on his pant leg and stuck it forward. "Put it there, man."  
  
Squall just looked down at the hand, glanced back up at Zell, and looked away, taking a sip of his champagne. Zell got the hint.  
  
"Hah, even as a SeeD, you're still the same," Zell remarked. "Well, that's typical of you. I gotta get back to our party, and you should too, man!" Squall did turn his gaze back to Zell at that, his expression telling of the likelihood of that happening. "Well, see ya," Zell finished, waving his hand and walking off. Squall just nodded as Zell left.  
  
A moment later, Squall thought he heard Selphie saying something to Zell about him joining the Garden Festival Committee. Squall, slightly curious, turned his head in time to see Selphie, looking disappointed, and Zell, who was rapidly moving away from the tiny SeeD. Selphie sighed, and looked around. He green eyes spotted Squall, standing alone and looking at her curiously, and it was at that moment that he realized that he was her next target. Selphie turned towards Squall and approached, locking onto him and approaching with a single-minded intent that matched that of the Galbadian spider machine from a few hours ago.  
  
"Squall! Hi!" she called innocently as she approached. "Wanna join the Garden Festival Committee?" Squall blinked in surprise at what Selphie had just asked.  
  
The tiny SeeD was indeed part of the Festival Committee. In fact, she was the head of the committee, and also filled in all the other roles of the Committee as well. That tended to happen when one was the only member. Squall had heard that Selphie had totally revamped the online Festival Committee site on the Garden's networks, and had more or less turned it into her own personal site, including a public, online journal. Now, it seemed, Selphie was on a recruiting drive for more members. Under normal circumstances, Squall would have just blown her off then and there. However, this was Selphie, with her endearing and innocent attitude that even Squall had a hard time refusing.  
  
"You can help out whenever you have time," Selphie added. "I could use the help. Please?" If it were possible, Selphie seemed even more innocent and endearing now than she had a moment before. And, admittedly, Selphie was really hurting for the help. After all, she was asking for help from Squall, of all people. And Squall, while cool and aloof, was not exactly uncaring about others. He wasn't Seifer, after all.  
  
"Sure," Squall said, not sure what he was probably getting himself into. "You seem to be putting a lot of effort into this."  
  
"Really?!" Selphie responded, sounding surprised. "Whoo-hoo! Thank you! I know we'll be busy with lots of SeeD stuff, but let's work hard on the Garden Festival too." Selphie turned around, scanning the area for anymore potential helpers/victims. She locked onto a nearby cadet who happened to be passing nearby. "Thanks, Squall. Bye!" Selphie called over her shoulder as she chased after the cadet. "'S'cuse me! Hey, you there!"  
  
-------------------  
  
Another half-hour passed and Squall was feeling a bit less uncomfortable. Maybe it had something to do with the champagne, but he felt slightly looser now. He watched the dancers with a certain degree of comfort, which was unusual for Squall Leonhart in any situation involving more than four people in an enclosed area.  
  
"Never thought I'd see you wearing that before me," called a voice to Squall's left. He didn't bother looking over at Seifer; in fact, Squall showed no response at all. Seifer, in typical fashion, sauntered over beside Squall, and stood there, arms crossed and with a strange smile on his face. Almost . . . approving?  
  
"Not bad, Squall," Seifer said in congratulations. "Don't get too comfy, I expect you to be attending my ball next year."  
  
Hell would freeze over first, Squall thought to that.  
  
"Heh, its not like it really matters anyway," Seifer added, continuing the one-sided conversation. "SeeD's not that important in the grand scheme of things."  
  
At that statement, Squall did turn his head towards Seifer, a curious look on his face at his rival's remark.  
  
"SeeD's just a stepping stone, Squall," Seifer stated. "A way to get respect. Respect, and fear."  
  
"Fear?"  
  
"Yeah," Seifer replied, nodding, with a vicious grin on his face. "I'm not like all these other fools," Seifer stated, gesturing out towards the crowd. "They want to be SeeDs for the money, or the adventure. I'm in it for the reputation. For the respect and the recognition.  
  
"You see, Squall," he continued. "We're frightening. No one messes with SeeD, because everyone knows that SeeDs are the most dangerous enemy you could ask for. When the Galbadians were out there, fighting us today, they were afraid. Afraid of us, because they knew what we were. They take one look at that uniform, and their knees begin shaking, because they've heard of you, they know about you, and they are afraid because of that."  
  
"And fear," Squall stated, realizing Seifer's reasoning, "gets you killed." it was understandable. Squall deliberately did not allow himself to fear anything at all, because fear paralyzes a warrior.  
  
"A trembling hand does not thrust the blade true," Seifer quoted a famous line from a Galbadian tactical manual. "It's an edge, Squall, an edge I intend to exploit. And SeeD will give me that edge. They'll know I was a SeeD, and they will know through that that I am an enemy not to be trifled with."  
  
"They?" Squall asked, confused.  
  
"The enemy," Seifer replied, as if it were obvious. "There will always be an enemy, Squall. Something to put your blade against. Fear tilts the odds more in my favor," Seifer grinned, conviction and determination apparent on his face. "One more thing to put me in line to be the best, and to fulfill my dream . . ."  
  
Seifer turned away, looking up into the skylight overhead.  
  
"My dream . . ." Seifer added. "My fantasy . . . To be remembered for all time, as the greatest swordsman ever to walk the earth! I will etch my name into history, Squall! Hundreds and thousands of years from now I will be remembered and spoken of . . . ." Seifer turned back to Squall, and once more gestured to the crowd. "Unlike these dreamless fools." And with that, Seifer strode off, not looking back.  
  
Squall watched him go, surprised at Seifer's revelation to him, and considering its meaning. The best? Quite a lofty goal, it seemed, and one that certainly explained his desire to outdo anyone else, particularly Squall. And the fact that Seifer was using SeeD for its reputation more than any other benefit it could grant was a surprise as well.  
  
As Seifer's white trenchcoat disappeared, Squall thought of his rival in a new light, and thought that he might, just might, understand his rival's viewpoint on these matters. Not making SeeD was bad enough for someone with aspirations for money or excitement. But if Seifer never made it, but Squall did . . . how would that reflect on Seifer's reputation? That he could never be better than Squall would be a stain on the reputation, a burr on the sharpened edge Seifer hoped to exploit. The simple fact that someone was better than him out there, would make Seifer's foes a little less afraid of the ambitious fighter.  
  
And that could be fatal, to either Seifer or his dreams.  
  
The blonde cadet passed out of sight then, and Squall shook his head. Taking another sip on his glass, he looked back out at the dancers.  
  
-------------------  
  
Another hour passed. The occasional SeeD or cadet would wander by and congratulate Squall, but on the whole, he was left alone. The champagne had vanished, to be replaced by another full glass, which even now was only halfway full. The alcohol had loosened up the new SeeD somewhat, to the point where he was feeling something resembling a relaxed state.  
  
He grew tired of watching the dancers, who now were thinning out somewhat. Squall glanced around the ballroom, spotting Zell by the buffet table, stuffing hotdogs into his mouth. Selphie, in the meantime, was continuing her search (a fruitless one, it turned out) to recruit more Festival Committee members. Seifer was nowhere to be seen.  
  
Taking another sip of his champagne, Squall looked up to the second floor, at the SeeDs and cadets wandering around up there. His neck craned up further, up towards the ceiling, and the glass rooftop overhead.  
  
Squall watched the stars in the night sky for a moment, then noticed as one of those stars flew across the heavens. A meteorite, Squall realized. The fallen star crossed the heavens and disappeared past the edge of the glass roof, passing out of view.  
  
At the lower edge of his vision, Squall spotted someone else looking up at the star as well. He glanced down, to see a girl, about his own age, standing alone in the middle of the dance floor. She looked down from the shooting star and glanced his way, then pointed up at the roof, as if to say "You were looking at that too?"  
  
Squall cocked his head to the side, a bit confused. An instant later, as the girl started walking towards him, Squall suddenly realized that his confused gesture could just as easily have been interpreted as a sign of intrigue and interest.  
  
Squall's mind suddenly raced at the realization, even as the girl's features began to register. She was slender and petite, with long, dark hair that dropped past her shoulders, with a few blonde streaks running through her hair as well. She was downright beautiful, more than many, if not all, of the other girls in the room. She wore a stunning white dress that almost glowed in the ballroom's light, and accentuated the curves of her shapely body. Squall couldn't help but notice that the dress was rather short, exposing her long legs, which carried her gracefully across the dance floor. Around her neck she wore a slender silver chain with a silver ring on it.  
  
As she came closer, Squall found himself looking into her deep brown eyes, eyes that were lit with curiosity and interest. She cocked her head to the side, and smiled, and expression that made this girl seem even more beautiful.  
  
Squall couldn't help the fact that he was a male, and this girl's lovely features and nearly flawless grace and movements had definitely caught his rapt attention. Despite himself, his heart was beating faster as the girl looked him over. That smile, in particular, was affecting Squall.  
  
"You're the best looking guy here," she finally said, still wearing her intoxicating smile. Her voice was soft, yet playful and interested. An instant before she spoke the next words, Squall realized what she was going to ask.  
  
"Dance with me?" she asked hopefully.  
  
Yes, she was beautiful. Yes, she had Squall's attention. And yes, Squall was intrigued and interested by this mystery girl. But Squall was still Squall, and he did not like the idea of stepping out onto the dance floor with a complete stranger in a public place with dozens and dozens of observers, many of whom knew all about Squall's antisocial tendencies. If Squall took this dance, he might end up having a small horde of female SeeDs and cadets lining up to ask the Garden's "dream boy" out on the floor too.  
  
So, instead of responding verbally, Squall just took a sip of his champagne and looked over at a distant metal statue featuring the Garden emblem on its face. The girl, undeterred by Squall's silent refusal, continued.  
  
"Let me guess," she began. "You'll only dance with someone you like? Okay, then . . ." She suddenly stepped closer, raising a hand in front of her face. Squall, startled, turned back towards her right as she spoke again.  
  
"Look into my eyes," she said as she twirled her hand in front of Squall's face. "You-are-going-to-like-me. You-are-going-to-like-me . . . ." She chanted like some hypnotist, all the while smiling jokingly. "Did it work?" she asked a moment later.  
  
Perhaps the champagne had loosened Squall up somewhat, or maybe it was just this girl's demeanor, but Squall, surprising himself, chuckled at the "hypnosis." He did look into the girl's hopeful eyes, and then shrugged. He almost wanted to go out there with her now. Maybe, if no one had been watching and they were alone, perhaps he would have actually taken her up on the offer.  
  
"I can't dance," he lied, still trying to avoid getting out on the floor. The words sounded somewhat pathetic, but it was all he could come up with. If she knew anything about SeeD (she certainly wasn't a cadet or SeeD, for Squall would have recognized her) she might know SeeDs took dance and etiquette lessons for the purposes of covert operations.  
  
"You'll be fine," the girl said with another smile as she reached out and grabbed Squall's free hand. Her tone told Squall that she didn't believe his statement on dancing skills. "I'm looking for someone. I can't be out on the dance floor alone," she added as she pulled on Squall's arm.  
  
Even without junctions, Squall was more than strong enough to keep leaning against the pillar without even being budged by the slender girl's pull. But again, Squall was still Squall, and he was a reasonably nice person, so he decided to humor the girl. He'd get out on the floor, and really show her how he "couldn't" dance, then excuse himself. But, in order to keep all the other girls eager to dance with him away, Squall decided he needed to make it look like he never wanted to be out there to begin with.  
  
What resulted was a rather comical image as Squall allowed himself to be dragged out onto the dance floor, an expression of surprise on his face as he handed off his champagne glass to a more genuinely surprised SeeD passing by.  
  
The girl stopped in the center of the floor, right out in everyone's line of sight. She spun back on Squall and then took up his left hand in her right, and put his right on her left waist. Squall knew the positions perfectly, but he deliberately made himself seem hesitant and unsure. Taking the bait, the girl began to lead into the dance.  
  
Show time, Squall thought as he began to move his feet clumsily across the floor. After a few awkward steps, the girl took a step back, and Squall, knowing he was supposed to follow her, instead let her pull him in. He shifted his weight forward, making him slightly off-balance, causing the two to impact clumsily.  
  
Squall looked around, trying to appear as if he was confused and embarrassed. The black-haired girl was undeterred, however, and replaced Squall's hands. They resumed the clumsy dance, and as the girl spun away and pulled Squall after him, the SeeD came crashing into her, almost knocking her over.  
  
Taking that as a sufficient excuse to get out of there, and to deter anyone else from attempting to dance with him, Squall stepped away with a shake of his head. But the girl wasn't about to let him get away that easily, and grabbed his hand and dragged him back into the dance.  
  
"Oh no you don't!" she whispered as they resumed the dance. Squall, once more, danced like a buffoon as the girl tried to perform a series of graceful turns around him. With all the other dancers out there, it didn't take long before the pair ended up crashing into a pair of dancing SeeDs.  
  
Squall glanced over in feigned surprise, though in reality he had deliberately danced into the pair's path. He recognized the male partner as being Nee or whatever his name was, the other new SeeD.  
  
"Hey, man! Watch it!" Nee complained at Squall, who only shrugged. The girl, on the other hand, stuck her tongue out at Nee and then turned back to Squall. She smiled and cocked her head to the side.  
  
"I know you're a better dancer than this," she said quietly, and Squall realized that she had known he was lying all along. He shrugged, and then nodded, and even as a new song began to play he grasped her hand and assumed the proper pose for this dance.  
  
The two lost themselves in the dance, the motions and steps coming easily and naturally to Squall and the girl. They stepped, they spun, they waltzed and danced freely throughout the song. Squall was caught up in the movements, and entrapped by this beautiful girl's seemingly effortless spell. As the music reached its crescendo, they spun away from one another, and then came in close.  
  
This time, Squall did not overbalance and nearly take her down. Instead, he brought her in close to him, and was about to step into a closer, more intimate dance, when the lights began to dim.The darker light cast a newer, softer look on her face. Squall had only very rarely ever held a girl this close to him before, and that was mostly in the dance classes he'd taken. In those cases, he had been uncomfortable but had stoically accepted the girl's presence. But in this case, he didn't mind her being so close. Perhaps it was her beauty and grace, but it was probably also due to the champagne he'd been imbibing earlier. Whatever the reason, he didn't mind.  
  
Then, the girl's features were lit by multi-colored lights flashing down through the skylight above. Squall glanced up to see fireworks being set off in the night sky, accompanied by the clapping of many of the assembled cadets and SeeDs. He watched the light show above, and felt an unusual peace wash over him.  
  
The girl in front of Squall shifted, and he glanced down at her in confusion as she looked at something over his shoulder. Suddenly, she stepped away, smiling at him.  
  
"Thanks for the dance," she whispered as she moved around him and walked off towards a group of people in the sheltered area beneath the second floor. Squall watched her leave, surprised and a bit confused by her sudden departure. He felt a mixture of feelings, none that he thought he would have felt in that situation. instead of being relieved she had left him alone, Squall almost wanted to spend more time with her, and felt . . . disappointment?  
  
Don't kid yourself, Leonhart, he thought. This is precisely the reason why he didn't get close to anyone, so that he wouldn't feel bad when they left. And they would always eventually leave. He still recalled how pained he was when he'd been abandoned by someone very close to him long ago. He couldn't remember the face or circumstances surrounding the person, but the pain and sadness were still there.  
  
She was long gone now, the unnamed angel vanishing just as suddenly as she had appeared, and now Squall was alone in the middle of the dance floor. He looked around at all the dancers and celebrating people, and suddenly felt the need to get out of that room. 


	12. Opened and Closed

Chapter 11: Opened and Closed  
  
The clear night air was refreshing to Squall as he stood on one of the second floor balconies, taking in the Garden grounds stretching out below.  
  
He'd stepped outside in order to clear his head after the dance, and also to fulfill the need to get out of the ballroom before being assailed by requests for dances from female cadets and SeeDs. Also, in the dark quiet, Squall was able to mull over the mysterious girl. It wasn't like him to feel like he had around women. Must have been the alcohol, he concluded. Too much champagne. But still, that couldn't explain all of it . . . .  
  
Whoever that girl was, he had felt completely at ease around her, a feeling he hadn't known since . . . a very long time. He couldn't place it, but that sense of ease was connected with the person he had been close to so long ago . . . the same person who'd dissappeared, leaving him alone and helpless.  
  
Squall's musings were interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps. He didn't look over his shoulder, not wanting to aknowledge the person who had ruined his solitude.  
  
"You really are an excellent student," Quistis spoke from behind him. At this, he did look behind at his former Instructor. "Even that dance was perfect." Her words were spoken with genuine approval.  
  
"Thank you," Squall replied without emotion as he turned his gaze back out over the balcony. He continued his stare for a moment, immersed in the night, but still felt Quistis's presence behind him. After a few moments, the silence became rather awkward.  
  
"Yes?" he demanded in an irritated voice.  
  
"So you'll dance with someone you know, but can't stand being around me?" Quistis replied, sounding a bit hurt. Squall turned back towards her.  
  
"Whatever," he replied. "You're an Instructor, and I'm . . . I was your student. Its kind of awkward when you don't say anything." Quistis, surprising Squall, laughed.  
  
"That's true, I was like that myself," she said, nodding. Then, she stopped laughing and her mouth opened slightly, as if suddenly recalling something. "Oh, I completely forgot . . . I wonder what's to come of me?"  
  
Squall turned his head to look completely at her. What? 'What's to come of me'? What was this?  
  
Quistis didn't elaborate, and instead her voice shifted slightly, to a more serious tone.  
  
"I've come to give you an order," she said. "You and I are to go to the 'secret area.'"  
  
The secret area? Squall knew exactly what went on there. Students would go there after curfew to talk . . . among other things.  
  
"What are doing there?" Squall asked, wondering what Quistis had in mind. "Are we going there to tell everyone they're violating curfew? We can leave that to the Disciplinary Committee." And Seifer would certianly relish getting everyone there in trouble, Squall knew.  
  
Quistis actually laughed at Squall's remark.  
  
"No, we're not going to ruin it for everyone," she said. "Go get changed and meet me in front of the Training Center. This will be my last order." With that, Quistis turned around and returned into the ballroom, leaving Squall still confused.  
  
'Last order'? 'What's to become of me'? His former instructor was acting strangely, but the perceptive Squall figured whatever it was, he would probably find out in the "secret area."  
  
Well, at least it was a good excuse to get out of the ballroom and away from the party.  
  
-------------------  
  
Squall entered the Training Center's hallway, dressed in his casual black jacket, muscle shirt, and pants. His gunblade was in its scabbard, as were his ammunition and pouches of equipment. Squall's backup knives were in their waist and wrist sheaths as well. He took no chances when it came to the Training Center. A knife to a T-Rexaur's eye had saved his life one day a few years ago, and he didn't want to be killed tonight by carelessness.  
  
Quistis was waiting for him in the hallway, and was clad in her pink shirt, skirt, and dark detached sleeves. Her rante was coiled at her side, and she too was equipped for battle. She nodded as he approached.  
  
"Let's go," she said as she took her rante off her belt. Squall's hand dropped to the Revolver's handle, poking out of the scabbard and ready to draw.  
  
The two delved into the Training Center, feeling the moist, hot air keenly as they passed the perimeter fence. Soon, they were under the leafy canopy of the interior jungle. They passed through without incident, reaching the indoor river and crossing the crude plank bridge. Soon, they neared where the secret area was located. After pushing through some brush and shrubbery and passing another indoor river, this one with no planks and requiring hopping across on the stones jutting out of the water, they arrived at a slightly cracked-open portal. This door led to the balcony that comprised the "secret area."  
  
The two paused at the portal, listening for any sounds that might indicate inappropriate activites beyond the door. But they heard little more than quiet conversation, the words inaudible, so the two cracked open the portal and stepped outside.  
  
The balcony for the "secret area" was located on the far side of the Training Center, and overlooked the jungle and the Garden grounds. The central structure of Balamb Garden dominated the night sky, shining like a white mountian whose peak was surrounded by a golden ring of clouds. A few couples of cadets were out, talking quietly among themselves, but nothing inappropriate was occuring.  
  
"I haven't been here in a while," Quistis admitted as she led him to an unoccupied area at the railing. They were a good distance away from everyone else, which was an unspoken rule of the "secret area." What went on there was private.  
  
Both SeeD and Instructor leaned on the railing, staring up at the spectacle of the glowing Garden before them. Neither spoke for a long time, and Squall decided to just be patient. Whatever Quistis said she would say in due time. A quick glance out the corner of his eye told Squall that Quistis seemed troubled, and was gathering her thoughts.  
  
It took a few minutes for Quistis to finally speak again.  
  
"What time is it?" she asked. Her voice sounded meloncholy, surprising Squall slightly. He glanced at his watch. 0:07 hours.  
  
"Just after midnight," he replied. He looked back up to see Quistis slump slightly, looking down at the railing.  
  
"Oh, well . . ." she whispered quietly. She stayed that way for a while, obviously in thought, and said nothing. Squall watched her for a moment, then looked back out towards Garden. The silence between the two lingered for a couple of minutes before Quistis broke it again.  
  
"I, Quistis Trepe, am no longer an Instructor as of now," she said, looking up.  
  
That got Squall's attention. He turned his head back towards her, attempting to read her expression. She looked pained, and saddened, as if she couldn't live up to someone's expectations.  
  
"I'm a member of SeeD now, just like you," Quistis added, looking at him. "Who knows, maybe we'll end up working together."  
  
"Oh, really?" was all he said in reply. Squall didn't know why Quistis had been demoted like she had. It certainly wasn't due to budget cuts, since Quistis would earn more as a SeeD than an Instructor, and she had always been considered quite the skilled Instructor by her collegues and students. But, for whatever reason, she was cut.  
  
"Is that all you're going to say?" Quistis demanded, sounding hurt. Squall shrugged.  
  
"If that's how it was decided, you have to abide by it," he explained, a philosophy that had dominated much of his life. Squall accepted and dealt with things as they came. What he couldn't control he would stoically take without complaint. He might not enjoy it, but complaining about it would not help.  
  
Quistis nodded slightly, turning away. She slumped a bit, as she accepted the simple, if unhappy, truth in Squall's words.  
  
Many minutes passed in silence as the two stood there, saying nothing. Quistis stared down at the railing, while Squall looked out over Garden, considering Quistis's words. This was the big thing she wanted to say. And she had opted to share it with Squall, of all people. Why him? Surely Xu or Cid might better help her.  
  
Then again, Xu and Cid had probably delivered the notice to Quistis in the first place. She would understandably not feel any comfort in their words. No matter how nice a person who hurt you is, they still hurt you.  
  
So Quistis had turned to Squall. And again, the question was, why him?  
  
"They told me I failed as an Instructor," Quistis said quietly, sadly. The words jolted Squall out of his musings. "Basically, that I lacked leadership capabilities."  
  
Squall shrugged internally at that. Quistis had always been the type to look out for others, to assist cadets. She had never really been very hard on her students, not even Seifer. Now that Squall thought of it, he did realize Quistis had never truly exhibited leadership capabilities. Her style of teaching had always involved working with her students, as opposed to some of the Faculty's way of hard teaching and strict discipline. It was understandable why her differing method might not be accepted.  
  
"I was in SeeD by fifteen, got my Instructor's liscense at seventeen . . ." Quistis continued while Squall was thinking. "It's only been a year since I got it. I wonder where I went wrong. I did my best . . ." Quistis turned back to Squall, to see him not even looking at her. In fact, he had turned around to put his back to the railing, and was looking towards the door absently. None of her words were really registering in his mind.  
  
"Are you even listening?" she asked angrily.  
  
Squall had heard all of her rambling, but he was beyond the point of caring now. He was tired, he wanted to get back to his room and sleep. Quistis's problems weren't his, they were her own.  
  
"Are you done yet?" he asked in response, surprising Quistis by the coldness in his tone.  
  
"I don't want to talk about it," he added with a dismissing wave of his hand. "What exactly am I supposed to say about other people's problems?"  
  
"I don't want you to say anything," Quistis replied, still sounding hurt. "I just want you to listen."  
  
So that was it. She just wanted someone to talk to about her problems. Someone who would listen.  
  
But Squall didn't care about Quistis's problems. He didn't want to listen right now. He was tired, and Quistis's troubles weren't his; they were hers. Besides, Squall never subscribed to the notion that talking about problems helped them; you just talked about them, and did nothing. It was like complaining, producing nothing whatsoever. It was useless. Maybe it gave comfort to the mind, but it went nowhere closer to handling the situation.  
  
"Then go talk to a wall," Squall replied, his uncaring tone shocking Quistis.  
  
"Aren't there times when you've wanted to share your feelings with someone?" Quistis asked, not understanding Squall's suddenly cold and distant demeanor.  
  
"Everyone has to take care of themselves," Squall replied. "I don't want to carry anyone else's burden. Your problems are yours." He turned to face her, and stared Quistis dead in the eye. "Deal with them," he advised in an icy, emotionless tone.  
  
Quistis had nothing to say as Squall turned around and walked out of the "secret area," not looking back. As he stepped out the door, Quistis lowered her head, biting back a slight wetness at her eyes.  
  
"Dammit, Squall . . ." she muttered. "Why don't you open up? Why are you always like this?" She sighed after a moment, then looked back over the railing. "No leadership qualities, failed Instructor . . . perhaps they're right . . ."  
  
-------------------  
  
Quistis rejoined Squall a few minutes later inside the Training Center. Neither said anything as they returned back the way that they had come. No Grats or more dangerous creatures rose to challenge the pair as they returned across the indoor rivers. However, as the two approached the exit from the Training Center, they heard a call behind them.  
  
It was a scream for help.  
  
Gunblade and rante were ready in an instant as the two teenagers turned and ran in the direction of the cry. Squall checked the back of his mind, touching the GFs there and alerting them. All three Guardian Forces awakened and magic flowed through Squall's body. His pace quickened, as did Quistis's, empowered by magic.  
  
Ahead, they heard another scream. It was from a woman, and the cry for help was followed by an animalistic roar.  
  
"Granaldo!" Squall shouted, recognizing the sound. Granaldos were one of the more brutal monsters in the Center, a type of flying, plated reptilian/insect monstrosity. Granaldos had orange and black plates, blue eyes, sharpened teeth, dragonflylike wings, and a long, spiked tail. They also featured four legs, all tipped with sharp spines and claws.  
  
As they burst into the clearing where the calls were coming from, Squall saw this Granaldo was an adult, towering a good eight feet and more if it had been standing. The huge monster was menacing a brown-haired girl wearing blue, and for a second Squall paused, as if recalling something about her.  
  
The girl also recognized Squall, judging by the recognition in her eyes, and also by her subsequent calling of his name. Quistis burst out of the brush next to him, and the unknown girl looked to both of them.  
  
"Squall?" She asked. "Quisty?" He had never heard anyone call Quistis by that kind of an informal name. But they had no time now to ponder what this girl was saying, as the Granaldo turned towards the newcomers. It let out a call, like that of a huge eagle, and swooped towards them.  
  
Squall's gunblade met it, the Revolver cleaving through the plates on its chest as the monster reared up in its flight to slash its clawed forearm at Squall. The monster jerked away, but not before its clawed arm scored a hit across Squall's chest. The junctions of his Guardian Forces absorbed much of the blow, Squall's hardened skin and toughened body taking the hit well.  
  
As the Granaldo began to fly away, Quistis's whip snapped up and caught it by its other arm, and she yanked the monster down with all her superhuman strength. The creature looked on in surprise as it hit the ground, not expecting such a frail foe to have such strength. It was right back up, but not before Squall had covered the short distance between them and cleaved again, this time firing off a blast from the Revolver.  
  
The monster howled as chunks of bony plate flew. It leaped back up into the air and spun around, its tail clubbing and hurling both SeeDs off their feet. Both its foreclaws came jabbing in at Squall's head as he rose. He managed to duck under one while sending the Revolver up, pulling the trigger as the gunblade connected with the monster's arm.  
  
The arm flew away in a blast of ichors. The creature's screech was deafening as it backed away in midair. Quistis's whip snapped after it, but the monster dodged the chain, and only took a glancing hit across its side. Still, that sharpened edge passed through the monster's armor and scored a painful hit.  
  
Realizing it was overmatched, the monster turned back to the helpless girl and began to fly at her, its one working arm opening as if to grasp her, which it was. The Granaldo seemed to have concluded that it couldn't defeat these foes, so it would make off with its original prey. Squall ran after it, crossing the distance quickly, his gunblade ready.  
  
Suddenly, he jumped to the side, his GF-enhanced muscles hurling him towards a tree at the edge of the clearing. He twisted around and planted his legs against the tree and kicked off it at an angle, flying straight into the Granaldo's side with gunblade raised.  
  
The Revolver plunged into the monster's armored skin, and Squall pulled the trigger even as the Granaldo was knocked off course. The monster's body shuddered as it dropped to the ground. Squall suddenly found one of the creature's legs curling up and planted against his chest, and before he could react he was kicked away, tearing his gunblade free of the monster's side.  
  
Squall was up on his feet in an instant, just in time to see the Granaldo rise up as well, hovering weakly. It swooped in once more for the girl, but was knocked to the ground as a powerful burst of flames, a Fira spell cast by Quistis, struck it. The monster rose stubbornly once more, but Squall covered the distance in an instant and slashed his gunblade down on the Granaldo's neck before it could completely stand. Squall's superhuman strength combined with the razor-sharp edge of the Revolver and a healthy blast from the gunblade to cleave the monster's head off. It flopped to the ground, dead instantly.  
  
Squall turned towards the girl immediately, as she sat on the grass, looking dazed and confused. The battle had lasted only a few seconds. As he began to step towards her, however, a pair of figures leapt into view, one dropping from a tree limb while the other entered the clearing from behind the woman. Squall instantly recognized the taller of the two men as Trent, the man who had spoken to Cid at the ball. Both men were clad in the same white uniform Trent had worn to the ball, and both had weapons drawn.  
  
Trent slid his tonfas back to his belt the instant he saw the girl was not in immediate danger. The second man kept his eyes open and his weapon, a slender saber, at the ready.  
  
"Are you alright?" Trent asked the girl, bending down to help her up. She nodded as she accepted the help. "Madam, we must leave. It is not safe here at all."  
  
"Yes . . ." the girl said as Trent began to guide her out towards the door. The other white-clad man approached, taking her other arm and gently guiding her along as Trent stopped and turned towards the SeeDs. He bowed gracefully.  
  
"My thanks," he stated. "It is difficult to persuade her sometimes. She insisted on following you."  
  
"Who is she?" Squall asked. "I think I've seen her before."  
  
"Me too," Quistis added. "And she knew us. She called me Quisty."  
  
"She is an acquaintance, and a friend of the Headmaster's," Trent replied. "We are tasked with keeping her safe. It is most unfortunate she slipped away from us tonight." Trent paused. "I . . . I am unsure how she would be related to you two." Trent glanced over his shoulder at his departing comrade and the mysterious woman.  
  
"I must leave you now." Trent bowed once more. "You have our thanks, and I wish you luck and courage. Farewell." With that, Trent turned to leave.  
  
As Trent disappeared, Quistis shook her head.  
  
"Who was that?" she asked. "I've seen her before, I know it."  
  
"Whatever," Squall replied, glancing back at the dead monster. "We can ask the Headmaster later. We'd better get out before we attract any attention. I don't want to fight any more monsters." Quistis nodded in assent and they swiftly left the Training Center.  
  
No more monsters arose to block their path, and the two SeeDs exited without incident.  
  
As they advanced down the hallway leading out of the Center, Quistis suddenly stopped and turned back to Squall, who almost sighed in vexation. Was she about to unload more of her problems on him?  
  
"Squall," she said quietly, "Its not like everyone can get by on their own." Squall expected her to say more, but Quistis cut it short there. She turned back and walked out, leaving Squall standing alone in the hallway, considering her words.  
  
"Says who?" he muttered under his breath as she passed out of sight. He could take care of himself without any problems. Everyone else could too, if they'd stop relying on others and tried on their own. Leaning on others was dangerous, because other people were unreliable. Squall had learned that the hard way.  
  
Making his way down the quiet halls of nighttime Balamb Garden, Squall met no one else, save for the occasional Faculty member standing guard to prevent anyone from entering areas that were off limits. The Training Center was the only part of the building open after lights-out, save for the dorms themselves. Late-night meals could be picked up from the Cafeteria, but only if they were ordered beforehand.  
  
Squall headed down the walkway leading to the Dorms. As he passed through the archway and into the open-air breezeway that covered the remaining distance to the Dorms, Squall spotted Zell, still clad in his uniform, approaching him.  
  
"Yo, Squall!" Zell shouted as soon as he'd spotted his fellow SeeD. "Finally! There you are! Where the hell have you been, I've been looking all over for you!"  
  
"Training Center," Squall replied. "What is it?"  
  
"Well, we're both now members of SeeD, right?" Zell said, once more stating the ridiculously obvious. "Well, guess what? We've got our own rooms now, baby!" Zell's shout was loud and enthusiastic. "You're new room's right across the hall from your old one. Man, it took me forever to tell you."  
  
Squall nodded his thanks and headed in. He soon found his room, which was indeed across the hall from his old one, right along the border between the SeeD and the cadet dorms. Apparently, Zell was afraid he'd miss Squall before he'd returned to the Dorms, since a large crayon sign proclaiming the news was taped to the door to the old dorms. Unsurprisingly, a similar sign stating which door led to Squall's new room was taped on that door as well.  
  
Also unsurprising was how Zell had moved all of Squall's possessions into his new room. Squall's few books were haphazardly piled on a shelf, his gunblade case was leaning on the wall, and various knick-knacks were piled upon the small desk.  
  
The room was about as large as two seperate dorm rooms for cadets, and featured a bed, desk, a shelf for books, and a small kitchenette area complete with a microwave, a small stove, a sink, a miniature refrigerator, and a small pantry. There was also a seperate, private bathroom and shower.  
  
Squall looked around the modest room, and spotted an envelope on his bed. He picked it up, and noted the words on the front. His new employment contract. He ripped it open, and skimmed through it, nodding with each point. He was to be paid a monthly salary according to rank, which was subject to his conduct both on the battlefield and in noncombat situations. He was not considered above the cadet populace when it came to rules or status. He had to abide by the Garden code, he had to set a good example for the cadets, he had to uphold the Garden's reputation . . .  
  
It was all things he'd read about long before making SeeD, and there was nothing new in the whole document. Just a waste of paper, Squall thought sarcastically as he slid the document back into the envelope and tossed it on his desk. Squall kicked off his boots and yawned tiredly.  
  
What a hell of a day. He had dueled with Seifer, fought and defeated a Guardian Force, had engaged in a major battle inside Dollet, had run up and then back down a mountian, had defeated an abomination on top of the Dollet Comms Tower, escaped the wrath of a terror of Galbadian engineering, and had to endure Quistis's whining about her problems. And to top it all off, there was that raven-haired girl from the party . . . and that wasn't even half of what he'd gone through today.  
  
Squall doffed his jacket and hung it up on one of the hangers on the wall over his bed, then cut out the lights and laid down.  
  
He was asleep in moments.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------  
  
Anyone catch the Matrix quote? Heehee.  
  
A note on Trent: I really like the White SeeDs, and was sad that there was so little about them in the game. I wanted to make them a bit more important, particularly their leader. So, I decided to give their leader a name and a bit more personality. What results is Trent. He's still a minor character, but he is important to the storyline. 


	13. First Mission

Chapter 12: First Mission  
  
Cid glared at the Faculty members who stood opposite his desk. Three of them stood in a line. The outer two hadn't spoken at all during the course of the informal meeting, leaving the middle one to do all the talking.  
  
"NORG still refuses your request," the Faculty reiterated.  
  
"It was not a request," Cid replied. "It was an order. Seifer Almasy was to be expelled."  
  
"You are not the owner of this Garden, Headmaster," the Faculty replied. "NORG's authority supercedes yours. And NORG believes that Seifer Almasy is too great an investment to expell before he reaches twenty."  
  
Cid shook his head.  
  
"Seifer Almasy is a glory hunter, not a soldier," Cid replied. "Despite his skill, he is a danger to everyone, himself included. He is a dog of war, not a warrior, and his presence on the battlefield presents a dangerous random factor. We cannot afford to have soldiers who refuse to follow their orders, especially if SeeD is to fulfill its true role."  
  
"That role has not yet presented itself," the Faculty replied. "We have not had an inkling of that level of danger for years, not since the Sorceress War."  
  
"Trent says otherwise."  
  
"Trent's words are irrelavent," the Faculty said with a shake of his head. "He only says that there is a new foriegn ambassador in the Galbadian government. That region falls under Galbadia Garden's jurisdiction, not ours."  
  
"But if what he says is true-"  
  
"NORG will act on it," the Faculty interrupted. "NORG is in constant communication with Headmaster Martine, and he is keeping an eye on the Galbadian situation."  
  
Cid sighed and nodded, knowing they were right. He sat back in his chair.  
  
"Very well," Cid said, moving back the original subject. "If expulsion will not suffice for Seifer, other disciplinary actions must be taken. Perhaps detention or suspension?"  
  
"NORG has concluded detention may be sufficent for Almasy," the Faculty said. "Three weeks detention may prove sufficent for insubordination."  
  
Cid nodded his assent. Garden's "detention" area was more like a military brig, saved for those members of Garden that acted grossly out of line in combat situations, or for violent offenders or intruders into the Garden grounds.  
  
"In addition, Headmaster," the Faculty added. "NORG has cut back on the number of SeeDs to be deployed on the operation tommorow."  
  
"How many?" Cid asked, dissappointed but not surprised at NORG's cutback.  
  
"Ordinarily we would not even reply to a request involving such a small amount of gil," the Faculty explained, "but we have opted instead to cut the SeeD unit from five to three. In addition, we are only going to deploy relatively inexperienced SeeDs to this operation."  
  
Cid nodded, expecting every word.  
  
"Furthermore, there will be no replacement of any SeeDs suffering from casualties on this operation."  
  
Of course not, Cid thought. Why replace SeeDs when the offer involved all the money being paid up front? NORG had no obligation to see the mission to completion. The idea sickened Cid.  
  
"Three of the new SeeDs will be deployed on this operation. We intend for Squall Leonhart to lead the operation with Selphie Tilmitt and Zell Dincht acting as support."  
  
Once more, Cid nodded.  
  
"And that is all concerning the operation."  
  
"Do we have any more business?" Cid asked the Faculty.  
  
"Unless it is yours, no, Headmaster. Good day." With that, the trio left the office. Cid watched them leave, and shook his head. NORG kept on interfering with everything, it seemed. First he canceled Seifer's expulsion and now he was cutting back on the squadron being deployed to Timber. It seemed the greedy bastard only cared about how deep his pockets were nowadays, as opposed to SeeD's true purpose.  
  
Perhaps he should reconsider their business arrangement. The Headmaster was an idealist, while the Garden Master was concerned about his pocketbook. NORG had been quietly keeping the truth from getting out to the students about SeeD's purpose, something Cid had not even realized until recently. SeeD's ultimate objective was not mercanary operations, after all; it was wholly different, and the income from mercanary missions was only to sustain the Garden and provide training. But NORG had shifted that ideal towards base motives.  
  
Cid knew he was going to have to remedy that situation.  
  
-------------------  
  
Squall went through his automatic routine, checking, cleaning, and reloading his gunblade, then checking it again, before sheathing his knives and securing his additional ammunition and equipment on his belts and the bandoleers running around his leg. He'd done this so many times, always before heading outside Garden's grounds or into the Training Center. But today was different. Today he wasn't just fighting monsters and practicing his skills.  
  
Today was the day of his first mission as a member of SeeD.  
  
Four days. That was how long he'd had between the inaguration and his first assignment. Most SeeDs usually had a week or two before being launched out into the world, but Squall was deploying after only four days.  
  
Selphie, with her typical exuberence, had delivered the news. And inferring from her words, it was likely that both Squall and Selphie were deploying together. Squall wouldn't be surprised if Zell was also deployed with them too. Somehow, it seemed only fitting that the three would work together.  
  
Squall, his inspection completed, stepped out of his room and headed out of the dorms.  
  
In the four days between the inaguration and today, little had changed. Squall had much more free time on hand, since he no longer had to attend classes. However, he did keep up with practice and training, often going up against SeeDs or the better cadets in the training dojos on the second floor, and also by spending a good deal of time whacking Grats in the Training Center or roaming the plains and honing his skills on the monsters in the wilds.  
  
As a SeeD, he did have access to most areas of Garden even after lights-out, and he had spent the nights in the dark, peaceful quiet of the Quad, often practicing with his gunblade there as well.  
  
Yet Squall still had to abide by the Garden's rules, and he definately did not have rank over the cadets. By Garden's measure, Squall was still the same as a cadet in almost all respects, except he was deployed on missions and recieved a sizable monthly salary. The only thing he could possibly do within Garden would be to override the Disciplinary Committee if they got out of hand.  
  
Not that the Committee was causing any trouble now. Seifer had been sent to the "disciplinary room," located in the Garden's basement. The area was little more than a brig, in reality. And without their leader, the remainder of the Committee was nowhere near as effective. Fujin had usually deferred to Seifer when it came to decisions (and abuses), and Raijin, well, no one could expect much of anything from the muscle-bound pussycat.  
  
As Squall rounded Garden's central walkay encircling the elevators, he did spot that same giant kitten, standing around looking bored.  
  
"Hey, Squall," Raijin called as the SeeD passed him. Squall paused to look his way. "Man, you better keep outta Fujin's way, ya know!" Raijin warned, bending down and rubbing his shin. "She's real mad, ya know! Ever since Seifer got locked up she's been glaring and hissing and kicking me! So watch yourself, ya know."  
  
Squall nodded in aknowledgement to Raijin's warning, even as the subject of their conversation rounded the opposite side of the walkway, from the direction of the elevators. Fujin sent a glare Squall's way before walking up to Raijin.  
  
"IFRIT," she commanded him harshly.  
  
"Wha?" Raijin asked, sounding confused. "Ifrit?" Fujin, not a patient one, responded by kicking her dim-witted brother in the shin, right where he'd been rubbing moments before. "Oow! Oohhh . . . ahh . . ." Raijin whined as he hopped around on one leg, clutching his brutalized limb.  
  
"IFRIT," Fujin commanded again. "STONE."  
  
"Whaddya want my Ifrit for?" Raijin asked, still hopping. "You've got one too, don't you?"  
  
"ROOM. FORGOT. GIVE," Fujin explained.  
  
"You can just go get your own, ya kno-ow!" Raijin was hopping once more, this time clutching his other leg, courtesy of Fujin's next kick. "Lighten up, will ya!" Raijin complained. After a few more hops Raijin managed to stop long enough to fish out his red Ifrit stone and toss it to Fujin.  
  
"What the hell you need my Ifrit stone for, anyway?" Raijin demanded while rubbing his legs.  
  
"PRACTICE," Fujin replied as she turned back and headed back towards the front of Garden.  
  
"Man, what a pain, ya know," Raijin said, turning back to Squall, who had watched the whole scene, which was typical of Fujin and Raijin's sibling relationship. He shrugged at Raijin's remark as he walked in the same direction Fujin had taken.  
  
"Hey, man, just be careful!" Raijin warned from behind him. "Fujin kicks real hard, ya know!"  
  
Squall passed out of view then, and Raijin paused to scratch his head, considering soemthing.  
  
"Waitaminute," he mused, "didn't Fuu get her Ifrit stone this morning? I thought I saw her getting it . . . Man, its not like her to forget stuff like that, ya know . . . ."  
  
-------------------  
  
Selphie had said they were to meet at the front gate for the briefing, and so that was where Squall was headed. Soon enough he was outside the gate, where he spotted Selphie, along with the Headmaster and a couple of members of the Faculty, standing off to the side. Once more, Squall got the impression the Faculty were there to keep Cid from talking too much.  
  
"Ah, good," Cid said as he spotted Squall. "Everyone's almost here."  
  
Squall looked around at the other four individuals present. Only five people were present for the briefing? Even though Squall was just a new SeeD, he'd been with Garden for a long, long time, and he knew it was only in rare, and often exceptional, circumstances that so few SeeDs were to be deployed on a mission.  
  
Squall walked over beside Selphie and waited. He noted Selphie was clad in a short yellow dress featuring a belt with item pouches and other equipment. She wore her oversized nunchakus strapped across her back.  
  
"First mission!" she remarked to Squall as he waited for the others to arrive. "I'm excited!"  
  
Squall shrugged. He was a bit anxious, but overall he wasn't anywhere near as excited as the tiny SeeD beside him.  
  
The quintet waited for some time. Squall noticed that Cid had a folder containing some papers, and curiously, a small object of some kind wrapped in cloth sitting at his feet. Both the Headmaster and the Faculty kept glancing at their watches.  
  
"One more minute," one of the Faculty remarked after a while. "Then we begin the briefing without him."  
  
"Him?"  
  
"Dincht," the Faculty said, irritation in his one. "We may have to lower his rank if he insists on being this late to all breifings." Squall was a bit surprised at the fact that Zell was the only other squadmate joining in this operation. Indeed, this did seem to be an exceptional circumstance.  
  
Squall thought he saw movement to his left, from the direction of Garden's entrance, and glanced that way in time to see Zell Dincht rapidly approaching.  
  
Only Zell was approaching not on foot, but on a long, hovering board that looked like a cross between a surfboard and skateboard. The device was known as a T-board, and used small thrusters in conjunction with antigravity technology to allow the rider to "surf the air" or whatever was said on the advertisements.  
  
Zell leaned back a bit on the board, causing its thrusters to point downwards and shooting the device up into the air. He came down expertly, turning the board sharply to the left on landing, then zig-zagging back and forth over the pavement before pulling a sharp U-turn back towards the group. He weaved the device between Squall and the Headmaster and stopped it right in front of the Faculty. Another tap of his foot turned the thing off, and he lifted the device up, holding it like a surfer with his board beside him. The martial artist flashed a grin at all assembled.  
  
"S'up?" he said, shooting off a thumbs-up. "Made it!" The martial artist wore a pair of casual baggy blue shorts, a black muscle shirt, and a heavy but short jacket. The jacket had a red chest and back, but featured short dark blue sleeves with a lighter blue flame running up their length. Zell also wore a pair of dark red sneakers.  
  
"T-boards are prohibited within Garden," the Faculty stated coldly. "Have you forgotten?"  
  
"Oops, sorry!" Zell said, with an abashed look on his face. But then he smiled again, gesturing to his board. "But this is really cool. It migth come in handy on a SeeD mission, someday."  
  
"We'll be the judges of that," the Faculty replied. He made a gesture, and without warning the other Faculty member approached and grabbed the T-Board from Zell's hands. "Confiscate it," the first faculty ordered, and the second nodded and walked past them towards Garden. The first Faculty looked back at Zell.  
  
"All of you are members of SeeD, but," the Faculty explained. "You are still students at this Garden. Furthermore, as SeeDs, you must set an example to all the others and abide by Garden's rules. Understood?" Without waiting for reply, the Faculty walked to the side, standing behind Cid. Once more, Squall got the impression the Faculty was acting like a minder over Cid's actions.  
  
The Headmaster stepped forward and addressed the trio of SeeDs.  
  
"Well, about your first mission," he began. "This is a covert operation. You are to go to Timber. There, you are to support a resistance faction against the Galbadian occupation. That's the gist of what you'll be doing. You'll be under their command for the operation. So, in other words, you'll be attached to their forces for this mission. Obey their commands, offer advice, and support them in their objectives. A member of the faction will contact you at Timber Station, where the Balamb train connects at Timber."  
  
"This person will approach you and say 'The forests of Timber sure have changed,'" the Faculty stated from behind Cid. "At this time, you must reply 'But the owls are still around.' That is the password."  
  
"Again, just follow the faction's orders," Cid reiterated.  
  
"Uhhh . . ." Zell said suddenly, looking around at the group. "Just us three?"  
  
"Correct," the Faculty stated. Squall thought he saw the Faculty's head turn towards Cid as he spoke the next words, almost as if he were glaring at the Headmaster. "We have agreed to do this mission for very little money. Ordinarily, we would never accept such requests, but . . ."  
  
"Enough talk about that," Cid interrupted. He turned towards Squall. "Well, Squall, you're assigned to be the squad leader. Use your best judgement based on the situation. Zell and Selphie, you are to support Squall and give your all to carry out the faction's plans."  
  
Squall nodded at the orders.  
  
"Well, then, Cid said. "Make sure you take the train scheduled to leave at 2000 hours. The trip will take approxmately twelve hours to cross the ocean between Balamb and Timber. You should arrive at 0800 hours tommorow morning, where the contact will be waiting. You have free time until then. Dismissed." The trio of SeeDs nodded and began to return to Garden. "Except for you, Squall," Cid added.  
  
Squall glanced over at Cid in annoyance as the Headmaster gestured for him to step closer. As he did so, the Headmaster bent down and retrieved the small object by his side.  
  
"This is for you, Squall," Cid explained. "One is given to the top graduate of every SeeD class. Its a lamp, containing a powerful Guardian Force by the name of Diablos. Rub it to bring him forth."  
  
Squall took the lamp gingerly, as if afraid to touch it, even within its protective cloth. Cid chuckled at Squall's hesitation.  
  
"It is a good idea to be cautious," the Headmaster advised. "Diablos is rather . . . fiesty. You should be well prepared before taking him on. You won't have to worry about accidentally summoning him while that cloth is over the lamp, however."  
  
"Thank you," Squall said to the Headmaster, tucking the lamp under his arm and saluting Cid. "My squad will be ready to leave tonight."  
  
"Good. Dismissed."  
  
-------------------  
  
"RAGE!" Fujin hissed as she paced back and forth in front of Seifer's cell. Seifer himself sat back on his bed, with an air of indifference about him, as if the cell and his detention were trivial.  
  
"They just don't appreciate me," Seifer said with a chuckle. "What a shame too, the best in all of Garden sitting down here. Hardly a way to treat a hero."  
  
Fujin continued her angry pacing, occasionally shooting a glare the way of the SeeD guard, who ignored her.  
  
The detention area was located in the Garden's basement. It was small, since it had never been intended to house many people at once, and featured a quartet of steel barred cells, each with a pair of bunk beds and a toliet. All four cells were within sight of the guard station, a large desk with monitors for the cells' security cameras. Seifer's cell was the closest to the station, which sat directly between the cells and the exit. A single SeeD sat at the guard station, and to the left of the desk was a series of metal lockers, for holding the valuables of those interned in the brig. Only one was locked right now, the one holding Seifer's gunblade, ammunition, and GF stones.  
  
"You're hardly a hero," a voice called from the door, and all three teenagers looked up to see Quistis, dressed in her SeeD uniform, approach. She nodded at the guard, who replied, and then to Fujin, who did not. The former Instructor stepped in front of the bars and crossed her arms over her chest, giving Seifer a stern look.  
  
"Aw, my dear Instructor," Seifer said with a grin, putting emphasis on the word "instructor." Quistis's gaze hardened at Seifer's deliberate poking of a very sore nerve. "You insist on mistreating me while I'm already wrongfully incarcerated? How cruel."  
  
"'Wrongfully'?" Quistis echoed, shaking her head. "You disobeyed a direct order, Seifer. In Galbadia you'd be taking twenty lashes and spending months in jail for that kind of insubordination."  
  
"I did what I had to do," Seifer shot back. "You expect me to leave the Galbadians alone when they pass right through the area I'm guarding? Especially when they're acting suspicious and leaving a known battlezone? I couldn't contact the remainder of SeeD force, so I did what I had to do to find out what they were up to."  
  
"You did what you 'had to do' because you were bored," Quistis shot back. "We were listening in on the whole conversation. You were bugged before you even left the vessel. You went up the mountian because it offered more potential for fighting than the Square did."  
  
Seifer said nothing in the face of Quistis's mostly true accusations. He just leaned back and stared up at the ceiling, as if ignoring her. Undaunted, Quistis continued.  
  
"Your actions put people at risk. Xu and her squad could have been killed. Dollet soldiers were killed because Xu had to divert her squad to stopping an attack coming from the direction of the Square, an attack which you could have prevented. Because you disobeyed orders, people died, Seifer. How does that feel, to know their blood is on your hands?"  
  
At that, Seifer did look back down, his eyes meeting Quistis's.  
  
"Yeah? Well how many more would have died if we hadn't found out about the Tower? How many more soldiers would have been killed if Dollet didn't have that tower as a barganing chip? I took the best course of action I could think of in our situation. No Galbadians had presented themselves, and it looked like our area wasn't going to experiance an assault anytime soon. Dollet reinforcements were supposed to be inbound, so I figured the Square would be safe if we went off to investigate. I did my job as a squad leader, dammit!"  
  
"That wasn't your decision to make, Seifer," Quistis responded to his surprising outburst. "You were a field captian, not a commander. It was not your job to make that kind of strategic decision."  
  
"Dammit, what else do you expect out of me when my orders conflict with my gut?" Seifer shot back. "Which one do you think I trust more, orders from some lazy armchair dick or my own instincts? I knew something was up, and orders be damned, I was going to find out what!"  
  
After that, no one spoke for some time. Quistis looked down at the floor, considering Seifer's words. Up until now, she had thought Seifer had just been out for glory and excitement, which she still thought he was. But at the same time, there was some other motivativation for his disobediance.  
  
Seifer's next words jolted Quistis out of her thoughts.  
  
"Did it go through?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"The request," Seier said, looking at Quistis again. "Was her request approved?" Quistis nodded, somewhat surprised by Seifer's change in subject.  
  
"Yes, the Timber operation was approved," Quistis answered, to which Seifer nodded and went silent for a moment.  
  
"Who's going?" he asked a second later.  
  
"Squall, Zell Dincht, and Selphie Tilmitt," Quistis answered, to which Seifer snapped his head back towards Quistis.  
  
"That's it?" he demanded, sounding simultaniously shocked and angry. "Three rookie SeeDs?" Quistis nodded.  
  
"The Timber Owls offered so little money, and we normally ignore requests below six digits in gil-"  
  
"Dammit!" Seifer suddenly roared, standing up. "They could be going up against the entire Galbadian army! And they send three rookies? Hyne damn it! Let me outta here!"  
  
"Seifer-" Quistis said, off-guard by Seifer's sudden rage. Her eyes widened as he grabbed the steel bars, and if he'd had a GF junctioned those bars might have even bent in his grasp.  
  
"Let me out! I'm going to Timber, damn it!" Seifer shouted as the guard came around the desk, hands dropping to the sword at his belt. He glanced at Quistis, who waved her hand, indicating he should stay back.  
  
"SEIFER!" Fujin shouted, reaching through the bars and grabbing his sleeve. Her grasp had a sudden effect on the cadet, instantly calming him down. He looked over to her, and then nodded. Seifer let go of the bars, pausing only long enough for Fujin to grasp his hand for a moment.  
  
"Sorry," Seifer said, again surprising Quistis. When was the last time she had heard him apologize? "I just . . . Sorry." He sat down on his bed, shaking his head.  
  
"That operation's just so important to me. If Squall screws it up, I'll have his head." With that, Seifer leaned back on the bed, saying no more. Quistis watched him, then sighed and turned back to the door. After she'd left, the SeeD guard returned to his station. Fujin stood by the bars, watching Seifer intently.  
  
"Seifer," she said quietly, an odd tone for Fujin.  
  
"Its alright," Seifer replied, equally quietly. "Thanks for sticking with me. I'll see you later." Then, he grinned wickedly. "Don't know how well I'll be welcomed when we do, though."  
  
Fujin stood by his cell a little longer, then nodded.  
  
"LUCK," she said, and then left.  
  
Alone in his cell, Seifer stared at the ceiling. His left hand sat behind his head on the pillow, while his right was on his chest, absently rolling an object around in it. After a few seconds, Seifer inclined his head to look at the object in his fingers.  
  
Ifrit's red Guardian Force stone glowed faintly in his hand, placed there by Fujin.  
  
"Thanks, Fuu," he whispered, clutching the stone tightly.  
  
Soon, he thought. Very soon.  
  
-------------------  
  
"Ow . . ." Zell complained, stretching his shoulder, and coincidentally stretching the gashes running across it, as he walked towards the parking lot behind Squall and Selphie. He'd had to change jackets, considering the beating he had taken along with Selphie and Squall a couple of hours ago.  
  
A couple of hours ago that almost made the SeeDs unfit for their mission, mostly due to Zell's curiosity. The martial artist had noticed Squall's Diablos lamp and had inquired about it. As soon as he began asking, Selphie got into it too, and Squall had told them about the Headmaster's warning about Diablos and the GF's power.  
  
But, Squall found soon enough, neither Zell nor Selphie held the word "caution" in their vocabulary. Both SeeDs were confident that if the three of them worked together, they could defeat Diablos, and somehow they had convinced Squall to agree with them.  
  
So, the trio went outside the Garden grounds, a good distance away, and had rubbed the lamp. Before they knew what had happened, they had ended up in some form of extradimensional space, immediately locked in battle with an irritable and violent Diablos. The demonic GF was like an entity of darkness incarnate, a red and black fiend that weilded shadow just as Ifrit had weilded flame.  
  
Diablos had then proceeded to assault the SeeD trio and, despite their best efforts, had soundly defeated them, spitting them back out of its extradimensional home. The trio had come out pretty badly hurt, with Selphie taking the brunt of Diablos's shadow magic and Zell and Squall recieving equal attention from his fists, feet, and clawed fingers and toes.  
  
Thankfully, none of the damage they'd taken from the Guardian Force was permanant, and Squall figured that like all other GFs, Diablos preffered to defeat its foes rather than killing or maiming them.  
  
"Maybe we should try again later," Selphie suggested, not looking too bad despite the powerful shadow spells that had knocked her out of the battle early on.  
  
"Yeah," Zell agreed. "After we get our hands on a howitzer." Selphie giggled at that as the trio of SeeDs entered the parking lot. Another SeeD, their driver, waited for them there. The trio quickly boarded the Garden car and set out for Balamb.  
  
Nighttime had descended over Balamb by the time Squall, Zell, and Selphie had made their way to the town. Their driver was supposed to take them all the way, but Selphie had commandeered the steering wheel through her uncanny ability to get people to do what she wanted. A combination of her puppy-dog eyes and a sincere "Please?" had made the SeeD aquiesce the driver's seat, which everyone soon regretted when Selphie took the car up well in excess of seventy miles per hour down the road.  
  
She'd handled the car remarkably well, despite Zell's protests that they'd all crash and die. At Zell's words, Selphie had just shouted for him to junction GFs if he was going to be such a wimp.  
  
Despite her "suicidal death wish," as Zell called it, Selphie had reached Balamb with everyone on board in one piece. They stopped on the outskirts of the city, where their driver took over and drove the vehicle back to Balamb after the SeeD trio had disembarked.  
  
"Are you crazy?" Zell muttered as Squall led the way across town to the train station.  
  
"No," Selphie replied, giggling at Zell's attitude. "I just like going fast!"  
  
"Do you like crashing too?" Zell replied, shaking his head. "One slip- up and we'd have been splatted on the road!"  
  
"Not with me driving!" Selphie said. "Best driver in Trabia Garden!" she proclaimed, pointing to her chest. "Expert with any vehicle, anytime! Cars, trucks, motorcycles, vans, SUVs . . . ."  
  
"Fine, fine . . ." Zell muttered.  
  
"I'm even certified to run buses and armored cars! And tanks too!"  
  
"They teach you how to drive tanks in Trabia?" Zell asked, surprised.  
  
"Not really, but I know the basics," Selphie explained. "I even know how to fire the cannons!"  
  
"Squall, please tell me these resistance faction guys aren't gonna try to steal a tank . . ." Zell pleaded to his squad leader. "I think if Selphie gets to dive it we may blow up more of Timber than we can save."  
  
"Agreed," Squall added over his shoulder. "Selphie, you are under official orders not to operate any armed vehicle on this mission, due to the danger such an action might present to our clients." The seriousness and official sound of his tone only made the mounting joke funnier.  
  
"Aw, bummer," Selphie said, with mock dejection.  
  
Soon, the three SeeDs had arrived at the train station. This time of night, very few people were out, and the train station was relatively empty, save for a couple of civilian passengers and some train staff standing on the platform next to the sleek vehicle. Squall approached the ticket booth and told them they were with Garden and needed to use this train. That was all it took; Garden had already arranged the train tickets and paid the fare. Squall took the trio of tickets and handed them to the conductor standing guard outside. A moment later, with the conductor's approval, the trio of teenagers boarded the train for Timber.  
  
The Timber rail lines featured trains that loaded from the last car, and the passengers advanced towards the front. The closest cars to the boarding car were the first class cabins. Unsurprisingly, SeeD and Garden had their own private car for transit across the western continent, and this car was positioned directly in front of the boarding car. Of course, no civilians knew about the private car; only the train staff did, and anyone attempting to reserve that car was told that, unfortunately, that car was already reserved . . . which was technically true, after all.  
  
"Wow! Selphie said as she boarded. "This train is awesome!"  
  
"A transcontinental railroad, baby!" Zell added as he boarded. "It even runs on an underwater tunnel to reach Timber! Pretty cool, huh?" Zell had never actually used a train, and Selphie had rarely rode on trains inside Trabia. It was also Squall's first train ride as well, though he didn't show as much enthusiasm as his squad.  
  
"Sure is . . ." he commented halfheartedly.  
  
"Guess you're not interested," Zell remarked with a knowing smile. "By the way, you have to use the ticket to open the door. Extra security, you know." Squall shrugged and nodded, and ran his ticket across a laser scanner located next to the door. With a cheery beep, the door slid open. Before Squall could move, however, Selphie burst past him, grinning like a kid in a candy store.  
  
"I'm gonna go check out the front!" she declared, and ran down the hallway leading past the private SeeD cabin and towards the next car.  
  
"Fine, as long as she doesn't derail the train," Zell muttered, following Squall into the hallway. He stopped in front of the door leading into the SeeD only cabin, which also happened to be the only cabin in this car.  
  
"Check it out!" Zell said, opening the door. "So this is our private SeeD cabin . . ." Zell started to take a step through the door but stopped, taking a step back in surprise. "Whoa!" he shouted, stepping inside. "OHHH YEAHHH! AWESOME!"  
  
Squall followed Zell into the plush and luxurious SeeD cabin. The martial artist, unsurprisingly, was literally bouncing up and down on a thick and huge couch along the back wall and curved to cover part of the left wall as well. The entire room was paneled with expensive looking wood, and featured two very comfortable looking bunk beds. A nearby wall terminal allowed for the occupants to call the dining car or for any other services the train staff could provide.  
  
"Oh, man, this is so cool!" Zell said, still bouncing on the couch.  
  
"I'm glad you're excited," Squall remarked as he sat down on the couch. He had to admit, though, that this couch was indeed very comfy.  
  
"This is pretty damn amazing," Zell added. "This kinda cabin is better'n first class! It pays to be a member of SeeD!" Zell leaned back, relaxing on the couch, while Squall leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he considered the coming operation.  
  
He'd studied Timber in history and geography classes. In fact, that nation had been covered rather extensively, due to the fact that Galbadian occupation of the country stood a good chance of yeilding a signifigant amount of income through SeeD operations there.  
  
"Hey, Squall," Zell remarked, catching Squall's attention. "Y'know anything about Timber?"  
  
Squall shrugged. He hadn't specialized in history, though maybe Zell had taken a few more classes on geography and history than Squall had. Any information his fellow SeeD knew might prove useful.  
  
"Well, let me fill you in," Zell said in response to Squall's shrug. "Timber used to be this big country surrounded by deep forests. Actually, it was more like a bunch of small countries all working together, with Timber being the biggest. But anyway, eighteen years ago, Galbadia invaded, saying they wanted to fortify the Horizon Bridge against Estharian attack. 'Course, that was a big lie, Deling was just on a land grab. Timber fell pretty easily to Galbadia, since they weren't unified, so now its under Galbadian occupation. But the people of Timber wouldn't take that sitting down, so they formed a bunch of resistance factions, some big, some small. Its mostly an annoyance to Galbadia, except when they do something big, like that oil pipeline bombing two years back. Galbadia's got a big garrison there, keeping order."  
  
Squall waited for Zell to continue, but he didn't.  
  
". . . and?" Squall asked, wondering if Zell was going to say anything he hadn't heard before.  
  
"Nope, that's it," Zell replied. Squall was silent for a moment. Zell had just basically spat back out a condensed version of what was taught in required history classes.  
  
"Thank you, Mr. Know-It-All Zell," Squall finally said in a sarcastic tone.  
  
"Hey, no prob!" Zell replied, oblivious.  
  
The door into the cabin slid open, and both SeeDs looked up to see Selphie walking in, her eyelids drooping. She was walking slightly off- balance, as if terribly drowsy. Her posture immediately put Squall on alert. She hadn't been that way a few minutes ago . . . .  
  
"Hey, guys," she said, her voice sounding tired. "I'm not feeling well . . . ."  
  
"You should get some rest if you're tired," Squall advised, standing up. "We've got twelve hours until arrival." He wasn't sure if something was wrong, but Squall's warrior instincts were lighting up. His left hand dropped inconspiciously to the gunblade on his belt.  
  
"I'm . . . really sleepy," Selphie added, with a profound yawn. She began to sway back and forth, as if nodding off while standing. She stumbled forward, towards the couch.  
  
"You okay?" Squall asked, slightly more urgently as his fingers tightened around the Revolver's handle. He stepped across the room, watching for something out of the ordinary. As he and Zell watched Selphie walking towards the couch, Squall spotted Zell's own eyes begin to droop.  
  
"Zell!" Squall shouted, snapping the martial artist's eyes open as Selphie lay down on the couch, immediately falling asleep.  
  
"Hey!" Zell protested, shaking his head, even as his eyes began to droop again. "Huh! What the . . ." Zell stood up quickly, looking around through half-closed eyes. "Something's wrong with me too . . . I . . . feel . . . sleep . . ." Zell yawned as he fell backwards, slumping on the couch and snoring before his body had even settled on the furniture.  
  
The Revolver was out of its sheath in an instant as Squall surveyed the room for a possible attacker.  
  
"What's going on!" he asked to no one in particular, and then he immediately moved towards the door as his own eyes began to droop. Squall shook his head, fighting off the drowsiness. There might be an enemy outside, waiting for him to succumb too, and if not, Squall needed to alert the train staff quickly.  
  
He didn't even make it halfway before he felt his fingers loosening around his gunblade. Squall began stumbling as a profound tiredness took him. Suddenly, all he wanted was to sleep.  
  
"Ugh?!" Squall muttered, yawning. "What? What is this . . ." A profound darkness began to take him as soon as his eyes closed. Squall was concious of the fact that his gunblade was no longer in his hands, making a dull sound as its metal met the carpet at his feet. He felt himself going down to his knees, and managed to open his eyes for an instant, long enough to see he was falling forward onto the floor. The carpet rushed up to meet Squall, but he felt no impact, only blackness.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------  
  
Gasp! Squall made a joke?! Yes, he did! The way I see it, Squall's not alien to the concept of humor, as he does launch the occasional deadpan comment from time to time, most noteably in the infirmiry with Rinoa. Squall's not the type to use one-liners or make wisecrack comments, but the occasional joke in times of peace can be heard from him.  
  
Good news, folks! At signifigant urging from various peoples, among them the esteemed Ashbear herself nearly dies from that honor Foreshadow may, MAY, be brought back pending a review of the story by me. If so, expect The Gunblade Saga to slow down considerably in response. Also, Matrix-oriented fics may begin to crawl out of the woodwork of my silly head, as will an occasional Resident Evil fic. I might even crank out something related to Halo or 24, you never know! 


	14. Interlude: Laguna

Interlude: Laguna  
  
Squall's feet were moving, although not of his own will. His gloved hands, not leather gloves but cloth, were wrapped tightly around the handle and muzzle of a heavy machinegun. He keenly felt the weight of metal armor, ammunition, grenades, and a pack full of supplies on his back, although he never recalled donning any of them. Sweat, from the heat and from his own sore muscles, poured down his brow, although he hadn't exerted himself enough to have those sore muscles. He reached up with his left hand and brushed hair out of his eyes, and though the action would have been automatic in normal situations, Squall Leonhart was instantly aware of the fact that he had not been the one to make his hand reach up to brush that hair away.  
  
That hair, Squall suddenly noted. That hair was not brown.  
  
It was black.  
  
Squall suddenly stopped without wanting to stop, and looked around, raising his rifle and scanning the area. He was in a forest, a heavy, thick one, with muted sunlight filtering down through the leafy canopy overhead and smoke wafting above the woods. Distant sounds of explosions and gunfire could be heard. A war was raging in the distance.  
  
"Uhh, Laguna," a voice called over Squall's shoulder, and Squall spun to see a wiry dark skinned man with long dreadlocks and clad in the blue uniform and armor of a Galbadian soldier. Unlike the traditional soldier, however, this man had no sword, instead carrying a pair of katals, short blades with grasping handles on the ends, designed to be wielded much like Seifer's Hyperion.  
  
"Are you sure this is the right way?" he inquired, looking directly at Squall. Instead of replying, Squall found himself turning around, surveying the area.  
  
"Hoo-boy," a booming voice said to Squall's other side, and he glanced over to see a titantic man, heavyset and with more muscles than a human had any right to possess. The man was scarred across his face, and wore a huge blue rag tied around the top of his head. He too wore heavy Galbadian armor, although it must have been custom-fitted to his massive frame. A huge black metal harpoon rested in his hands, with a sharpened tip and a ring on its blunt end.  
  
"'Course I'm sure!" Squall found himself saying, much to his surprise. And also to his surprise, his voice and accent were completely different. The sound of his words were colored with a heavy Galbadian accent.  
  
What the . . . ? Squall didn't understand what was going on, until he found himself walking over to a small stream nearby. He bent down by the water and splashed some of the liquid into his face, wiping off grime. As the waters settled, Squall saw his own face, reflected in the pool.  
  
He wasn't Squall. He was an older man, late twenties, perhaps. He had long black hair that dropped past his shoulders, and dark green eyes. His face was also narrower, and he was taller, as well. He, like his comrades, was clad in Galbadian armor.  
  
Squall rose from his crouch and fingered the machinegun, and began to move on. The SeeD began to get a feeling that he was along for the ride whether he liked it or not, and he got the distinct impression this was what it would be like to literally see things through another's eyes.  
  
Squall didn't know what had happened or what was going on, and he realized he was helpless to do anything but stand back (figuratively speaking, of course) and watch through the eyes of this "Laguna."  
  
-------------------  
  
"Laguna, I'm certain this isn't the right direction," the wiry man said, looking around at the trail the trio were running down.  
  
"Kiros, it has to be the right trail! Its the only one in the whole forest!" Laguna shot back.  
  
"Yeah, so why's it taking us away from the battle?" the larger man replied, balancing his heavy pack across his shoulders.  
  
"Oh, come on Ward," Laguna said. "Its just a detour. I'm telling you, I've got this feeling this trail leads directly to the enemy lines!"  
  
"Kiros, he's going by his gut," Ward warned his diminuative comrade.  
  
"Yeah, I know," Kiros replied. "It means we're lost."  
  
"We are not lost!" Laguna protested. "Let's just follow this trail. One way or the other, its going to lead us to civilizaton!"  
  
"Alright, whatever you say, my man," Kiros said with a resigned shrug. Ward just nodded, and the trio moved on down the trail. Soon, they passed through a field of tall grass. Fires burned throughout its length, and the destroyed remnants of several combat vehicles littered the field.  
  
"Told you," Laguna said, pointing. "Those are Timber vehicles out there, meaning we must be close to where the fighting is! We'll be reunited with the army in no time!"  
  
"Those vehicles look like they've been destroyed for a while . . ." Ward remarked, noting the lack of fires around the wreakages. "I think our forces already passed through here . . ."  
  
"Well, if they did, they must have left a sentry or something around here," Laguna reasoned. "Who knows, maybe we'll find a forward command post or something!"  
  
Laguna's companions shrugged, not really having anything to say. His reasoning did seem sound enough, so they followed Laguna through the field. The distant sounds of gunfire faded off, but they found no sentry or command post after several hours of crawling through the forest on the other side of the meadow.  
  
What they did find was a trail leading through the forest, doubling back on their old route. Soon, the sounds of distant combat rang louder.  
  
"About time," Ward said. "We've gotta get back to the front."  
  
"I dunno," Laguna said, shaking his head doubtully. "I'm not so sure about this trail . . ."  
  
"All the more reason to follow it," Kiros replied with a grin. Laguna reluctantly nodded his head, and led them down the trail, although with far less enthusiasm as he had when they'd been fleeing the battle.  
  
Another hour passed, and they were definately drawing closer to the front, but then, the trail abruptly ended.  
  
"I guess we'll just have to make our way on rough ground," Laguna remarked, leading the trio into the brush. Soon, leaves and braches were scratching up the trio of soldiers as the crunched through the foliage.  
  
"Laguna, the battle's that way," Ward said, pointing to their right, where the sounds were coming from.  
  
"Nah, the trees are playing with the noise. I'm sure its this way," Laguna responded, not wavering from his course in the slightest. Kiros and Ward shot one another incredulous looks before reluctantly following their leader.  
  
Another half hour passed, and the group drew no closer to the distant battle, despite Laguna's declarations that they were headed in the right direction. The trio stopped in a clearing for a moment to rest.  
  
"Laguna, we're not going in the right direction," Kiros stated bluntly as he sat down. "Are you even sure where we are?"  
  
"Well, I think . . ." Laguna reached into his pack and pulled out a map showing the Timber region. Unsurprisingly, it was mostly forests. Laguna looked over the map for a while, then shrugged. "Somewhere around here," he said, using his finger to make a circle (a wide one, it might be noted) around the western edge of the forest.  
  
"Glad we've got the great white hunter with us," Ward remarked, drawing chuckles from Kiros, and even making Laguna smile.  
  
"I can't narrow it down any further," Laguna said, folding the map back up. "I'm no expert on Timber's geology."  
  
"Geography," Kiros corrected.  
  
"Yeah, whatever," Laguna shot back, standing up. "I think if we head along the same path, we'll make it to the front."  
  
"Oh, no you don't," Ward said, shaking his head in a definate negative. "Every time we've followed your paths it takes us miles further from the front." Ward pointed a massive finger in the direction of the distant explosions. "I'm positive that's where our unit is. We have to link back up."  
  
Laguna let out a resigned sigh, and nodded.  
  
"Alright, fine, we'll take your route," he agreed. "You guys don't trust my pathfinding skills anymore, do you?"  
  
"After today, we never will again," Kiros responded, and all three war buddies shared a good laugh at that. They all stood to leave, gathering up their packs.  
  
A sudden rustling in the brush around the clearing stopped the soldiers in their tracks. They looked around, scanning their surroundings, all the while clutching their weapons tightly.  
  
"There," Ward said, pointing with a nod of his forehead. The other two soldiers looked in that direction, to see a snake-like, grayish-brown skinned creature slithering through the brush.  
  
"Geezard," Laguna commented, shaking his head. The creatures were little more than an annoyance to skilled fighters, unless they came in large numbers. "Its just a Geezard, nothing to worry about." At the tail end of Laguna's comment, more rustling erupted all around the soldiers. More slithering forms, a dozen or more, could be seen in the foliage surrounding the clearing.  
  
"You were saying?" Kiros muttered, sliding into a combat stance, watching the pack of monsters surrounding them. His katals rose, ready for battle.  
  
"Well, you said we weren't seeing any action," Laguna replied, sighting one of the monsters.  
  
As if on cue to Laguna's remark, Geezards erupted from the woods around the small group, slithering across the grass. The monsters were small, only about four feet long, and featured a pair of stubby forelegs with a single claw on each, located near the head. Most of the monster was taken up by its tail, with only a small section of the creature's body containing what on a human would be its torso. A large head with white, milky eyes and a gaping maw completed the monster.  
  
One of those faces dissappeared as Laguna dropped six bullets into it from his rifle. He shifted his aim, targeting a second Geezard behind and to the left of the first, and fired another pair of three-round bursts into its back. The monster spasmed and lay still.  
  
Another Geezard leaped up into the air at Kiros, attempting to bite the small man's neck. Kiros took offense at the notion, and stabbed forward with both his katals, hitting the monster side by side in its chest in midair. Kiros swept his katals apart in opposite directions, cutting the monster in two.  
  
Ward set his harpoon against the leaping strike of another Geezard, and was rewarded by the tip of his iron weapon driving into the stupid monster's open mouth as it came in. Quickly shaking the monster off the end of his weapon, Ward jabbed the harpoon into the face of another Geezard slithering towards him, the point going right through its skull.  
  
A third Geezard leaped at Ward, but was knocked aside by a burst from Laguna's gun. The monster writhed in pain on the ground until Ward stomped on its ugly face, finishing it.  
  
More monsters boiled out at the trio, and the three soldiers continued fighting. A pair advanced on Kiros, who deftly stabbed a katal down into its back, killing the monster. The nimble warrior then used that katal as a pivot, spinning around with his other katal slicing in. The second Geezard, rising up on its tail like a striking snake, took the arcing blade right at the base of its neck. Its head flew free.  
  
Seven more Geezards formed up into a thick swarm and surged towards Laguna. The soldier flicked the selector switch on his rifle to full auto and held down the trigger. A wave of hot metal erupted forth from the gun, the stream of bullets pouring into the charging monstrous horde. Geezards screeched and died as the machinegun swept across their lines.  
  
Ward spotted another Geezard approaching from Laguna's backside, and he launched his heavy harpoon one-handed. The iron spear crossed the distance in a heartbeat and blasted down into the Geezard's back, blowing a hole the size of a dinner plate in its body. Even as Ward saw this, he heard the rustling of grass right next to him over the clatter of machinegun fire, and looked down to see another Geezard practically right next to him. The monster grabbed onto Ward's boot with its claws and chomped its jaws upon the metal footwear.  
  
Ward immediately shifted his weight to his other foot and stood up on that leg, shaking his grasped foot furiously. The Geezard held on stubbornly, however, and so Ward slammed his foot down into the ground. The force of the impact knocked the Geezard loose momentarily, and wasting no time, the big man stomped down on the monster's head, splatting it.  
  
Kiros loosed a spinning slash that dropped a pair of Geezads leaping at him, and Laguna's gunfire finished the last of the small horde charging him. The three warriors surveyed the monstrous carnage around them, watching for any creatures that had decided they weren't dead after all.  
  
However, the final threat came not from the ground, but from the edge of the woods. A final Geezard leaped out from the woods, diving for Laguna's face. Laguna saw the monster out the corner of his eye and spun to face it, machinegun rising. He tapped the trigger, loosing a three round burst that caught the monster in its face. The creature went into a backwards somersault, and Laguna's subsequent burst hit it in the chest as it spun. A final burst hit the monster in its back as it fell to the ground, ending the somersault riddled with bullet holes.  
  
That monster's death marked the end of the Geezard pack.  
  
"Well, that was fun," Laguna stated, reloading his rifle.  
  
"Indeed. Not even a challenge," Kiros agreed, wiping his katals.  
  
"Not very many Galbadian soldiers can say they got this many Geezards without breaking a sweat!" Laguna proclaimed, hefting his rifle. "Something to brag about back at home!"  
  
"Bragging about killing Geezards?" Ward said doubtfully.  
  
"Heh, I don't think even Galbadian Rangers can waste them as easily as we did," Laguna continued, ignoring Ward's remark. "Wasn't much of a workout, really."  
  
"A workout?" Kiros said with a shake of his head and smile. "All you did was point and shoot. Not much exercise there."  
  
"Excuse me!" Laguna said with mock indignation. He puffed out his chest and pointed to the last Geezard. "What about that one? That was real prevention firing right there!"  
  
"Prevention?" Ward echoed.  
  
"He means precision." Kiros corrected.  
  
"Prevention, precision, whatever!" Laguna said in exasperation. "They're dead, and we didn't even get scratched."  
  
"My boot got scratched . . ." Ward remarked, holding up his gore- splattered boot that the Geezard had grabbed.  
  
-------------------  
  
"Hey, Laguna," Ward asked during one of their breaks while advancing up a new trail they'd found an hour later. The group had stopped at a small stream to refill their canteens and had chosen to rest. For once, the group seemed much closer to the fighting now, although the sounds of battle were dying down.  
  
"Aren't we here to fight a war?" the big man asked. "You know, against the almighty Timber army?"  
  
"Yeah, " Kiros agreed, "so why are we wasting our time with these animals? We should be on the front lines, not wandering through the forest. We haven't seen any sign of Galbadian or Timber units in the last hour, and every trail you've led us down leads away from the fighting."  
  
"Well, you see . . ." Laguna began, scratching the back of his head.  
  
"Don't tell me we're lost again," Kiros said with a shake of his head. "I may be overestimating your cleverness, but you seem to be deliberately leading us away from the front."  
  
"Its just that, uhhh . . ." Laguna began. He paused, and looked around as if looking for spies, then, he gestured for his comrades to come closer. As they leaned in, he whispered. "You really want to fight this war?"  
  
"What?" Ward asked, surprised.  
  
"Really? Do you?" Laguna asked. "Whose cause are we fighting for?"  
  
"Fortifying the Horizon Bridge," Kiros said, as if it were obvious. "Timber's not doing their job, so we're doing it for them."  
  
"When we can just blast it?" Laguna replied, shaking his head. "You know that's what Timber was planning to do the whole time if Esthar attacked? Blow the bridge. Dollet's navy has got 'em beat on the seas, so the only way they can cross is the Bridge. Timber's got it wired with explosives."  
  
"How do you know?" Ward asked.  
  
"Power of the press, Ward," Laguna replied with a grin. "The truth can't be kept quiet, not even with Vinzer Deling in charge. The word gets around. Timber's got the Bridge covered, and Deling knows its covered. That means we've got no reason to be here, so why are we here in the first place?"  
  
"You think its a power grab?" Ward questioned, thinking about it.  
  
"Only explanation," Laguna said. "Deling's just trying to take the whole continent, and we're helping him. I'm not some goon for a power mad dictator! We joined to save Galbadia from its foes, and all we're doing is helping Deling's world domination schemes!"  
  
"Dang, my man," Kiros said, shaking his head and nodding. "You've got a point. That's why you've been avoiding the front?"  
  
"Yeah, well, with my record, this won't seem strange to the commanders for me to get lost," Laguna said with a chuckle.  
  
"You planning on deserting?"  
  
"Desertion? No way!" Laguna said, shaking his head. "We'd get shot if we were caught! But I dunno . . ." Laguna looked off into the treetops. "I really want to quit after this war's over. Maybe get a real job in the newspapers, tell 'em about my time in the war and where I've been. Yeah! That's it! As soon as things quiet down, I'm outta this army!" He looked back at his comrades. "What about you guys? Interested in seeing the long world?"  
  
"You mean, 'wide world?'" Ward asked with a chuckle. "I'm not sure. I don't think I'm up for travel, but then again, I don't like settling down, either." The big man slapped Laguna across the shoulder. "I've got too much of you in me!"  
  
"What about you, Kiros?" Laguna asked. "You wanna come with me after we get outta here?"  
  
"Why not?" Kiros replied with a chuckle. "Someone's gotta keep you from making a fool of yourself."  
  
"Alright then!" Laguna said with a grin. "We can just wait here for a bit, let the fighting die down, and then head back for the front and make a report on getting lost. Knowing Colonel Derlin, he'll toss it out without even reading it."  
  
"Especially since he wouldn't even think you'd have gotten us lost on purpose," Kiros added, and all three men chuckled.  
  
"We're going home," Laguna told his buddies. "Deling City, here we come!"  
  
-------------------  
  
If Squall could have shook his head, he would have done so, but as it was, he was stuck in Laguna's body.  
  
Who was this guy? And what was going on? He immediately got the impression that he was dreaming, but things seemed too vivid and real for what he was experiencing to be a dream. He thought about his last concious realizations before passing out, and knew beyond a doubt that whatever had happened was entirely unnatural and definately connected with what he was experiencing.  
  
But what was he experiencing? And were Selphie and Zell also "dreaming" of the same thing?  
  
Squall ran back over all that he had seen. Clearly, Laguna, Kiros, and Ward were Galbadian soldiers, and it seemed they were fighting a war in Timber, possibly the same war that had brought Timber under Deling's domination eighteen years ago. But if that was true, then he was dreaming about the past . . .  
  
But this couldn't be the past, as he was looking at it right now, in real time. Not only that, but Squall was experiencing it all. He could feel the sweat on his face, and also feel the exhaustion in his limbs and the lack of breath in his lungs, as well as the soreness of his feet as he - no, Laguna - now trudged into a Galbadian base camp on the front lines.  
  
Squall didn't like being confused, he didn't like uncertianty, and he damned sure didn't like not being in control of himself, but that was what was going on, and he didn't know why.  
  
Right now, Laguna was walking into an officer's office in the camp, likely the colonel that Laguna had discussed a while before. Laguna stepped into the refreshing (relatively speaking) coolness of the tent, but before Squall could take in the surroundings through Laguna's eyes, everything suddenly went black, as if he'd passed out again.  
  
Squall momentarily got the impression of lying on the floor. He felt carpet digging into his cheek, and he opened his eye for an instant.  
  
That was when Squall saw Zell and Selphie, still asleep on the couch in the SeeD cabin in the train. That realization had Squall's blood pumping as he tried to stand, but the unknown and unnatural tiredness swept over him again. Before Squall could stand up or even move from his prone position on the floor of the SeeD cabin, he was engulfed by blackness.  
  
Then, Squall found himself sitting, looking out a window of a Galbadian armored vehicle.  
  
And once more, he brushed a mess of long black hair out of his eyes.  
  
-------------------  
  
"How long 'till home?" Laguna asked, turning away from the small window and looking back at Ward, who was driving.  
  
"Couple of hours," Ward replied.  
  
"We would have been there yesterday but you got us turned around," Kiros added with a chuckle from a seat behind his comrades.  
  
"Again," Ward commented. "You're worse with directions in a car than you are on foot."  
  
"Aw, shut up," Laguna said , looking away. "At least you guys got to see the missile base under construction out there."  
  
"True," Kiros said with a shrug and grin. "The missile base on the other side of the desert."  
  
"Come on, man, give me a break," Laguna complained. He gestured out to the flat, brown, featureless terrain out the window. It was part of the vast desert in Galbadia's southwestern region, a dry, barren, empty place. The region had long ago been lush and full of life and teeming with lakes and rivers, but the water had left one day without leaving a forwarding address, and now the only inhabitants were desert animals and monsters.  
  
"How can you not get lost out here?" Laguna sked. "The closest thing we've got to roads out here are dirt tracks."  
  
"Well, what do you expect when there's no one out here?" Kiros replied. "Its a monster-infested desert. I'm amazed we still haven't seen anything over the last few days we've spent wandering around."  
  
As they were talking, Ward steered the armored vehicle over a hill along the track road, and as the vehicle crested the rise, one could see blueish-green grasses many miles to the north. Those plants were the first heralds of the Great Plains of Galbadia, which stretched south and east of the heavily populated northlands of Galbadia, and served as Galbadia's "bread basket."  
  
"About time we got out the place water forgot," Ward commented as the armored vehicle descended the hill. Oddly, this hill was strewn with almost a dozen small boulders, colored the same yellowish brown as the sands and dirt of the vast desert the Galbadians were leaving behind.  
  
"That's weird," Laguna said, nodding towards the large rocks, all roughly around the same size and shape. "You don't usually see rocks like that in the desert. I wonder how they got here."  
  
Kiros leaned forward between Ward and Laguna, squinting at the boulders.  
  
"As much as I hate to admit it, man," Kiros said. "You've got a point. Those rocks are funny-looking."  
  
By now, Ward had driven the vehicle halfway down the hill, and the closest of the the strange rocks was only about a hundered feet away. Ward, too, was a bit worried about those unusual stones, and had slowed down as they approached. At this close range, all three soldiers could see odd green markings across the rocks.  
  
"What in Hyne's name?" Laguna asked, scratching his head. "I ain't ever seen stones like that before."  
  
Kiros stroked his chin thoughtfully, while Ward continued slowing down, obviously hesitant to get any closer.  
  
"You know," Ward said, "I've got a bad feeling about this. Haven't you guys heard some of the rumors about the monsters in this desert?"  
  
"Yeah," Kiros agreed. "You don't think . . ."  
  
"I do," Ward replied, bringing the vehicle to a stop about twenty feet from the nearest stone. He reached for the gear shift, about to throw the vehicle into reverse-  
  
-and one of the many yellow and green rocks exploded to life, standing up and unfolding itself. The monster, and that was indeed what they were, had rolled up into a roughly boulder-like shape and hidden its burly arms and legs underneath its bulk, effectively disguising itself. Now the monster stood, and charged at the vehicle, running on all fours like a gorilla. Behind it, more boulders rose to the attack as well.  
  
Now that they could see the monster, all thee soldiers within the armored vehicle realized what these monsters were. They were Wendigos, huge and powerful monsters of the Galbadian deserts. Wendigos were roughly humanoid, and built like body-builders, with muscles upon muscles. Unlike humans, though, Wedigos oddly enough had no heads. Where the head should have been there was . . . nothing, giving the hunched over, six-foot tall monsters a disconcerting appearance. They preffered physical attacks with their fists, and had little use for tactics beyond "charge in and smash."  
  
"Back up!" Laguna shouted, scrabbling for his machinegun. "Back up!"  
  
Ward did just that, throwing his vehicle in reverse even as the initial Wendigo closed. As the Galbadian vehicle began backing up, the monster slammed headlong onto the armored car, almost knocking it over. The Wendigo closed one hand around one of the topside lights and, perched on the front of the vehicle and dominating the front view, began slamming away on the car's top. In spite of the armored plating around the vehicle, the monster's smashing fist began to dent the roof inward.  
  
"Get us outta here!" Kiros shouted, and Ward began to back away quickly. Thinking fast, and showcasing driving skills he didn't know he had, Ward spun the vehicle to the right hard, and the Wendigo suddenly found its feet no longer on the front of the vehicle due to centifugal force. Ward continued the sharp backing spin, and suddenly the Wedigo was gone, the light it was grasping torn free by the monster's tremendous weight.  
  
Ward had turned around to a one-hundred and eighty degree angle to the charging Wedigo pack that had been following the initial charge, so the monsters were coming at the trio and their vehicle from directly behind. This didn't occur to Laguna and his comrades until the Wedigos actually slammed into the backside of the armored car, and began pounding away on it.  
  
"Drive!" Laguna said to Ward. "Drive!" Ward began to do just that, turning the gear shift so they could pull out, but then the soldiers heard a screeching sound, one of metal scraping against metal, and Kiros and Laguna looked back to see a Wedigo using its incredible strength to pry the rear hatch off. The door was already halfway gone, and a second Wedigo was trying to fit its girth in the portal. One of its muscular arms reached in, huge fingers grasping.  
  
Kiros's katals severed those fingers, then gashed the hand and arm as they ran up the monster's limb, striking in rapid succession. Kiros finished the attack with a quick crossing slash across the monster's chest and then thrusting the creature right where the base of its neck should have been. The Wendigo fell away, not dead but not in any condition to fight either.  
  
Even as that monster fell back, a second rose to fill its place, shooting a fist through the gap as the Wendigo forcing to door open worked the opening somewhat wider. The fist struck Kiros right in his chest and staggered him, but to everyone's surprise (none more than Kiros himself! ) the lithe soldier came right back, his katals crossing over the monster's hand like the jaws of a wolf, severing the hand clean off. The monster howled somehow, but continued trying to get inside the vehicle. It clubbed Kiros with its stump of an arm, knocking him backwards, and as the Wendigo grasping the door forced it further open, it came all the way into the vehicle, its bulk filling the back.  
  
Of course, that made it difficult for Laguna to miss. A stream of hot metal tore into the monster's chest as Laguna poured gunfire into the Wendigo from his spot behind Kiros. He'd been unable to help his friend a moment before, because the small man was right in his field of fire.  
  
The bullets tore into the monster's hide, and the force behind the sheer number of rounds pushed the beast practically right out the door.  
  
One of the Wendigos outside finished taking the dying monster out of the portal, grabbing it by its intact arm and pulling is dead bretheren out of the way.  
  
"Ward, get us outta here!" Laguna shouted, firing upon the new threat that loomed into view. He held down the trigger, and bullet ripped into monstrous flesh, but this Wendigo ignored the hail of fire as it came in. Laguna's machingun ceased its stream of bullets and began clicking, and he frantically moved to reload. The Wendigo, hurt but still standing, finished working its way inside the vehicle and wound up for a mighty punch. But then Kiros interposed himself between his friend and the monster, convincing it to halt its attack with an argument of katal slashes and thrusts. The monster fell back, and like its comrade before, it was yanked out of the way by more Wendigos outside.  
  
Those Wendigos were suddenly distant as the Galbadian vehicle took off, Ward driving away at full speed. Laguna was about to ask why Ward had waited so long to leave, but then realized that time during the battle had dialated, making the fight seem far longer than it actually was.  
  
"We're losing 'em," Kiros reported, looking out the back hatch at the pursuing but rapidly diminishing Wendigos.  
  
And as if on cue, something slammed, and slammed hard, into the rear left side of the Galbadian vehicle, spinning it around so the car was pointing at an angle perpendicular to its original route. Laguna looked out the window to see a Wendigo, likely the same on that had leaped onto the vehicle in the first place, holding onto the side of the car. Before Ward could throw the car back into full speed, that same Wendigo let go of the vehicle's side and ran around back.  
  
"Its coming in through the rear!" Laguna warned, but as Kiros spun around to face the incoming enemy, the Wendigo's arm shot through the open rear hatch and grabbed the soldier. Then, with almost casual ease, the Wendigo spun, and Kiros went flying out the back hatch and into the throng of oncoming monsters, rapidly gaining on them.  
  
"Kiros!" both Laguna and Ward shouted, and both soldiers, heedless of their own safety, scrambled to help their comrade. Laguna was out of the car in an instant, blasting his machingun at point blank range into the Wendigo that had stopped them and grabbed Kiros. The monster stumbled back, and if it made any noise, it couldn't be heard under the pounding blasts of Laguna's gun.  
  
Ward, having to get out of his seat, was a moment behind Laguna, begining his charge out of the car with a hurled harpoon. The metal spear blasted right through one Wendigo as it approached Kiros's prone form, and then it continued on to bury in the chest of a second. Ward paused for an instant, surprised by the power behind his throw. He was a buff man, but he wasn't that buff . . . .  
  
Kiros, having been bought a momentary second of respite by Ward, rose up, his katals slicing rapidly and precisely at the reaching hand of another of the yellow and green-skinned monsters. That hand fell, severed from its arm. Before the Wendigo could really comprehend what had happened, the katals dug deep lines across that monster's chest.  
  
The monster Laguna was shooting wasn't dead yet, or at least, it didn't know it was, so it still stood despite its chest being torn to shreds by hot steel. Laguna quickly kicked the monster in its chest, hurling its body several feet backward, and firing another burst into the dying monster to ensure it would stay that way. It didn't occur to the soldier that he didn't normally have enough strength to knock that huge of a monster that far back with a single kick, since Laguna had already switched into combat mode. The enemy was down, that was all that mattered right now.  
  
The Wendigos, realizing the rest of their prey had come out to fight as well, began to split up, many breaking away from Kiros to go after Laguna and Ward. As the group broke up, Laguna could tell how many foes there were. There were nine of the monsters, it seemed. Four were still attacking Kiros, and three more went after Ward, seeing him unarmed. The last two went for Laguna.  
  
Kiros spun and sliced as those Wendigos surrounding him came in. After a few fingers and a hand were lost, the monsters backed away, forming a circle around the agile and dangerous fighter. One of the monsters suddenly sped forward, diving at Kiros, The lithe soldier spun to meet the monster, and raised his katals as if he was going to meet the charge head on. At the last second, however, Kiros spun to the side, and the Wendigo's momentum carried it past. Kiros's blades found targets in the passing monster as he spun back around, slicing cleanly into its leg and side. The monster rose quickly and stumbled away, hurting badly.  
  
The monsters charging Laguna met sweeping blasts of automatic fire, but Laguna didn't concentrate his fire on any one monster, so the bullets did not down either attacker. Both monsters closed in, their fists swinging. Laguna ducked under on blow, only to have it strike the metal of the armored vehicle behind him, leaving another dent in the battered car's body.  
  
Laguna had to step aside as a fist jabbed at him, from the other Wendigo. He didn't get completely out of the way, and the blow sent him spinning, right back through the hatch and into the back section of the Galbadian vehicle. The monster that had hit him was right behind Laguna, scrambling through the open hatchway and cocking its fist back for another mighty punch.  
  
Laguna, lying on his back, quickly curled up, bringing his legs up before him, with his knees over his chest. Even as the Wendigo came in, Laguna kicked out, striking the monster in its chest as. The Wendigo was hurled back, right out the hatch, and was stitched with gunfire before it hit the ground. The monster did not get back up. The second Wendigo also charged into the vehicle after Laguna, but this time, Laguna was ready for it, and before it had even scrambled halfway through the hatch, his gunfire had literally stopped it dead.  
  
Ward found himself engaging three Wedigos, unarmed. Not a good situation, even for someone as tough as him. But as the first Wendgo came in, with the other two circling around, Ward recalled how he'd downed two of the monsters with a single throw of the harpoon.  
  
The monster directly in front of Ward threw a powerful hook at him, but the man's hands came up and blocked the monster's blow cold, to the surprise of the monster, but not to the human. Somehow, Ward realized, he was far stronger than he should have been. Far, far stronger.  
  
Taking advantage of that new strength, Ward's hands closed over the monster's extended fist, and he spun, yanking the arm hard. The monster's feet left the ground, and it spun around in midair as Ward turned. He released the monster's fist as he came round, hurling the creature into one of the Wendigos encircling him. Both went down, hard.  
  
Then Ward found himself ensnared in a bear hug as the third Wendigo slipped up behind him and wrapped its arms around the soldier, pinning his arms to his side.  
  
The three intact Wendigos circled around Kiros, and then all came at him at once. The small man spun aroud like a top, his blades extending and slashing, rising and falling like the edges of a screw. The monsters, expecting to bury the tiny man under the sheer weight of their bodies, found themselves being sliced open byKiros's spinning blades. One creature fell back, both its hands gone. A second featured a long, deadly cut across its chest, having pierced its heart. That one could not hold its footing and fell down, dead. The third was not so badly off, having taken only a half-dozen minor hits, and it came in at Kiros anew, punching hard.  
  
Kiros hopped back out of the monster's way and then came right back in, both katals diving for the monster's chest. The twin blades cut in, and then Kiros snapped the blades out, tearing the monster's chest open. Even as the monster began to retreat backwads, Kiros came right in after it, both katals slashing upwards and cutting twin lines across the Wendigo's chest. The monster dropped.  
  
Ward, taking offense at the Wendigo's grapple, flexed his arm muscles and broke free of the bear hug. He took a quick step forward, and then spun around, cocking a fist. The subsequent punch seemed to have come all the way from Deling City itself, slamming the Wendigo in its chest and huling it nearly fifteen feet away. Ward spent a second gaping at the feat.  
  
"Hot damn," he whispered, awed by his newfound power. But then he saw the two other Wendigos untangling themselves, and he dove for his harpoon. Ward qiuckly extracated the metal spear from the dead monster's chest it had been imbedded in, then spun around even as the first Wendigo of the pair closed in, hands raised to slam Ward into the ground.  
  
Ward's harpoon speared it in the chest, hurling it back to the dirt.  
  
The last Wendigo was still coming, and passed its dead companion, cutting Ward off from his weapon. Ward, not to be deterred, set himself to stop the powerful monster's charge. The monster came in, eager to bowl Ward under and pound him into meat.  
  
And just as they were about to connect, the monster suddenly began to stumble, its faltering accompanied by the pounding gunfire from Laguna's machinegun. The man himself was standing at the hatch of their car, firing away into the monster's back.  
  
Even as the Wendigo stumbled forward, Ward took the initiative and stepped forward into the monster's stumbling charge. He slammed his shoulder into the monster's chest and straightened, and the Wendigo flew up and over Ward's back, to slam into the dirt ten feet behind him. The monster began to rise, until a pair of katals, guided by Kiros's hands, dove into its back, finishing the monster.  
  
Even as that monster went down, the trio of soldiers scanned the nearby area, alert for any more incoming Wendigos.  
  
But the monsters had had enough. Those that could still flee were doing so now, scrambling away from the three mighty humans and their dead and torn bretheren. All three men let out tired sighs, and turned back to the vehicle.  
  
"'Deling City, here we come?'" Kiros echoed sarcastically.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------  
  
Yikes! That took a while to do. Apologies for my failing to get this to you guys. A friend of mine just got back from USMC boot camp, and we've been engaged in much "mischevious behavior" lately...that and other real life complications have reared their ugly heads. But now that things are settling down, I'll try to speed up posting new chappies.  
  
Also, I'm starting up some planning on a new Matrix-oriented fic, and I'm reexamining Foreshadow. I'm probably gonna keep the core storyline, but alter the time frame and so on. I've also got a few one-shots floating around in my skull, and I think I'll make 'em at some point. 


	15. Interlude: Julia

Interlude: Julia  
  
Squall had heard that Deling City went by a second name, proudly spoken by its inhabitants: The Shining Night. The view as Laguna drove the armored car through the checkpoint at the main road into the capital of Galbadia did little to refute that name.  
  
The whole city was alight, with almost every building, store, shop, business, and home still lit despite the late hour. Cars and trucks of various makes filled the roads, and spotlights shone into the sky as well. People roamed the streets, and if it weren't for the darkened sky above, a visitor would have thought it daytime. It seemed as if Deling City thrived on nighttime as much as any other city did in the daylight.  
  
Laguna manuvered the car through the entrance to the city, driving it along one of the outer main avenues that encircled the city like a wheel. The car continued through the streets, passing civilians and soldiers, many either standing guard in the streets, patrolling, or walking around casually, as if on leave.  
  
Soon, Laguna brought the car to a stop in front of the Galbadian military and political headquarters, the Presidential Palace. It was here that the hub of all Galbadian command was located, a place that had seen political manuverings and power plays since its erection as the castle of the first king of Galbadia, centuries ago.  
  
Right now, an entire battalion of soldiers seemed to be on guard inside and around the Palace. Squads of men patrolled, all heavily armed and armored, and one could see troops in the red garb and bulky armor of Galbadian officers strutting about, barking orders. Here and there, moving with discipline and purpose far greater than that of the blue-clad regulars, were green clad troopers, Galbadian special forces units.  
  
"Man, they've got the place locked down tight," Ward commented as they drove past the Palace.  
  
"Yup," Laguna agreed, and then brought the car to a stop. Kiros and Ward looked over at him even as Laguna switched the car into parked mode and turned the engine off.  
  
"Hey!" Ward protested, looking out the window. As far as he could tell, they were still in the road. "You can't park in the middle of the street!"  
  
"Relax," Laguna replied, undoing his belt and getting up. "We're soldiers; its cool. Besides," Laguna added as he exited the car, "We can have one of these guys take care of it." Laguna gestured to a squad of Galbadian soldiers patrolling the sidewalk.  
  
"Hey!" he called to the soldiers, catching their attention.  
  
"Sir!" the leader of the small group replied, snapping off a salute.  
  
"Move this out of the road for us, would you?" Laguna said, then gestured to the car.  
  
"Of course, sir!" the trooper replied.  
  
"Alright then," Laguna said to Kiros and Ward as he led them down the street and the soldiers moved to take care of the vehicle. "How's about a drink?"  
  
"We're not here just for booze, are we?" Kiros asked. "We've got a war to fight after all, and I don't think we'll be good fighters if we get wasted."  
  
"So we'll get smashed," Ward replied, a jovial look on his face, "and then we'll CHAAARGE!" That brought out laughter from the other two soldiers. After the laughing died down, Laguna shook his head at his friends.  
  
"Kiros, Ward, you guys seem to misunderstand," Laguna explained. "I just want to have a friendly drink with you two."  
  
"Whatever," Kiros responded with a chuckle. "Like you drink . . . ." He grinned. "We already know you're not in it for the drinking. Just admit it already."  
  
"Yeah," Ward added. "Just drink some juice like a weenie, and then gawk at the piano lady." Laguna turned around, arms crossed and with an annoyed look on his face.  
  
"Don't call her 'the piano lady'!" he shouted angrily. He then spun around, shaking his head, and started to walk off. "That's it! Forget it! I'm not going!" As Laguna headed off, both his comrades shared a laugh.  
  
"We know you will . . . ." Kiros called after him, and they walked after their departing friend.  
  
-------------------  
  
"Private!" Colenel Varsk shouted at the soldier slipping into the driver's seat of the car blocking the road. "I demand to know what you are doing!"  
  
"Sir!" the soldier replied, saluting his superior. He had to shout to be heard over the honking horns and yells from drivers whose cars were stuck by the impeding vehicle. "I was ordered to move this vehicle from the road, sir!"  
  
"By who, Private?" Vrask roared.  
  
"Lieutenant Loire, sir!" the private replied.  
  
"Are you under Lieutenant Loire's command, Private?"  
  
"Sir, no sir!"  
  
"Under whose command are you, Private?" Vrask's voice was growing in volume and menace.  
  
"Yours, Colonel Vrask, sir!" the private replied, sounding a bit distressed.  
  
"And what are your orders, Private?"  
  
"To patrol the Palace grounds, sir!"  
  
"Correct, Private! Get back to your orders now like you're supposed to!"  
  
"But, sir, this car-"  
  
"I SAID NOW, HYNE-DAMMIT!" Vrask screamed into the poor soldier's face. "One more remark like that and its no pay for a month! Move it!"  
  
"Sir! Yes sir!" The private scrambled out of the car and hurried back to his patrol duties.  
  
"Stupid soldiers," Vrask said, shaking his head as traffic continued building up behind the armored car. "Not obeying orders like they're supposed too!"  
  
-------------------  
  
The Galbadia Hotel, world famous for its excellent rooms, low prices, and exceptionally well stocked bar, was Laguna's destination. The trio of soldiers walked in, and nodded familiarly at the attendant behind the desk, who aknowledged them with an equally familiar smile.  
  
"Ah, gentlemen, it is good to see you tonight," the attendant said. "You came at a good time, many of the soldiers who frequent the establishment are out and about. I trust your deployment was uneventful?"  
  
"Not quite," Laguna replied with a chuckle.  
  
"Combat?" the attendant asked.  
  
"Nah," replied Laguna. "Just some ugly critter action. Nothing major. Its good to be back, though!" With that, he and Kiros and Ward headed down the stairs leading to the hotel's basement, where the bar was located. They descended into a comfortably subdued lighting.  
  
The hotel's bar was beautifully appointed, featuring many plush booths and tables, complete with rich leather upolstry, and also a grand piano located on a stage next to the stairs. A number of sodiers were scattered about, wearing their blue and red uniforms, although only a few men were wearing their armor. Sidearms were present on many of the men, but only one soldier was fully armed, a single red-clad officer with the insignia of a military policeman. Laguna spotted several soldiers at the bar, wearing green uniforms and their standard armor. They all had an insignia on their upper arms, of a flaming arrow nocked on a black bow: the insignia of Galbadian Army Rangers, the cream of the crop in Galbadian special forces. A few waitresses moved about, serving drinks to the scattered groups of soldiers or individual troopers drinking alone. One waitress, familiar to Laguna and his comrades, approached.  
  
"Welcome, gentlemen!" she greeted with a smile. "If you want it, your usual table is ready."  
  
Laguna nodded, but as he was about to reply, he heard a buzzing in his head, and the sound of what he thought to be a voice, seeming confused and frustrated. Laguna shook his head in confusion as the voice in the back of his head quieted.  
  
"What?" Laguna asked as the voice vanished. He blinked his eyes a few times and shook his head again.  
  
"What's wrong?" Kiros asked, soundign concerned. Laguna turned to face him, and shrugged. he didn't know either.  
  
"I . . . I dunno," he replied. Then, he heard it again, that frustrated voice. He didn't understand what it was, it was like rogue thoughts running through his mind, but he couldn't pin them down. "Huh?" Laguna said in renewed confusion, shaking his head.  
  
"What is it?" Kiros asked again.  
  
"Ahh . . . I'm not quite sure," Laguna replied, shrugging as the voice vanished again.  
  
"Wait a second," Ward interjected a look of confused undertanding on his face. "Is your head buzzing too?"  
  
"What? You too?" Laguna asked.  
  
"Yeah, ever since Timber," Ward explained. "There's been a buzzing in my head . . ."  
  
"Me too," Kiros added immediately.  
  
"Then what . . . ?" Laguna asked, scratching the back of his head in confusion.  
  
"Hey, we're just tired," Ward said with a shrug. "We'll be alright after a drink or two, or three . . . ."  
  
-------------------  
  
Squall had been surprised that Laguna had reacted to his mental frustrations. He'd been personally wondering what the hell was going on, and somehow Laguna had picked up on that. What did it mean?  
  
Whatever it meant, Squall was still extremely unhappy with what he was seeing. Well, it wasn't what he was seeing as much as how illogical and strange it seemed to him. From the look of Deling City, it was almost two decades earlier than the Deling City Squall had heard of. The city was overrun with soldiers, which corresponded to the capital city eighteen years ago. So why was he seeing it now, in real time? The answer to that question eluded Squall, and a lack of proper answers to any situation aggravated the SeeD.  
  
That, combined with his lack of control over the current situation, resulted in Squall's current frustration as Laguna and his buddies made their way across the bar to a booth, obviously their regular table. Like all the others, it featured plush seats and a single, glowing lamp in the center of the table, which was wrought of fine wood.  
  
"At ease, men," Laguna joked as they settled into the plush blue chairs. "We're going all out tonight, right boys?!" Laguna asked his comrades, to assenting nods and grins.  
  
"Hell yeah," Ward said, pounding the table. "I need a drink after all we've been through!" Kiros and Laguna chuckled, and Laguna called over the waitress that had seated them.  
  
"The usual!" he told her. "Mimmett beer!"  
  
"Me too," Kiros agreed.  
  
"And keep 'em coming too!" Ward added. The waitress nodded at their order and headed off to the bar to fetch the drinks. She soon returned, and the trio of solders wasted no time hitting the beer.  
  
Ward downed four glasses in twice that many minutes, while Kiros went after his much more slowly. Laguna, however, only took a few sips of his, and by the time the waitress had returned to refill Kiros and Ward's glasses, his was only half empty.  
  
Kiros leaned over to Ward as the big man gulped down half his glass in a single swallow, and motioned towards their comrade. Ward chuckled, unsurprised. Laguna was taking another sip of his beer at that moment, but had his attention focused on the far side of the bar, watching the steps leading down from the lobby.  
  
"So, Laguna," Kiros said conversationally, "Julia should be making her apperance pretty soon."  
  
Those words, particularly "Julia," jolted Laguna, and he turned back to face Kiros. The soldier shrugged, his face warming.  
  
"Piano lady . . . ." Ward said quietly, jokingly, just loud enough for Laguna to hear him. Kiros obligingly ducked as Laguna leaned over his back and smacked the huge soldier across his head. "Ow, man," Ward whispered, rubbing his head. "That smarted."  
  
"She's not the piano lady, you dolt!" Laguna hissed. "Her name's Julia!"  
  
"Oh, speaking of the piano lady," Kiros said, drawing Laguna's wrathful glare, "here she comes now."  
  
All intents towards hurting his comrades faded as Laguna turned around to see a woman descending the stairs. She was tall, slender, and elegant, with shimmering black hair and a beautiful dark red dress. She smiled and nodded at several of the soldiers who greeted her warmly, and made her way to the grand piano.  
  
"You going for it tonight?" Ward asked Laguna, who was watching Julia Heartilly intently as she began play a lovely tune on the piano.  
  
"Yeah, go for it!" Kiros encouraged, tapped in Laguan on his shoulder.  
  
"What-ever man!" Laguna replied, shaking his head nervously. "Can't you see she's working!"  
  
"Oh, come on," Kiros said. "Go wave to her at least."  
  
"Give me a break," Laguna replied. "I can't right now."  
  
"So you say," boomed Ward while downing another glass of beer. "But we know you'll do it."  
  
"And if you don't, I'm sure one of those upstanding Rangers will do it instead," Kiros added.  
  
"Fine, fine," Laguna muttered, standing up. He took a couple of breaths, closed his eyes for a second, and drew in one last steadying breath. Then the soldier began to make his way across the room to the stage, where Julia was still playing her song.  
  
'Crap, everyone's watching me,' Laguna thought, as he saw the eyes of many a soldier turned towards him. The group of Rangers at the bar were talking among themselves, and several were handing wads of gil between themselves.  
  
'Great, they're taking bets,' Laguna mused, but then his attention shifted to the lovely woman sititng behind the piano on the stage. She was looking directly down at the keys, her attention soley focused on her song. As he approached the stage, and Julia, Laguna's steps began to falter.  
  
'Ah, to be this close to Julia . . . .' he thought, looking upon the raven-haired beauty. 'Wow, she is pretty.'  
  
A snicker from the direction of the bar, no doubt from a Ranger, drew Julia's attention from the keys for an instant, and as she looked up, her brown eyes met those of Laguna. The soldier froze up instantly as she regarded him, and a sudden and wholly irrational fear gripped Laguna.  
  
He was acutely aware of the fact that almost every eye in the bar was on him, standing right there by the stage, but it seemed even the exposure from the gazes of thousands of men would not compare to the naked scrutiny of Julia's warm brown eyes upon Laguna.  
  
But then Julia, seeming to realize and understand the effect she was having on the poor soldier, looked away, frowning at the soldiers at the bar.  
  
"Do you want me to finish this song or not?" she called to the laughing Rangers. "Or would you like my fans to toss you out so I can keep playing?" At her question, several of the regular soldiers chuckled and cheered, and a laughing shout of "Shut up, ya meatheads!" sounded throughout the bar. It was all in good fun, and the Rangers, obliging their fellow soldiers, quieted.  
  
But during that time, Laguna had attempted to get a little closer to the stage. He'd taken a few steps, but then a sudden pain shot up his right leg, and he had to stop for a moment in the face of the pain.  
  
'Uh-oh!' Laguna thought, his mind racing. 'My leg's cramping up! Bad timing, bad, bad timing!' Laguna bent over slightly, grimicing at the pain, and clutched his hurting leg.  
  
'Can't stop now, though!' he thought to himself, gritting his teeth and stepping towards the stage. 'If I back out now, the guys will call me a weenie forever!' With the threat of permanantly annoying jabs hanging over his head, Laguna gritted his teeth and took a few more steps towards the piano. As the soldier drew closer, he spotted Julia's eyes looking up from her keys and directly at the ridiculous sight of the limping soldier.  
  
"Uhh, hi," he said quietly, not able to raise his eyes to meet Julia's in the face of his embarassment. "Um, good performance," he added, inwardly cursing himself for the idiotic sound of his own voice.  
  
"Why, thank you," Julia replied with a smile. Laguna, surprised that Julia had even deigned to speak to him, nodded. Then, nervousness and embarassment taking over, Laguna turned and limped away, hoping to cut the humiliation as much as possible. He quickly (or as quickly as a man with a cramped leg could move) made his way back over to his table, where Kiros and Ward waited. The smaller man's shoulders were shaking with repressed laughter, while Ward sat back, cradling an empty beer glass and smiling at his comrade.  
  
"Good work, Laguna," Kiros said after being able to bite back his amusement enough to speak.  
  
"Mission successful!" Ward added, trading his glass for one with less air and more alcohol. "I didn't think you'd actually do it," the huge man included as Laguna sat down. "Our popularity rating's gone up a point!"  
  
"Even the Rangers were a bit impressed," Kiros said, nodding towards the soldiers at the bar. One man was grinning, while the others, muttering under their breath, handed the successful better wads of money. "But you cut a pretty pitiful figure up there. I'd say you're a negative three on the manliness scale."  
  
"So, sadly, tonight's endeavour was a loss," Ward added with a swallow of beer.  
  
"Say what you want!" Laguna replied, shaking his head at his own irrational nervousness towards the piano player. He quieted for a moment, then glanced back up at Julia. The soldier sighed forlornly. "But man, she sure is pretty," Laguna added as he looked down at his glass. He reached down and took the mug in hand, and drank another sip of the alcohol.  
  
"Aaa . . . ." Kiros said, drawing Laguna's attention. He looked up at his smaller friend to see the soldier looking past Laguna, his eyes wide. Before Laguna could turn his head to see what Kiros was looking at, Ward's mouth dropped a bit as he too saw what Kiros was observing.  
  
"Huhhh?" Ward said, drawing Laguna's attention his way.  
  
"Laguna, we're taking off," Kiros added suddenly, glancing to Ward. The big man looked down at his tiny friend, and then nodded quickly.  
  
"Yeah," Ward agreed. With that, both men stood up and made to leave the booth. Laguna was quick to follow, surprised by his friends' sudden departure.  
  
"H-Hey! What's the rush?" he demanded. In response, Ward turned around, a big smile on his scarred face.  
  
"Its on us tonight," he said, patting Laguna on the shoulder. "Relax and stay a while, Laguna." Without any further explanation, Ward followed Kiros over to the bar.  
  
"What the heck?" Laguna said, standing dumbfounded as his friends abandoned him. He reached up and scratched the back of his head, wholly confused.  
  
"May I?" a quiet, familiar voice asked from right behind Laguna. He spun around, recalling that the sound had come from the direction both his friends had been looking prior to their sudden departure.  
  
Laguna Loire turned to see Julia standing behind him, smiling.  
  
Laguna's overwhelming nervousness swiftly returned, with a vengance. Right on cue, Laguna's leg once more cramped up as his mouth opened in surprise and indecision.  
  
"Aaaaaa . . . ." was the first thing to come out of his mouth. Then, Laguna realized how much of a fool he was making himself out to be, and shut up.  
  
"Uh, yes, yes please sit down," Laguna babbled as he stepped back and allowed Julia Heartilly to sit in the booth. The woman didn't take the seat immediately, instead looking over to Kiros and Ward, now seated at the bar.  
  
"Did I interrupt anything?" she asked.  
  
"N-N-N-Not at all," Laguna stammered. Not sure what to do with his hands, the soldier placed them behind his back, which invariably caused him to shift his stance to an "at ease" pose. "P-please, s-sit down." he added, to which Julia nodded and obliged.  
  
'Oh man, oh man, its really HER!' Laguna thought as he sat down as well, his thoughts moving at breakneck speed. 'What do I do! Kiros? Ward? Help! What do I say? But man, she sure is pretty . . . .'  
  
"Are you okay now?" Julia asked suddenly, breaking Laguna's train of thought.  
  
"Kind of," Laguna replied, the only thing he could think to say in that situation.  
  
"How's your leg?"  
  
"L-leg? Oh, this?" Laguna asked, surprised by the comment, and embarassed by his own response. 'Of course, that leg, you dolt!' he thought. 'You think she means Ward's leg?'  
  
"Y-yeah. Its fine now," Laguna said instead of voicing his thoughts. "Happens all the time when I get nervous." Laguna coughed slightly to give himself an excuse to look away, his mind still racing.  
  
"Were you nervous?" Julia asked.  
  
"Oh, yeah," Laguna admitted. "I'm still, kinda . . . ."  
  
"You can relax," she advised him. "You don't have to get nervous around me. I'm not gonna hurt you." That last bit was said with a disarming smile that did calm Laguna down a bit.  
  
"Sorry," he said, blushing. "Its hard not to . . . ."  
  
"That's okay, I understand," Julia replied, still wearing her smile. "Say," she said, then leaned a little closer, and lowered her voice slightly. "Would you like to talk somewhere private? I have a room here."  
  
"Your room?" Laguna exclaimed, a little louder than he should have. Still, that was understandable, considering the immediate ideas being alone in Julia's room would conjure up.  
  
"Well," Julia said, looking up. "Its pretty hard to talk freely in here. Everyone's listening in." At that, Laguna did look up, to see the majority of the bar's occupants either looking in their direction or at least leaning that way, intent on their conversation.  
  
"If you'd like to, please come by," Julia added. "I've been wanting to talk to you." She paused, looking at Laguna's dubious expression. "You don't want to?"  
  
"Of course I do!" Laguna replied immediately. "Its just . . . ."  
  
"Nothing funny's going to happen," Julia replied with another smile. "No matter what your fellow soldiers think. I'll go ahead and wait for you. Ask for my room at the front desk." With that, Julia stood up and stepped out of the booth, and headed for the stairs.  
  
Laguna watched her depart, shaking his head.  
  
"Am I dreaming?" Laguna muttered to himself. "No, this can't be a dream! Julia wants to talk to . . . me? And just the two of us!" Laguna's hands began shaking slightly at the oppurtunity, before he managed to bring them under control. "Get it together Laguna!" Nodding inwardly, Laguna rose from his seat.  
  
"I always screw up by talking about myself too much," he continued saying as he crossed the bar. "Not tonight! I'm all ears for Julia!" He glanced across the room to the bar, where the Rangers were laughing and taking bets again, and even more, Kiros and Ward were participating. Laguna paused and sent them a jokingly stern look, to which Kiros responded with a thumbs-up. Ward raised his mug in salute.  
  
"I got fifty that you'll be a gentleman about it!" Ward proclaimed, to the laughter of all the soldiers around him. Laguna laughed too, and shook his head before making his way up the stairs.  
  
-------------------  
  
Laguna had departed for Julia's room when Kiros and Ward were approached by another soldier, a young enlisted man who hadn't even reached the rank of private yet.  
  
"Excuse me, Corporal Seagill, Corporal Zaback?"  
  
"That would be us," Kiros replied to the kid.  
  
"General Caraway has new orders for your unit," the soldier said. "He wants to meet you at the Palace."  
  
"Alrighty," Ward replied. "What about Lieutenant Loire?"  
  
"The men who told me you were here said the Lieutenant had found some companionship for the evening. A fine catch, they called her."  
  
"Ah hell, looks like we've got some pavement to be introducing to some of our fellow soldiers' faces," Kiros responded, shaking his head.  
  
"Yup," Ward replied, plopping a thick wad of gil on the counter to pay for their drinks. "You guys hold onto my bet for me, would ya?" he said to the Rangers. "I will collect my winnings after we squelch the rumors and get our orders." There were some chuckles and a few toasts among the soldiers, and then Ward and Kiros headed upstairs and outside the hotel.  
  
Immediately, the two troopers were assaulted by the audial barrage of honking horns and shouting drivers. The source of the noise was immediately apparent in the traffic jam that clogged the streets directly in front of the hotel.  
  
"You've gotta be kidding me," Ward said, shaking his head in disbelief.  
  
"I'll bet gil to dimes that our car started this," Kiros added.  
  
"That's one bet I ain't taking," Ward said as they made their way to the Palace.  
  
Soon enough, they arrived at the Palace, and it turned out that Laguna's bad parking habits had indeed resulted in the jam. In the middle of the road, surrounded by dozens of stopped cars, was Laguna's armored car.  
  
"What happened?" Ward asked a nearby blue-clad soldier. "I thought that car was supposed to be moved?"  
  
"Well, it was, but the soldier who was moving it recieved new orders," that patrolling trooper replied. He shrugged. "By the time anyone thought to remove the vehicle, traffic had already built up to the point where we couldn't move it. There's a helicopter en route from Gilenka Airbase to airlift it out of there so we can get traffic started up again."  
  
Kiros and Ward looked at one another in shock.  
  
"This army is gonna get real boring when Laguna leaves," Ward muttered.  
  
-------------------  
  
Laguna paused outside Julia's door, his hand rising up to the doorknob. That hand came to a stop a few inches away, and Laguna just held it there for a moment, paralyzed by anxiety. Then, he took his hand away from the knob, formed it into a fist, and held it over the wooden door. But, as with when he reached for the knob, Laguna couldn't knock.  
  
He began to reach down for the doorknob again, but stopped halfway. His hand dropped back down to his side, fingers grasping nervously.  
  
Then, Laguna Loire turned around and started pacing down the hallway after his third attempt to make himself enter Julia's room.  
  
'Good Hyne, get a hold of yourself! Julia's waiting for you in there!' he mentally berated himself as he paced the hall. 'You're acting like a little kid! Get over it!' Laguna paused, leaning against a wall and staring up at the ceiling.  
  
'Why am I so nervous? Come on, she practically invited me into the room!' Laguna lowered his eyes and looked back down the hall to Julia's suite. 'And remember, she promised nothing inappropriate. Just act like a gentleman and talk to her. Time to turn on that manly charm!'  
  
Slightly reassured by his self-encouragement, Laguna turned and strode back down the hallway to Julia's room. For the fourth time tonight he paused in front of her door. Taking a steadying breath, Laguna raised his hand to the doorknob, then paused again. He couldn't go barging in, right? So instead, Laguna raised his hand up to the door, took another breath, and rapped lightly on the wood.  
  
No response.  
  
Laguna paused for a second, listening for any sound. Frowning, the soldier knocked again, a little louder.  
  
"Yes?" Julia's voice called softly.  
  
"It's, uh," Laguna began. "Its me. Laguna. From the bar?"  
  
The door swung open, and Julia was there, a welcoming smile on her face. It occured to Laguna that she was just as lovely now as she had been in the bar.  
  
"Thanks for coming," she said as she stepped back, allowing Laguna to nervously walk into the room. The suite Julia lived in was pretty nice, he saw, with plush beds and everything else one expected out of a five-star hotel.  
  
"No, not at all, " Laguna replied. "Thank you for inviting me."  
  
"Have a seat," she offered to the anxious soldier, who nodded. Laguna took the closest spot he could sit at, which was the edge of one of the beds. He got back up immediately, however, realizing the bed wasn't the best place to sit for a talk with such an esteemed star.  
  
It was then that Laguna spotted a couple of chairs around a small table, so he got up and made his way over there. He sat down, and turned his head back to Julia, only to see her still standing by the door, laughing faintly.  
  
'Crap, what did I do?' Laguna thought, wondering what was wrong. He quickly got up, his fingers visibly grasping again in nervousness.  
  
'Oh, man, I gotta get outta here! I'm nervous as hell!' With that thought, Laguna got up and moved towards the door. 'She probably thinks I'm a total idiot,' the soldier thought as he drew closer to Julia and the door. He almost took a step outside when she spoke.  
  
"Leaving already? We didn't even get to talk." Laguna brought himself to a stop, and turned back to Julia, unsure what to do with his hands. After a second, he took a step back into the room.  
  
"Sorry," he muttered. "Its just that I'm a really big fan of yours, so I'm really kinda nervous, y'know?" At this, Julia's smile grew wider.  
  
"So that's why you come to hear me play so often?" she asked. Laguna jerked in surprise. She'd actually recalled Laguna being in the bar so often?  
  
"You . . . you saw me?" he asked nervously.  
  
"You were always smiling while listening, right?" Julia asked, nodding before Laguna could reply. "Yes, that was you. I always remembered you because of your eyes. They're beautiful, though they look a bit nervous now."  
  
At this, Laguna gulped and his fingers waggled a bit more in anxiety. Julia had picked him out? She'd been watching him while he watched her? In response to Laguna's growing nervousness, Julia chuckled.  
  
"Don't worry," she assured him. "I'm not gonna pluck 'em out and eat them. I just want to talk to you, looking into those eyes . . . ." She walked over to a cabinet, and opened it. "Would you like a drink? Wine perhaps?"  
  
Laguna shook his head as Julia was looking away.  
  
"I must be dreaming," he whispered.  
  
-------------------  
  
A few hours passed in the suite, and Laguna continued talking to Julia. He spent a long time telling her about his life before the army, and then his services in the Galbadian military.  
  
"Yeah, I don't like fighting too much, but I get to travel a lot y'know? See new places 'n stuff. And its fun, because Kiros and Ward are always with me." He paused, scratched his chin for a second, and then smiled, as if he'd had an idea. "Hey, we should all go out drinking sometime! Whaddya say?"  
  
Julia, who was sitting on the edge of one of the beds, listening to Laguna stand and talk, smiled and shrugged.  
  
"We could," she said, to which Laguna grinned even wider.  
  
"That's great! And, um . . . what was I talking about? Oh, yeah! So, I want to quit the army and become a journalist, so I can tell people about all the places I've been on during my travels. I mean, going around's much more fun than all the fighting, at least to me!"  
  
Squall, who had been observing the long, often one-sided, conversation, considered the change between the curent Laguna and the one who had first entered Julia's room a few hours ago. That Laguna had taken up her offer for some wine, and the alcohol had definately loosened the nervous soldier up, Squall observed.  
  
"So, like, this other day, one of my articles made the reader's column," Laguna continued on. "Pretty cool, huh? Yeah, that was way cool . . . ."  
  
Though now Laguna was babbling on like a teenager, Squall thought. Nevermind that Squall was a teenager himself. Sometimes, the SeeD felt like he was twice Laguna's age.  
  
"I'm happy for you," Julia replied, sounding honest as she looked up into Laguna's eyes. Laguna grinned again and continued his story, apparently happy to be so interesting to Julia.  
  
"Oh, yeah, and then . . . ." Laguna trailed off, realizing then that he had been talking way too much. Kiros had always complained about Laguna "just yap-yap-yapping and never letting anyone else talk," and in his excitement, the soldier had fallen into that mode again.  
  
"What is it?" Julia asked Laguna as he stopped talking.  
  
"Umm, sorry," Laguna said quickly, scratching his head again. "Kiros always says I talk too much . . . ."  
  
"That's alright," Julia replied with another of her dazzling smiles. "I can tell you're not like some jock at the gym. You're . . . you're different."  
  
"I am?" Laguna asked in surprise at the compliment. Or at least, he thought it was a compliment.  
  
"Yes," Julia replied. "So many other men in Galbadia are really fools. But you, you aren't like them at all. You speak from your heart and through your soul, and in that, I believe there is the greatest wisdom anyone can show."  
  
Laguna was speechless from Julia's compliment. He didn't know what to say, and in that lack of words, there was an awkward silence.  
  
"So, umm," Laguna said after a moment. "Tell me about you. Like, I dunno, your dreams for the future?" A thoughtful expression crossed Julia's features, and piano player rose from her seat on the bed. She paced across the room to the window overlooking the lights of Deling City.  
  
"I," she began, then trailed off for an instant before resuming. "I want to sing. Not just to play the piano, but to sing."  
  
"Really?" Laguna asked. "I'd love to hear it."  
  
"But, I can't," Julia responded, looking back at Laguna. "I'm no good at writing lyrics. But, thanks to you, I think I can come up with something."  
  
Laguna's jaw dropped in surprise at this.  
  
"Thanks to me?" he managed to say.  
  
"Yes," Julia replied, smiling as she walked across the room to him. "The many faces you've shown me, times when you were hurt, worried . . . or felt pain deep inside you." She stopped in front of Laguna. "Your smile, your face, your eyes . . . You've shown me something special. I think I can come up with a song now."  
  
"Wow," Laguna whispered at what Julia had said. He shook his head in denial. "This must be a dream."  
  
In response, Julia took Laguna's hand in one of hers, and then pinched it. He flinched away for an instant in surprise and pain, before realizing her intent.  
  
"Its not a dream is it?" she asked, to which Laguna smiled and laughed a bit. He then looked at Julia, looked deep into her brown eyes. He opened his mouth, to thank her for the honor and tell her how much he appreciated being the inspiration she so needed, when a sudden, sharp rap on the door got their attention.  
  
"Laguna!" Kiros shouted from the other side of the door. "Hey, man, we got new orders! Meet by the Presidential Palace on the double! Oh, and Ward says you better have kept your pants on or he'll never see that fifty again."  
  
Both the soldier and the musician laughed faintly at Kiros's slightly crude remark, and turned back to face each other again.  
  
"Can we meet again?" she asked, to Laguna's emphatic nodding.  
  
"Of course!" he said. "I have to come hear you si . . . ."  
  
-------------------  
  
The final word trailed off into nothingness as Squall's hijacked perceptions faded, once more enshrouded by black shadow. For an instant, he didn't know what happened, until he began to keenly feel carpet digging into his cheek. Squall then felt the dull rumble of the train running along the tracks.  
  
Then, a voice, loud and electronic, as if announced over the intercom.  
  
"Next stop, Timber. I repeat, next stop, Timber. Please pick up all your belongings and be ready to disembark. Our next stop is . . . ."  
  
Squall had returned to reality.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------  
  
Ack. Took me darn near forever, but lo, for the chapter is here!  
  
One thing I want to say is a lot of myself was put into Laguna in this chapter. His character very closely parallels my own, being such a nervous goofball, so its hard to tell where I end and Laguna begins. The hand thing though, where he keeps nervously waggling them and grasping at nothing, is something I do when I'm around a girl I like.  
  
Oh, anyone catch the FFVII reference? 


	16. Knights and Princesses

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------  
  
Chapter 13: Knights and Princesses  
  
Squall pushed himself off the floor and took a step backwards, somewhat off balance as he recovered from the dreamlike state he'd been in.  
  
Squall was almost knocked off-balance again as his eyes focused on Selphie, who was standing right in front of him. The SeeD did well to hide his surprise. He quickly scanned the room, spotting Zell sitting nearby on the couch. Both SeeDs had expressions that mirrored his own: confusion and bewilderment.  
  
"Were we . . . all asleep?" Squall asked, shaking away the last cobwebs of drowsiness. Zell nodded, leaning forward.  
  
"Someone might have released sleeping gas," he remarked. "There's a lot of people who resent SeeD. Not just Galbadia either."  
  
Squall nodded in agreement. They would have to be careful. It didn't look like they were injured or harmed in any way, but that might not have been the attackers' intent.  
  
"Check you equipment," he advised, bending down to scoop up his gunblade, which still lay where he had dropped it. A quick check of the chambers showed no damages and all the shells intact. The weapon was undamaged.  
  
"Am I missing anything?" Selphie murmured as she checked her bag. Zell, too, dug into his equipment. Squall inspected his own gear. His items and healing potions were untouched, as were the shells on his bandoleers. His backup knives were still in their sheaths, and none of the other equipment was damaged or tampered with. He turned back to the other two SeeDs, who gave him negatives. Nothing was wrong.  
  
"I don't think so," Squall answered. "My equipment's intact."  
  
"Same here," Zell replied, but his relief was once more replaced by confusion.  
  
"What a relief," Selphie said with a smile as she sat down on the couch opposite Zell. "Everything's alright with me! And I had such a nice dream, too!"  
  
Squall shook his head in response. His dream hadn't been so nice. Hell, in his dream he'd been in the body of a complete moron.  
  
The announcement sounded over the intercom once more, reminding them to have all their equipment and belongings ready. Squall stepped over to the bed and hoisted up one of their bags. He was about to sling it over his shoulder when Selphie's next comment hit him like a beer bottle over the head.  
  
"Wow," she said, in almost dreamy voice. "Sir Laguna was sooo cool . . . ."  
  
The bag fell out of Squall's hands as he spun around to face her, shock and confusion evident on his face. Zell too, was sharing the same expression as he regarded Selphie.  
  
"Hey!" the martial artist said. "There was a Laguna in my dream too! He's a Galbadian soldier, right?" As Selphie nodded, the pieces began to fall into place, though to Squall, the puzzle itself remained a mystery.  
  
"Laguna, Kiros, and Ward," he said, drawing the attention of the other two SeeDs. A shared sense of bewilderment worked its way into the group.  
  
"Huh?" Zell muttered, shaking his head. Realization then dawned on his face. "That's it!"  
  
"That's what?" Squall asked, confused.  
  
"I, well, I dunno," Zell responded. "We all shared the same dream, that's what I was gonna say . . . ."  
  
"There's no way we can understand this," Selphie remarked, to which Squall and Zell reluctantly nodded. "Let's just concentrate on our mission." She was right, Squall realized.  
  
"We'll put this incident on hold for now," he stated, turning back to hoist the bag up. "I'll report it directly to the Headmaster once we get back to Garden." Both his subordinates nodded in concurrence, and stood to get their bags.  
  
"We'll be there soon," Zell said, throwing his bag over his shoulder. "Here we go. Time to psych yourself up, baby!" With that, Zell stepped out of the cabin. Selphie was right behind him, complaining about how she was still sleepy. Squall watched them leave, and then mulled over the incident one last time.  
  
What had happened? How had they all fallen asleep at once, and had the exact same dream at the same time? And most importantly of all . . . .  
  
Who had done this to them?  
  
The answers did not present themselves, and Squall, shaking his head in frustration, readjusted the weight of the bag on his shoulders, and then stepped out of the cabin.  
  
-------------------  
  
It was time.  
  
The SeeD guard was still standing by his guard station as the second guard entered, carrying Seifer's tray of dinner. Good stuff from the smell of it.  
  
Too bad he'd never end up eating it.  
  
The guard flashed his rank to the one at the security post, who nodded and waved him on. The food deliverer approached Seifer's cell. At his nod, the first guard opened the door, and the deliverer stepped in.  
  
"Ah, a nice, gourmet meal," Seifer said as he stood up and approached the guard. The cadet noted the tray was made of metal. Good.  
  
"Sit down, Seifer," the deliverer ordered. Seifer noted he wasn't armed, except for his junctions and magic, obviously. The tray would have to do.  
  
"I don't think so," Seifer responded to the order.  
  
"I said sit-" the guard began, until Seifer's arm shot up and knocked the tray, and its food, up into the air.  
  
Momentarily blinded by the flying tray, the SeeD didn't see Seifer's hand rise up. But he did feel the hand close about the front of his jacket, and he got a glimpse of Seifer's face as the tray passed above the cadet's head.  
  
Then that face grew as Seifer's head shot forward. He pulled the SeeD towards him as he did so, and ducked down slightly. The cadet's forehead slammed into the SeeD's face with force like a flying concrete wall, and the SeeD was momentarily dazzled. Under normal circumstances, an unjunctioned human like Seifer couldn't hit that hard, especially against a fully junctioned SeeD.  
  
But as the SeeD was tossed aside like a rag doll, that truth became obsolete.  
  
Seifer caught the metal tray one-handed as it fell and hurled himself out of the cell an instant before the second guard hit an emergency alarm button. The door slammed shut behind the escaping cadet, and wasting no time, he hurled the tray at the second guard. The guard brought one hand up to block the tray, but it was moving faster than he expected an ordinary human to throw it. Instead of stopping the impromptu missile, the SeeD took it in the face and was staggered back.  
  
Seifer crossed the distance quickly - too quickly - and leaped over the guard's station. The guard was recovering from the hit and began to draw his sword when one of Seifer's hands closed over the drawing wrist and held it there. The other hand came in a right cross and spun the SeeD around as it smashed into his face.  
  
The SeeD used the spinning momentum to wrench his sword hand free of Seifer's grasp. Seifer released the SeeD, who finished drawing his sword and raised it, begining to catch on. Somehow, Seifer was junctioned. He had a GF, and was using the enhancements!  
  
Still, Seifer was unarmed, and the SeeD was. He opened his mouth to order Seifer to surrender. Even with his skills, the guard did not believe Seifer could hold out unarmed against a fellow SeeD.  
  
But Seifer only pointed a hand at the guard, and magic flowed from him to the cadet. An instant later, the guard's eyes drooped as an overwhelmingly powerful drowsiness swept him. His blade clattered to the floor, slipping from hands that could no longer grasp it, and he followed.  
  
Seifer stepped past the guard he'd drawn the Sleep spell from, and bent over, taking the SeeD's keys. He quickly located his locker and took out Hyperion, his equipment, ammunition, and GF stones. Seifer paused when he pulled out the Ifrit stone. He hesitated, knowing he wouldn't need it. Not with Fujin's Ifrit stone he now posessed.  
  
Still, if he left it, that might implicate Fujin. Nodding, Seifer pocketed the Ifrit stone, and then headed for the door leading the the elevator.  
  
-------------------  
  
Quists was jolted by the sound of the alarm as she paced the Quad. For an instant, she thought that Garden was under attack. Then, the tone of the alarm, a rarely used one, hit her.  
  
It wasn't an alert for an attack, it was a lockdown alert. That was only used when there was an intruder or someone else that needed to be contained inside Garden, such as a rampaging student or-  
  
-or an escapee from the detention center.  
  
"Seifer," she breathed, and drew her rante.  
  
The main entrance would be locked down immediately at the sounding of the alert. Nonetheless, that would be the only direction Seifer could go immediately, because the elevator opened facing the entrance.  
  
Quistis hurried through Garden, past surprised and confused cadets and scrambling SeeDs, who hurried to the various exits from Garden. She was soon on the central walkway, running towards the front of the Garden. As she rounded the bend that would lead her to the path heading for the entrance and the elevators, Quistis was greeted by the sound of metal striking metal.  
  
Then she saw Seifer, standing at the top of the stairway leading from the elevator, his gunblade clashing against the sword of a SeeD. A second SeeD was backing away, one hand grasping his sword while the other held his wounded side. Blood dribbled down from the injury, and also from two more gashes along his left leg. More SeeDs were charging to the scene, several having lined up across the main exit to prevent Seifer from escaping that way.  
  
Seifer's gunblade crossed, clashing against his opponent's sword. The weapon withdrew quickly and stabbed ahead, a manuver which the SeeD blocked and turned aside. However, as he was doing so, Seifer's right leg shot forward in a snap-kick, connecting with the SeeD in the chest and hurling him back with inhuman strength.  
  
Quistis stopped for an instant as the SeeD went tumbling down the stairs, realizing what that meant. Seifer's kick was superhumanly strong, something that only a Guardian Force could have emparted.  
  
But how? How had Seifer gotten a GF?  
  
The current threat eliminated momentarily, Seifer scanned the area, noting the SeeDs closing in on his position, weapons drawn. He continued the scan, turning his gaze to Quistis. He grinned her way, offered a quick SeeD salute, and then turned and ran back up the steps, SeeDs hot on his tail. The SeeD force pursued Seifer across the central platform the elevators were located on.  
  
Quistis watched him run, not following the renagade cadet immediately. Rather, she considered what his plan was. Seifer wasn't the type to panic and retreat in the face of impossible odds, which was presented by the half-dozen or more SeeDs chasing him. But, the only other way off that platform was to hop the railing and attempt to swim through the pool ringing the platform. But then, with his junctions, Seifer might be able to clear the pool . . . .  
  
That was apparently Seifer's intent as he ran straight for the platform railing between him and the pathway leading to the Quad. Quistis scrambled as quickly as she could in that direction, hoping to intercept Seifer before he could get out of or past the pool.  
  
Seifer reached the railing and hopped up on it. Then he spotted Quistis getting between himself and the Quad. He grinned and leaped.  
  
His GF-enhanced powers hurled him above and over the pool, but though he probably had more than enough power to clear the walkway and end up splashing down into the water on the outer edge of the outer walkways, he cut his jump short. Seifer landed on the inner railing of the outer walkway, perfectly balanced, right in front of Quistis.  
  
She immediately uncoiled her whip and snapped it at Seifer, attempting to coil it around his legs or arms and pull the cadet down. In response, he cartwheeled to the right, still balanced on the railing. The whip missed completely, but Quistis pursued, snapping the whip a second and third time. Seifer repeated the cartwheel and then pulled a backflip along the railing, keeping away from Quistis's striking rante.  
  
As the whip shot in a fourth time, Seifer altered his momentum, instead flipping forward and over the whip. He landed right in front of the pursuing Quistis, and immediately hopped down, with Hyperion returning to its sheath in an instant. Before Quistis could do anything more than begin to bring her rante back around, Seifer's free left hand grabbed her whip hand. His right planted itself against her stomach, and then he pushed, propelling his former Instructor back towards the railing. Then, he lifted, and Quistis's feet left the floor.  
  
And then she was falling as Seifer tossed her over the railing of the outer walkway, causing her to splash down into the outer pool.  
  
"Sorry 'bout that!" Seifer shouted with a grin as he took off towards the Quad, leaving Quistis in the pool.  
  
-------------------  
  
Seifer wasn't a fan of nonlethal combat. He had a general preference for using the sharpened edge of his gunblade to ensure his foes wouldn't get back up. It was in his aggressive nature, his philosophy; a living enemy was one that could still come at your back.  
  
But his enemy was now Garden, and even Seifer, consumed by his mission, both to escape and for the greater objective in Timber, could not bring himself to harm his former classmates and comrades.  
  
Well, not permanently, at least. Hyperion had blood on it, but it wasn't the blood of the dead.  
  
A SeeD stood in Seifer's way, a broadsword in her hand. She took a quick swing at the escaping cadet, aiming for his weapon. An attempt to disarm him, obviously. Seifer obliged, holding his gunblade out for her to hit. Hyperion was knocked aside, almost out of Seifer's hand, but as the weapon went out wide Seifer's free hand shot up, a Fire spell charging in his hands. The magic discharged, the flames hurling the SeeD back. She didn't get a chance to get back up as Seifer soccer kicked her in the stomach, hurling her forward and tripping up another SeeD in Seifer's path.  
  
That SeeD nearly fell on his face, but managed to recover in time to look up and take Hyperion's butt in the mouth. The hit laid the mercanary out flat, and cleared the path to the Quad. Seifer hurried down that path. He managed to make it to the pathway leading to the Quad when he was confronted by a cadet, who made the focusing gestures of a spell. Her hand swept towards Seifer, and a powerful Thundara spell erupted at the escaping cadet.  
  
Seifer threw himself forward, just beneath the lightning blast, and reached out to the cadet. He sensed the numerous magical energies she held, including one that would be of particular aid to him.  
  
Seifer Drew the magical energies from the cadet, and even as she was casting another spell, he finished releasing some of the energies he had stolen.  
  
All at once, everything slowed down for Seifer. Well, not really; Seifer was just thinking and processing the information so fast that everything else seemed to have been slowed down. Every muscle in his body began moving at vastly greater velocities, empowered by magical energies. He watched as the cadet went through the motions of her next spell in slow motion, her fingers and hands dancing as if moving through thick fluid. However, unlike the other cadet, Seifer's body was not impeded.  
  
Thus, even though the cadet had almost finished the casting of her spell when Seifer had cast his own, her opponent still managed to get off a stunning blast of Fire that knocked her off-balance and interrupted her concentration.  
  
Then Seifer was in front of her, and then to her right. His right leg swept out wide and took her legs out from under her, but before she could fall to the floor, and lightning-fast and inhumanly strong slam to her side hurled her over the railing and into the water below.  
  
Then, Seifer was gone, running down the hallway to the Quad faster than humanly possible, thanks to the Haste spells he had drawn from the cadet.  
  
Seifer rounded a bend, and then found sunlight shining on his face as he met the refreshing outside air. He had entered the Quad. The cadet took a quick survey of the area, identifying any threats.  
  
The Quad was the name for the eastern section of Garden, a large, expansive park-like area featuring numerous platforms, terraces, staircases, and trees. It was simultainiously a public meeting place, study area, recreational area, and training ground.  
  
Seifer stood at the entrance to the Quad, a raised platform featuring a planted tree directly in front of him. To his right, he saw open ground leading north . . . and to a squad of closing SeeDs. To his front was the outside wall of the Cafeteria, the south side of which overlooked the Quad. To his left, however, there was a staircase leading down to a landing, which served as a bridge over a stunningly beautiful artificial waterfall, although Seifer didn't have time to appreciate the splendor of the flowing water. And behind Seifer were more SeeDs, closing quickly, some even then casting Haste spells on themselves to aid in the pursuit.  
  
The path to his left the only viable option, Seifer turned that way and ran down the steps. He crossed the landing and hurried down another set, to reach a wide, open section of the Quad. Ahead and to his right was an open path leading to the edge of Garden's ground, and to freedom.  
  
"Seifer!" a voice shouted to his left, and the cadet turned to see another SeeD charging towards him. Well, it looked like he was charging; to Seifer's Haste-enhanced mental processes, the young man was as if moving through thick molasses. Seifer could easily outdistance the man.  
  
But even Seifer, with his Haste spell and magic junctioned to his muscles and reflexes, could not outrun the bullets of the powerful-looking pistol the SeeD had pointed his way.  
  
The pistol itself was a fine piece of firearm, a powerful weapon featuring a scope on top and a laser sight underneath the barrel. The red laser of the sight seemed to lazily track its way up Seifer's body and settled over his shoulder.  
  
"Drop it, Seifer!" the man commanded, although his voice came out slowly, like a tape played at less than full speed. In response, Seifer's hand shot up, and he began focusing on casting a Fire spell to stop the SeeD for a moment.  
  
Despite any appearances that the man was moving in slow motion, the pistol-weilding SeeD was ready for any movement Seifer made. The moment he twitched (even if that twitch brought Seifer's hand around to hurl a spell at him) the SeeD pulled the trigger, the bullet aimed for Seifer's shoulder to disable, not kill.  
  
Seifer stopped casting his spell the instant he saw the flash of the pistol's muzzle. A small, dark streak launched from that pistol, the bullet leaving a barely visible shockwave of displaced air behind it. The metal slug rocketed towards Seifer's shoulder, moving fast even with Seifer's enhanced perceptions and faster reflexes.  
  
Seifer threw his shoulder sideways, and watched as the bullet flew past, almost striking the edge of his white jacket.  
  
The bang of another shot tore Seifer's attention, and he turned back to see a second bullet on the way, aimed for his other shoulder. The cadet twisted out of the way, swinging his other shoulder out of the path of the bullet. Two more shots rang out, the bullets barely an inch apart and flying for Seifer's other side. He twisted once more, moving out of the way of those bullets as well.  
  
The SeeD continued firing, apparently only seeing a flashing blur as Seifer dodged every shot. Three, then four, then five more shots rang out, and Seifer twisted, turned, and bent his body out of the gunfire's way.  
  
He ended his dodging beneath the SeeD's final bullet with his legs splayed out wide and his torso low to the ground, one hand on the ground and Hyperion ready at his side. Seifer shifted his weight to his right leg and leaped to the side. His left hand rose once more as the SeeD desperately reloaded in slow motion.  
  
Seifer's Fire spell took the SeeD in the chest and laid him out flat, burned and groaning.  
  
The threat dealt with, Seifer glanced back to see more SeeDs charging out the doorway leading into the Quad, and the other SeeD squad closing from the north. He didn't have time to fight them.  
  
Seifer turned around and ran in the opposite direction, outdistancing the pursuing SeeD forces and soon leaving Garden behind. If he hurried, he might be able to reach Balamb before Garden sent an alert to the authorities.  
  
Time was not on Seifer's side.  
  
-------------------  
  
Zell hacked a couple times as the train pulled out of the station with a rumbling screech.  
  
"Hyne, this place is dirty," the martial artist remarked.  
  
Squall had to agree. Timber was a city that did not benefit from the advanced technologies available in Balamb or Galbadia, and thus had innefficient, polluting industries. The whole city was dirty and polluted, but there was a kind of charm to the generally blue and gray colors of the city. A sort of honesty and openness. It appealed to Zell and Selphie.  
  
Squall didn't like it.  
  
"Let's get this over with," he said, stepping down a staircase leading to one of the streets outside the station. He made his way down, then paused, noticing a man loitering around the base of the stairs. He was a kid, about Squall's age, maybe a bit older. The remarkable aspect of him was his unremarkability. He wore a blue watchcap on his head, a yellow vest, white T-shirt, black pants and sneakers. Altogether, he looked lke an ordinary teenager in Timber.  
  
However, this ordinary teenager was loitering around the station the SeeDs had gotten off at, at the time they'd gotten off.  
  
Squall paused beside the teenager, looking away. A moment later, in an open, friendly tone, the kid spoke.  
  
"New around here? Man, the forests have changed," the kid remarked.  
  
"But the owls are still around," Squall added, stating the code phrase.  
  
"Indeed. Welcome to Timber, sir. Please follow me." The kid then took a lesuirely stroll down the street, with the three SeeDs following him.  
  
They traveled down the stone streets of the town, and Squall noted the lack of cars or other motor vehicles in the city. The town could almost be said to be backward in its design. Squall saw almost none of the amenities he was used to in Garden or that could be found in Balamb or Galbadia.  
  
"Wait here, sir," the kid suddenly said as they neared another station. Squall and his fellow SeeDs obliged, and the kid hurried out to the station. He paused on the tracks, and then looked around. Squall also looked around, noting dozens of civilians in the nearby area. Possible witnesses? If so, they might have to scrub whatever the kid was planning . . . .  
  
Then, to Squall's shock, the kid took out a signal flare while standing on the train tracks, and lit it.  
  
The SeeD almost ran from his spot and knocked the idiot over, but he paused when he noticed the surrounding civilians only throw him a passing glance and move on, a couple snickering.  
  
"Zell, didn't you say everyone in this town was a resistance member?" Squall asked.  
  
"Yup, just about," Zell replied. "Looks like everyone here knows this guy too." Squall nodded in agreement, then turned back to the kid, who was now waving to something down the tracks. The SeeD looked in that direction to see what appeared to be a yellow-painted train engine barreling down the track.  
  
He glanced back to the kid, to see him gesturing for the train to come on. Then as the train began to apply its brakes, the kid began waving for it to slow down. The train engine was slowing down, but not fast enough apparently, as the kid began waving for it to stop frantically. The speed of the train continued reducing, and the kid waved more frantically.  
  
Squall then realized the train was gonna hit their contact, and he began to step out of his spot and run to the tracks to pull the kid out of the way.  
  
However, before he'd even started the train was almost upon the kid's position. Squall grimaced, expecting to see the contact splatted then and there, but somehow, miraculiously, the train came to a dead stop not three feet from their contact.  
  
The kid, of course, had fallen back on his butt in sheer fright, looking up at the frightenigly painted train engine.  
  
"Idiot!" shouted another teenager as he stepped out of a door on the side of the engine. "How many times have I told you not to stand in front of the train!" The man paused then, looking up at the SeeDs. "So, that them?"  
  
"Yes, sir," the prone kid confirmed.  
  
"Well, call 'em over!" the second man replied, shaking his head. "We're paying 'em a fortune, we can't let them leave now!" The prone man nodded, and turned his head to the SeeDs.  
  
"Please follow me, sir," he began, as his friend helped him stand up.  
  
"Excuse us," the second man responded. "This way." He gestured to the platform by which the train had stopped. The SeeDs nodded and made their way over to the platform, and together, the five stepped into a cleverly concealed door in the car's side. The SeeDs entered a sparse metal cabin, and then the train took off down the tracks.  
  
The second man smiled at the SeeDs. Squall could tell he was young, barely older than their first contact.  
  
"So, you guys are SeeDs?" the man asked. Squall nodded at his declaration of the blatantly obvious.  
  
"I'm Squall, the squad leader." He gestured to the other two SeeDs. "This is Zell, and that's Selphie." The man nodded, and extended his hand.  
  
"Nice to meet ya. I'm Zone, leader of the Forest Owls." Squall did not take the offered hand, only nodding. Zone, unperturbed, shrugged. He stepped over to Selphie, grinning at her and giving her a handshake. On Squall's other side, Zell took a second to wipe off his hand and held it out to Zone.  
  
"So, let's get on with it," Squall said as Zone stepped back in front of the group, Zell obviously forgotten. "What do we do?"  
  
"Take it easy," Zone responded, apparently his easygoing tendencies clashing with Squall's to-the-point attitude. "Let me introduce you to our intelligence specialist." Zone gestured to the remarkably unremarkable man they'd met moments earlier at the station. "You've already met Watts, I see."  
  
Watts grinned and nodded at the SeeDs. He glanced Zell's way as the martial artist, annoyed at being ignored, stepped to the side and began shadow boxing. Like Zone, no one else paid any attention to Zell.  
  
"Well, I guess its just our princess then," Zone said, his words striking Squall as odd. The SeeD had already gotten the impression this was some half-baked operation, and his suspicions only grew at the mention of a "princess."  
  
"Erm, its her nap time, sir," Watts warned Zone, whose eyes widened.  
  
"Aw, man. I woke her up last time, you go."  
  
"No way, sir," Watts replied. "She hurt me last time. Pretty badly too. The bruises still haven't faded, sir."  
  
"Psh. Fine," Zone turned back to Squall. "Hey, Squall, could you go and get the princess for us? She's in the last room at the end of the train."  
  
Squall was assigned to this resistance unit, so he had to take their orders. But, Squall was a highly trained and supremely deadly mercanary warrior hired specifically for his combat expertise. No matter what the impression these rebels had of him, he had to make it abundantly clear that that was his purpose here, not to be a butler for the half-witted rebels.  
  
"Were we hired to run errands?" Squall asked, a bit of menace creeping into his calm voice, and a scowl appearing on his brow that would have sent a squad of Galbadian soldiers running.  
  
Still, despite the malice apparent in his tone, Squall was pleasantly surprised to see Zone take three full steps back and hit the metal bulkead behind him.  
  
"A-Are you angry?" Zone asked in a somewhat quaky voice. The idea of pissing off a mercanary with a reputation like SeeD would get to anyone. Especially if one was in an enclosed space with said mercanary only a few feet away and with his gunblade in easy reach.  
  
"We're not gophers, we're SeeDs," Squall stated. "This is the last time for this kind of thing." His words were stamped with an air of finality as if he had given the rebels a direct order. With that, Squall turned towards the door Zone had indicated and walked out of the cabin.  
  
The next room was a hallway with two doors. Squall headed down to the end, passing the nearer door, which was opened. A quick glance inside showed what looked to be the train's control room, with several members of the rebel faction sitting around either talking or working at their monitors.  
  
Further down the hall, Squall found the door leading into the room of the "princess." As he stepped in, the first thing he noticed was how . . . pink everything was. The room looked like the kind of chamber belonging to a princess out of a fairy tale book, with a carpeted floor, an expensive- looking dresser, even including a huge bed, likely the kind that folded down, since Squall couldn't see anything that big fitting through the corridors of the train.  
  
On the bed, sleeping peacefully, was a slender wisp of a girl. From this angle, with her back turned to Squall, all he could see was her long, shoulder-length black hair and the long blue coat she wore. A pair of white angel wings were embrodiered on the back of her coat, right at her shoulder blades. Even in the bed, she wore a pair of black laced-up boots.  
  
The train suddenly screeched to a halt, and the jolt roused the girl. She rolled over, allowing Squall to see her face, and a sudden recognition hit him.  
  
The princess opened her eyes, and then they focused on Squall. He looked right back, mesmerized by the familiar brown orbs.  
  
"Hey," the girl said in surprise as she sat up. "You're . . . You know, from the party." Squall nodded. "Then, does that mean . . . You're a SeeD?"  
  
Squall nodded again, taking a step towards her.  
  
"I'm Squall," he introduced. "There's two others with me."  
  
Squall was then caught off-guard as a joyous expression crossed the girl's face, and she leaped off the bad. He raised his hands up as the girl almost tackled him, her arms wrapping around his neck. The momentum of her tackling hug spun the both of them around.  
  
"Yes! SeeD is here!" she cheered, as Squall managed to arrest the momentum of the spin and remove the girl's arms from his neck. A flicker of annoyance worked its way onto his face before a slight grin, caused by the girl's exuberance, emerged.  
  
"Take it easy," he said, chuckling slightly. He didn't know SeeD was greeted this enthusiastically by their clients. He gave the girl a quick once-over as he did so, noting the black tank-top she wore, her black shorts, and a dark blue skirt around her waist that ended above lower edge of the shorts. It looked reasonably expensive, he thought. She had to have come from a well-to-do family.  
  
"Its just that I'm so happy!" the girl explained, her smile growing. "I've been sending requests to Garden forever, but nothing . . . I'm so glad I spoke to Cid directly!"  
  
The memory of the girl looking over his shoulder before leaving him at the party flashed through Squall's mind again, with a new meaning attached to it.  
  
"Oh," he said in understanding. "So, you were looking for the Headmaster at the party?" The girl shook her head.  
  
"You know Seifer?" she asked.  
  
The mention of his name jolted Squall. He hadn't been expecting this girl to know Seifer. The mention of the cadet conjured up a wave of unpleasant memories.  
  
"Yeah," Squall responded, a scowl creeping onto his face.  
  
"Well, he was the one who introduced me to Cid," the girl explained. "Cid's such a nice man. I really didn't think SeeD would come out to help a measly little group like us, especially since we don't have huge amounts of money. But, after explaining our situation to him, Cid gave the go ahead right away." She laughed again in happiness. "Now that you guys are here, we'll be able to carry out all kinds of plans!"  
  
Squall nodded along with her, and when she finished, he gestured towards the door.  
  
"I'm heading back to the others. Zone sent me here to wake you up," he said.  
  
"He did?" the girl replied, shaking her head and chuckling some more. "Well, after beaning Watts with a flower vase, I guess I understand why." She paused again, her expression suddenly changing to one of curiousity. "Ummm, Squall, is he here?"  
  
"Who?" Squall asked, not sure what she meant.  
  
"Seifer." Squall shook his head in denial, glad he was doing so. He damn well didn't want Seifer on his squad, especially after Dollet.  
  
"No, he's not a SeeD."  
  
"Oh," the girl murmered, sounding dissappointed. She looked down at the floor, and her hand rose up to a necklace Squall hadn't noticed before. It was a finely wrought silver chain with a single ring hanging from its length.  
  
Squall found himself wondering how this girl was related to Seifer. Was she his girlfriend? Pieces started clicking for Squall, as he realized why Seifer would want to help this girl and why he would have introduced her to Cid.  
  
"Well, let's go," she added, turning away. She stopped again, then turned back. "Oh, I haven't even introduced myself," she said, shaking her head. "I must have gotten too excited . . . ."  
  
"And your name is?" Squall asked.  
  
"Rinoa," she responded. "Rinoa Heartilly."  
  
"Squall Leonhart," Squall said, holding out his hand. Rinoa shook it.  
  
"Very pleased to meet you, Squall," she replied. Rinoa turned her head to the side, a look of idle curiosity on her face. "SeeDs dance quite well, don't they?" Squall shrugged.  
  
"Approach your target inconspiciously at a dance party," he explained. "There may be missions requiring this kind of subterfuge. Its expected of a SeeD to learn various skills."  
  
"Oh," Rinoa responded, sounding a bit dissappointed. "So its work related. That's too bad."  
  
What did she mean by that?  
  
A whine from the direction of the bed caught Squall's attention. He turned back in that direction to see a dog, a brown and white border collie, crawl out from under the furniture. The dog looked up at Squall, then turned its head to Rinoa. It sniffed the air and then walked towards them.  
  
"Oh, let me introduce you," Rinoa said, dropping to her knees and petting the dog. "This is Angelo, my partner."  
  
"A pet?" Squall asked.  
  
"Nah, more like a companion," Rinoa answered. "She's really smart! She knows lots of tricks, and she was trained to protect me. Isn't that right?" Rinoa ran a hand through the dog's fur. "I have some important work to do now, Angelo. Be good, okay?"  
  
The dog whined again, like she understood Rinoa and didn't want to leave her side. Still, the dog obeyed and loped back over to the bed. A single bound put Angelo up on the bed, where she curled up and looked back at Rinoa, almost sadly.  
  
"Come on, let's go," Rinoa added to Squall. "We've got something big planned."  
  
"Like what?" he asked.  
  
"You'll see," Rinoa replied with a grin and a wink, and then stepped out of her room. Squall shrugged, and followed.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------  
  
I love Agents, and I love bullet-dodging. You'll be seeing more bullet- dodging throughout the story, usually during Haste spells or, later on, after the heroes get Cerberus.  
  
Also, yes, I will be making use of Angelo in this story. I like Angelo, and as I own two dogs, I've got plenty of source material to derive for Angelo's behavior and personaility. Its gonna be some trouble to decide when Angelo does and does not show up (she's not gonna be in the prison with Rinoa, for example)  
  
Also, Angelo is female? Yeah, lots of FFVIII players miss that, but Angelo is female. I didn't know until Zell was talking to her in Disc 3 and called her "girl." I was a bit surprised.  
  
Okay, shameless, blatant plug time. Go here: www.chronotrigger.info  
  
Why? Simple. They're doing the same thing I'm doing here, except its a novelization of Chrono Trigger instead of FFVIII. But wait, why is this so different?  
  
Well, these clever little devils are trying to get this published. They are quite literally trying to get Square-Enix to allow authors to publish novels based on games. Wouldn't you guys like to see "The Gunblade Saga" as a fully published novel, complete in hardback, with Squall and Seifer and Rinoa on the cover? These guys want to make this happen.  
  
Go give 'em the support they desperately need. 


	17. Beneath Their Noses

Chapter 14: Beneath Their Noses  
  
Squall introduced Rinoa to the other members of his small squad as they entered the small train cabin. After the pleasantries were exchanged, Rinoa led them into a side room, clearly the planning room for the group's operations, judging by the tables, pegboards, and paper littering the area. The low lighting and atmosphere reminded Squall of movies where the rebels were planning their big operation against the evil empire. The parallels were not lost on him.  
  
"Just stand anywhere you want," Zone said as he followed them into the room. "Just make sure you can see the table with the models on it." Squall nodded and took up a position in front of the table, where he wasn't in anyone's way. The one in question featured a simple model of a pair of trains on parallel tracks, with a couple of intersections between the tracks.  
  
"This is a full-scale operation," Zone stated as Watts entered the room and closed the door. "Our faction, the Forest Owls, will be forever known in the pages of Timber's independence!" Watts and Rinoa grinned and nodded along with their leader's proclamation. "Exciting, huh? You guys will be remembered too!"  
  
The SeeDs were less than impressed. Selphie turned her gaze out the nearest window, poking her fingers through the closed blinds to look outside. Zell leaned against the wall, while Squall's hands sat on his hips. His expression told Zone he didn't want to wait around listening to the speech, but he decided to add to his glare.  
  
"What are we doing?" he asked bluntly.  
  
Zone glanced back at Watts, and they exchanged helpless shrugs before the leader turned back to Squall.  
  
"It all started when we got top-secret info from Galbadia," Zone explained.  
  
"I got the info, sir!" Watts piped in.  
  
"There's a VIP coming into Timber," Zone continued.  
  
"Super V-I-P!" Watts added, excitedly. He was almost wriggling with exuberance.  
  
"His name is Vinzer Deling," Zone continued, and that name caught Squall's attention.  
  
Vinzer Deling. The President For Life of Galbadia, the ruthless dictator who had conquered, one by one, the various territories in the west, defeating the Dollet empire and overrunning Timber. Deling held on to his power through a loyal military command and aristocracy; he wasn't very popular among the regular soldiers or the civilian populace of Galbadia itself. For a brief instant, Squall recalled his dream as Laguna, and the Galbadian soldier's stint in Timber during Deling's war.  
  
On the tail end of that was a realization: It seemed extremely likely that Deling was a target in this mission. Likely for assassination or kidnapping. If that was the case, then this plan had better be perfect. The President's guards were dangerous adversaries, and Squall didn't like the idea of having to fight Deling's escorts. Even if they were the best fighters for hire in the west, Squall doubted only three SeeDs could overwhelm Deling's personal bodyguard.  
  
"Deling is taking a private train into Timber from Deling City," Rinoa explained. "Its heavily armed and loaded with soldiers, which is to be expected of the President's train."  
  
"Our plan is to-" Zone began.  
  
"Blow it to smithereens with a rocket launcher!" Selphie shouted hopefully. Squall turned his head towards her, and a faint grin worked its way onto his face. Not a bad option, considering the defenses Rinoa said were on the train. As he glanced at the diminuative SeeD, Squall noticed Zell wasn't even looking at the Forest Owls, instead having turned his attention to several periodicals and documents pinned to one of the boards.  
  
"Ahh, not quite," Zone responded to Selphie's violent, if practical, solution.  
  
"So get to the point!" Zell growled, turning around, all appearances of patience fading from his face. "Just tell us what to do!"  
  
Rinoa sighed and nodded. She stepped past Zone, and stood beside Squall next to the table.  
  
"Okay, shall we begin?" she said, gesturing for everyone to gather around the table. They did so, with the guys giving tiny Selphie room to look, and Selphie giving elbows to those who didn't give her that room fast enough.  
  
Now that Squall took a closer look at the trains, he noticed the details. The two train tracks were horizontal and ran parallel, with the upper track featuring two train cars, one painted yellow like the Forest Owls' base train. The lower track featured four cars, an engine, two heavily armored military transport cars, and a more finely designed car not unlike the ones used by SeeD. At least, it should have looked finely designed, but the car itself was rather badly constructed and painted terribly. Almost like a four-year-old had made it.  
  
"The yellow car is our base," Rinoa explained, gesturing to that car. She tapped the car attached in front of it. "This is the dummy car. We've designed it to be exactly like the President's car, at least from the inside."  
  
Rinoa moved down to the second train.  
  
"This is their train," she said. "It has four cars, the locomotive, the first escort, the President's car, and then the second escort. Both escorts are loaded with troops. Our objective is to seize the President in his car with our base car. To do this without alerting the escort cars before we can get clear, we'll have to switch the President's car with our dummy car. We'll use two switch points along this part of the train tracks to accomplish this."  
  
"So, how exactly are we gonna pull this off?" Zell asked. "Seems kinda impossible."  
  
"Not quite," Rinoa replied. She flicked a small switch on the model, and the trains began moving. "We can pull it off in seven steps. First, we pull our train up alongside theirs, and then our boarding team jumps from the roof of the dummy car to the roof of the second escort."  
  
"Jump?" Selphie said, surprised.  
  
"How far apart are the lines?" Squall asked, agreeing with Selphie's questioning.  
  
"Not far, sir," Watts responded. "Normal humans could probably make it, and with those Guardian Force junctions you SeeDs have, it wouldn't be hard to pull off for you guys."  
  
"Okay," Squall said with a nod. "Second step?"  
  
"Cross the second escort car," Rinoa explained.  
  
"The second escort is equipped with sensors, sir," Watts added. "You'll have to proceed with caution."  
  
"Tech officers are on board, monitoring them," Rinoa said. "I'll cover them and the sensors later. The third step involves crossing the President's car. There aren't any sensors or guards."  
  
"Deling hates the presence of his guards or having sensors around him," Zone added. "Which is why he keeps them out of his car."  
  
"Fourth step involves uncoupling the first escort car from the President's car," Rinoa said. "It has to be very quick, and done before the first switch point. Otherwise-"  
  
"Kaboom!" Selphie shouted. "Right?" Rinoa nodded grimly. As they spoke, the Presiden't car and the first escort seperated.  
  
"Yeah, so we'll have to move fast." Squall opened his mouth, about to ask Rinoa about the uncoupling process, but she stopped him with an upraised hand. "I'll explain the uncoupling process later. After the cars are uncoupled, we have the base and dummy move in. The trains will automatically re-link and will be moving together." The top pair of cars crossed the switch point and linked up into one long train.  
  
"We uncouple the trains before we reach the second switch point," Rinoa continued, and the trains seperated once more as they reached the second switch point. "By the time the Galbadians know what happened, we'll be long gone with the President's car. We have exactly five minutes to pull this off."  
  
Squall had questions, but Zell beat him to the punch.  
  
"Five minutes? Will that be enough?"  
  
"We've run simulations," Zone responded. "It should only take three minutes to pull it all off. Piece of cake for SeeDs, right?"  
  
"Of course!" Selphie shouted. Now that it looked like some real action was going to happen, she seemed more than eager to get to the mission. "Too easy!"  
  
Squall wished he could share her exuberance, but he saw many flaws in the plan. It required a lot of good timing, and he had a few questions, particularly about how they were going to go about the uncoupling process.  
  
"Okay, now about the sensors," Rinoa said. "Watts?"  
  
"The guards have a sound sensor, and also a temperature sensor, sir," Watts explained. "They're both directed up, and are wired through plates in the roof so they detect what's going on on the rooftop. The effective range of each sensor is about the width of a window. If the sound sensor picks up any large noises beyond the wind above the train, it'll go off, so you'll have to be very sneaky and quiet, sir!"  
  
The SeeDs nodded at Watts's advice.  
  
"The temperature sensor will pick you up if you stay still. Any abnormally high temperature in the area the sensor is scanning will set it off, so dodge the sensor if you can."  
  
"How will we know when they point the scanners at us?" Squall asked. "We can't see through the metal."  
  
"Optic cable," Zone responded. He held up a minature flat television screen and a slender cable with a glass end, connected by a long coil of wire. "This camera can be slipped in through air vents or their windows. It connects to the flatscreen, and with it you can see when and where the guards are checking the sensors."  
  
"How will we know which sensor is being checked?" Zell asked.  
  
"You can't, not unless you spot the guard using it, sir." Watts responded. "There's a blue-uniformed junior officer watching the sound sensor, and a red-uniformed senior officer observing the temperature sensor, sir."  
  
"So, move quickly, and quietly," Squall said with a nod. "Avoid lingering around the temperature sensor, if possible, and don't make any noise around the sound sensor."  
  
"That's about it," Rinoa said. "Now, about uncoupling the cars."  
  
"Yeah, question!" Selphie said, hopping up and down. "How do we uncouple the cars from a moving train?"  
  
"We can't uncouple the cars directly," Rinoa responded. "We'll have to enter codes to disable the circuts controlling the coupling process. If we do so, the cars will uncouple automatically."  
  
"Where do we enter these codes?" Squall asked.  
  
"The mantainence technician's access panel, just below the door you use to board the train," Rinoa replied. "You'll need to rappel down the side, and then enter the codes. I'll be with the boarding team, so I'll be relaying the codes to whoever is entering them. The keypad will have four buttons on it, corresponding to the numbers in the code. But instead of numbers, there will be symbols. We only have the codes in numerical format, though."  
  
"How will we know which is which?" Zell asked.  
  
"The keys are arranged in a line, starting with one and ending with four," Rinoa explained. "You'll only have about five seconds to enter the code, or it will change and the previous entries will become invalid. We do have the sequence by which they change, so I can still supply you with the codes, but we'll have to restart the whole process."  
  
Squall nodded in understanding, and he turned to his squad. Zell glanced up at his team leader, looked back down at the model, and then shrugged.  
  
Selphie, however, seemed somewhat puzzled.  
  
"Hey, by the way," she began. "This train model's nice, but the President's car looks real shabby. Why is that?"  
  
"Rinoa made it, that's why," Zone explained. "Everything else we bought at the gift store."  
  
"Yeah, I thought some kid made it," Zell commented. "Paint job's ugly as Diablos's butt, too." Squall didn't comment, but he did notice how terribly made the Presiden't car was in the model.  
  
"Oh, shut up!" Rinoa complained, sticking her tongue out at Zell. "I made it look that way on purpose. It represents my hatred for Deling and his whole government."  
  
Squall glanced at Rinoa to see honest hate and anger stamped on her face as she glared at the model. Zell, however, was unimpressed. He muttered something and leaned back against the wall.  
  
"Its one of . . . the ugliest things I've ever seen," Selphie commented. "You must really hate him."  
  
The train suddenly shuddered, and began moving once more.  
  
"Moving again," Rinoa said. "We must have finished the hook-up process with our dummy car." She turned to Zone and Watts, her expression asking them if they were going to come with her on the mission.  
  
Zone made a pained face, and clutched his stomach.  
  
"You know me, and my terminal nervousness problem with my tummy!" he said. "Ouch, my stomach . . . ."  
  
Watts shrugged, and stepped back in the face of Rinoa's gaze.  
  
"Information gathering is my specialty, ma'am," he responded, then turned and hurried out the door, not wanting to get involved in the execution of the mission.  
  
Rinoa shook her head at her comrades' cowardice, then turned back to Squall.  
  
"We'll be ready soon," she said. "Are you guys prepared?"  
  
Squall's hand dropped to his gunblade, and he drew it out. Rinoa watched as his practiced hands and eyes inspected the weapon and the rounds in the chamber, before sliding the weapon back in its sheath. A quick check of his knives, gear, and a mental rundown of his junctioned magic and his Guardian Forces completed the inspection. It had taken less than thirty seconds. He glanced back at Zell and Selphie, and the affirming nods of his squad responded to the unanswered question.  
  
"Ready," he responded as he turned back to Rinoa.  
  
-------------------  
  
"How much longer is this going to take, miss Trepe?" the conductor asked, not sounding very happy. He looked up and down the length of his train, then glanced at his watch.  
  
"I'm sorry," Quistis apologized. "But we have to detain the train until we're certian he isn't on board."  
  
"I understand that," the conductor replied. "But I need to know how much longer the delay will be until I can leave. There's talk that with Deling in Timber, all the train lines will be closed for security reasons, and I don't want to have to deal with angry passengers who are mad that their train couldn't make it because it was detained by you under Balamb's permission."  
  
"Garden will cover the costs if that happens," Quistis assured him. "But we need to make sure he didn't escape by boarding your train. He's extremely unruly, and we already have a team operating in Timber. He could threaten the operation there." At that moment Jofey, a SeeD who had accompanied Quistis as part of the search team in Balamb, emerged from the train.  
  
"The train is empty," Jofey said with a shake of his head as he stepped off the train. "He's gone."  
  
"That's impossible," Quistis responded, looking down the length of the train. "The conductor said he bought a ticket and boarded."  
  
"Well, he's gone now," Jofey replied, the SeeD's hand resting on his sword, in its belt by his side. "We searched the whole thing. There's no way Seifer could have avoided us."  
  
"Does this mean you are finished?" the train conductor said, his voice sounding impatient.  
  
Quistis sighed, and nodded.  
  
"Yes, we're done here," she said. "Sorry to have wasted your time."  
  
The conductor nodded, and stepepd back onto his train to tell the crew that they were ready to leave now. As he did so, several more armed SeeDs stepped off the train, looks of dissappointment on their faces.  
  
"If he's not on board, then where could he have gone?" Quistis asked as the SeeDs gathered around her. Jofey and a few other SeeDs shrugged.  
  
"It could have been a foil to throw us off," Elain, a female SeeD, suggested, leaning on her halberd. "He may be taking another route out of Balamb."  
  
"But how?" Quistis replied, shaking her head. "We've got the harbor covered, and there's no airfield anywhere near Balamb, so how could he have escaped?"  
  
"Seifer's a clever one," Jofey said with a shrug of his broad shoulders. "He's been slipping out of Garden since as long as I can recall, and he knows our security and search methods perfectly."  
  
"It doesn't matter," Elain added. "He can't escape from Balamb without either the trains or a boat."  
  
"There's a half-dozen small towns on the coast," Quistis said with a shake of her head. "He could have gotten a boat from any of them."  
  
"We've got people checking them out right now," Elain responded. "If Seifer's taken or stolen a boat from any of them, we'll know." Quistis reluctantly nodded.  
  
"Okay," she began, having to raise her voice as the train's engine started behind her. "Jofey, you and two other SeeDs stake out the train station. Elain, I want you to take a search team to the harbor and sweep every boat that can cross the ocean, to either Dollet, Timber's coast, or Fisherman's Horizon."  
  
"You think he'd be desperate enough to go to FH?" Jofey asked, surprised.  
  
"Yes," Quistis confirmed with a nod. "From the way he was talking about Timber, I'd say Seifer would be willing to go all the way to Timber through Fisherman's Horizon."  
  
"There's no trains running through there," Elain stated, sounding unconvinced. "You think he'd walk all the way across the Horizon Bridge?"  
  
Quistis nodded.  
  
"Okay," Elain replied with a shrug. "Whatever you say."  
  
"I want the rest of you to cover every possible entrance or exit from Balamb," Quistis instructed the SeeDs. "No one is to get out without being checked." The other SeeDs nodded.  
  
"And you?" Elain asked, arcing her eybrows. "What are you going to do?" Quistis glanced at Jofey.  
  
"Jofey said it best," she explained. "Seifer's been dodging our security methods for as long as we can remember. If he managed to slip past our net, I'll be in Timber to catch him."  
  
-------------------  
  
Squall was impressed with the dummy car the Forest Owls were attaching to the front of their base. The vehicle was finely appointed, and looked exactly like the inside of the real President's car, judging by the recon photos Watts had obtained of the real thing. Everything from the carpets to the chairs to the mini-chandelier, even a small television screen built into the wall under a sliding panel, had been replicated.  
  
But, the most impressive aspect of the car that had been replicated was the President himself. It was a life-sized, fully animatronic replica of Deling, complete with a face that almost perfectly resembled the real dictator's. However, he didn't think it would withstand much scrutiny up close with a detailed inspection.  
  
"Aw," Tim, the Forest Owl who made the fake President, said when Squall had voiced his concerns. "That won't be a problem. There'll be a newspaper covering up his face, and plus, I've added a motion detector that activates whenever someone gets close. Try it."  
  
Squall did so. When he got about close enough for a good look at the President, the head rose up slightly, as if looking up from a newspaper it was reading.  
  
"I'm in a very bad mood right now," the dummy declared, its mouth moving in good lip-synch with the words. "If there's nothing in particular, I order you to leave, immediately!" The dummy sounded the part, replicating Deling's voice well, and sounding suitably angry and irritated. Squall gave Tim a nod of approval.  
  
"Seems pretty real, huh?" Tim said with a grin. "No one will ever realize its a fake until its too late! With what I programmed him to say, no guard will ever look over the paper!"  
  
"Unless they want twenty lashes and one month's pay lost!" another Forest Owl added, to some laughter.  
  
Squall had left shortly afterward, meeting Rinoa, Zell, and Sephie back in the main cabin in the base car. Of the group, only Squall and Selphie carried weapons. Zell didn't need them, but Rinoa . . . .  
  
"We're's your weapon?" he asked, to which she shrugged. The girl reached under her coat and patted a pair of knives in their sheaths at her waist.  
  
"Usually I carry a slashing crossbow," Rinoa explained. "The kind that returns like a boomerang. But it won't do me much good on top of a speeding train, so I've only got my backups and magic."  
  
"You use magic?" Selphie asked, surprised.  
  
"Yeah," Rinoa replied. "I took some self-defense training by a reputable master in Deling City, and a former military magic specialist in Dollet gave me some instruction in using magic. The Forest Owls taught me some more, so I've had enough to stand even with a Galbadian trooper."  
  
Squall nodded, glad to hear that Rinoa would be able to hold her own in the coming operation. At that point, Watts entered the cabin.  
  
"Okay, sir!" he said, excitedly. "We're close to the train! Are you ready?" Squall glanced to his teamates, once more getting the confirmation from them that they were prepared for the operation.  
  
"We're good to go," Squall stated.  
  
-------------------  
  
Quistis stepped into the private SeeD cabin, and gave it quick sweep from the door. There seemed to be nothing amiss. The curtains were in place, the beds were unrumpled, and the closet door was shut and sealed. Seifer wasn't in the room.  
  
She let out a breath and shut the door behind her. Quistis crossed the room and set her belt and equipment pouch on the couch, along with her coiled rante and knives, then sat down beside them. She stretched out slightly, relaxing. She welcomed a bit of peace after Garden's mad chase to recapture Seifer.  
  
Though as she relaxed, closing her eyes, Quistis wondered why she had decided that she herself was going to be the one to stop Seifer if he did slip their nets. It was understandable that she would be the only one to go, as they had only so much manpower, and Quistis was the best SeeD sent to Balamb, and they'd obvously want the best in Timber if they could only spare one.  
  
But yet, there was something else . . . another reason why Quistis was going herself that stemmed from motivations beyond mere logical measurements of skill. But what was it?  
  
Concern. That was it. Quistis was worried about Seifer, her onetime student and the largest failure on her list of students. Quistis was concerned for her former student's well being.  
  
Quistis shook her head at that notion. Why would she be concerned for Seifer? After all, he'd openly insulted her, and oftentimes scorned her descisions and orders. But yet, he was a failure, something that Quistis desperately wanted to correct. Maybe by going after him, Quistis was subconciously trying to mend her mistakes?  
  
She sighed and shook her head once more. Standing up, Quistis began to walk to the console on the far wall, opposite the bed. Maybe she should order something to drink. Some wine might help her relax.  
  
Then something hard and heavy clubbed the back of her head, and Quistis went spinning down to the floor. Her vision went blurry, yet as she fell she saw a figure behind her. White coat, blue vest-  
  
-Seifer!  
  
"Sorry, Quistis," he muttered as her vision began to fade, blackness closing about her. Desperately, Quistis tried casting a spell, but she couldn't focus. The blackness engulfed her senses, and she fell into unconciousness.  
  
-------------------  
  
Seifer watched Quistis pass out, and then shifted his junctioned magic around. He focused his magical energies on his magical power, and cast a Sleep spell on Quistis while she was out. The empowered magic would render her unconcious for at least an hour or more.  
  
With Quistis safely out, Seifer turned back to the bed. While before, it had been nicely made, now the cover was thrown off, to reveal a large, square hole cut in the matress, large enough for himself to have hidden himself in while he covered himself with the sheets. He stepped over to the bed, and took hold of the sheet.  
  
A couple of minutes later, he had cut three long strips from the bedsheets. With these, he securely bound Quistis's wrists and ankles, and gagged her. That done, he focused on her, Drawing out her Guardian Forces. He already had the same ones Quistis possessed, so the ones he'd Drawn became simply stones in his hand. Without her GFs, Quistis wouldn't be likely to escape before they reached Timber.  
  
Once Seifer was certian Quistis couldn't get free, he walked over to the door controls. He opened the sliding door, and then stabbed his gunblade into the inside control panel. One shot blew it apart. He then stepped outside, and shut the door with the outside controls. A tap of a button locked the door.  
  
Quistis was contained.  
  
A minute later, Seifer walked up to the conductor. He handed the man a wad of gil.  
  
"The lady in the SeeD cabin doesn't want to be disturbed until we reach Timber," he explained. The conductor pocketed the gil with a nod.  
  
"Oh, yeah," Seifer added, handing the conductor an envelope. "Make sure that gets mailed to Quistis Trepe at Balamb Garden. Its very important to her." Inside that envelope were Quistis's Guardian Force stones.  
  
"Of course, Mister Almasy," the conductor said with a smile.  
  
"Cut the 'Mister' crap," Seifer said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Its just Seifer."  
  
-------------------  
  
Squall edged forward on the roof of the fake Presidential train car. The wind whipped his hair, and the sheer force of the passing air pushed hard on him. Still, it wasn't enough to stop the SeeD, or even to really slow him down much, considering his junctions.  
  
Squall stopped as he reached the front end of the fake car, and looked back to Rinoa, Selphie, and Zell as his teamates approached, also crawling on the roof. While he waited, Squall turned back the the steadily approaching train ahead and slightly to the left of theirs. On both sides of the train tracks, forests and rolling plains passed the two vehicles as they traveled through through Timber's countryside.  
  
"We'll catch up soon!" Rinoa shouted over the wind as she reached him, to which he nodded. Squall looked back to Zell, who was carrying the optic cables. He would be responsible for watching the guards, and he already had the portable screen strapped to his left forearm.  
  
His team gave him the thumbs up, and Squall nodded. he turned back to the approaching train, to see it have come much closer. Squall judged the distance, and nodded.  
  
"That's close enough!" he shouted when they were thirty feet behind the car. Rinoa nodded, and waved behind her. A Forest Owl who was standing at the top of the train nodded, and shouted down into the door. The relay to the engine room was quick, and at twenty feet between the two cars, the distance became stable.  
  
"Zell, you're first!" Squall shouted, stepping to the side. Zell nodded and moved to the edge, and with a shout of "Geronimooooo!" he leaped the distance. His GF-enhanced muscles hurled him across the gap, and he landed with ease on the roof. Selphie was next, and with a cheer of "Whoo- hoo!" she too was on the rooftop of the second escort. Squall gestured to Rinoa, who crawled up beside him.  
  
"Don't drop me," she warned, slipping an arm around his neck. Squall shrugged as Rinoa climbed onto his back. Her arms locked around Squall's neck, and she clutched them tightly.  
  
Then Squall leaped, flying through the air with shocking ease, the wind whipping his hair once more. For an instant, there was nothing between the two and the rushing ground below but air.  
  
And then he landed, perfectly balanced, on the roof of the second escort.  
  
"Okay!" Rinoa shouted, checking her watch. "From now on we have exactly . . . five minutes to complete the operation!"  
  
-------------------  
  
Sargent Aves looked over his men. Of the thirty Galbadian soldiers assigned to the President's second escort, two-thirds of that number were asleep. The remaining ten men were either talking among themselves, or in PFC Jern's case, watching his sound sensor monitor.  
  
Aves sat back in his chair, and glanced at his watch. They'd be in Timber within three hours. Then, the President could do his thing and they could go home. Aves was looking forward to getting back to Galbadia. He had three weeks leave scheduled when he got back, and his duty as part of the President's Elite Guard kept him busy too often with keeping Deling safe from his many enemies. Maybe he could spend some more time with his son . . . .  
  
"Sargent," one of the soldiers called, gaining Aves' attention. He looked up, to see the soldier in question looking out one of the back windows.  
  
Out there, on the train track running alongside theirs, was a second train, about twenty feet back but steadily moving away. It was an oddly configured train as well, consisting of the locomotive in back pushing the front car. How unusual.  
  
Something about the train set off alarm bells in the officer's head. He turned to PFC Jern.  
  
"Jern, get that sound sensor up and running," Aves ordered. The soldier nodded and hopped to it. "The rest of you, on alert." Aves headed over to the temperature sensor while he was doing so. He activated the device, not even bothering to check it to see if it was running properly. He wouldn't need to, as Aves knew his machinery worked properly at all times. It never failed; after all, he was the one who serviced it!  
  
"Sir?" another soldier, PFC Elick, asked. "Should we alert the President?"  
  
"Negative, private," Aves said with a definative shake of his head. "We'll shoot a message to the first escort, but we're not going to disturb the President unless we need to. He's a politician, not a soldier, and he's more likely to panic if he thinks something is wrong."  
  
"Understood, sir," the soldier responded with a salute.  
  
"Jern!" Aves shouted. "That sensor up and running yet?"  
  
"Its online, sarge!" Jern replied.  
  
"Alright, PFC," Aves began. "You sweep starting from the rear of the car. I'll start at the front. Everyone else, be at alert. I want those guns loaded and cocked, and that magic ready to go! Elick, be ready to send an alert to the first escort if we get a positive reading for an intruder, hear me?"  
  
"Sir, yes sir!"  
  
The troopers never realized that everything they were doing was being recorded on the optic camera poking through the window.  
  
-------------------  
  
"Yo, Squall!" Zell shouted.  
  
"I'm right here," Squall responded, somewhat more quietly. "I can hear you just fine."  
  
"Oh, sorry," Zell replied with a shrug. "Umm, anyway, we'd better get moving. They're suspicious."  
  
"Are the sensors online?"  
  
"I think so, yeah," Zell replied. "Looks like . . . the guard with the sound sensor is moving back. The red guard is moving to the front."  
  
"Okay, so we have to move very quietly from here on," Squall said with a nod. He thought for a moment. "It'll be too noisy and will probably register on the temperature sensor if we all go at once. Zell will go first, you can signal to us when its clear and when the guards are approaching." Squall held up his index finger. "One finger for sound sensor getting near us. Two fingers for temperature." Zell nodded. "And be sure to indicate which direction they're coming at us from. Rinoa, you're after Zell. Then Selphie, then me."  
  
The group nodded, and Zell moved forward, placing his hands and feet precisely as he stalked over the panels of the roof. After about ten feet, he stopped, glanced at his flatscreen TV, and then stood up partially and ran the rest of the way in a low crouch, not stopping until he reached the front of the car.  
  
As soon as he had done so, Zell spun around, and glanced down at his flatscreen. He glanced up and nodded to Rinoa.  
  
She nodded back, and began to make her way down the length of the train. She crawled about as well as Zell, although her movements were nowhere near as smooth or practiced at the SeeD's.  
  
Zell kept glancing back and forth between the monitor and Rinoa, watching the guards. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he held up a hand for her to stop. She did so, and everyone took in a hard breath of air.  
  
Had they been detected?  
  
Zell watched the monitor intently, looking at the two guards. One, the sound officer, had paused, and was rubbing his chin. The man looked down at his sensor, then glanced up at the man in red armor, clearly his superior. He began to open his mouth, then paused, then opened his mouth again. He almost looked . . . confused?  
  
Zell scratched his head, wondering what was going on. Then, the proverbial lightbulb went off over his head as the man shook the sensor.  
  
Something was wrong with the sound sensor!  
  
Zell looked up, and pumped his hand furiously for Rinoa to come on. She looked at him, confused, until he tapped his ear and made a slashing sound. Rinoa nodded, understanding Zell's meaning, and scrambled forward.  
  
Knowing that Squall and Selphie could make use of this as well, Zell leaned over and pumped his arm towards them as well. He made the same signal with his ear and hand, and Squall nodded.  
  
"Selphie, go!" he shouted, and he waved his hand for her to run on. She bolted, running across the top of the train. Squall watched her go, and waited a second, long enough for her to get enough of a lead so that he could follow and they'd both avoid registering on the temperature sensor.  
  
Once he was satisfied that she was far enough ahead to avoid detection, Squall began to follow after her. By now, Rinoa had made it to the far end of the car, and Selphie was almost there as well.  
  
Squall almost reached the halfway point when Zell's eyes widened again, and he held up his hand for his squad leader to stop. Squall froze, not even breathing. Zell then looked up, held up one finger, and indicated the sound sensor was directly beneath Squall, and more importantly, it was working. Zell looked down again, and then glanced up. With a gesture of two fingers, Squall knew that the temperature sensor was headed his way as well.  
  
And just like that, Squall was suddenly trapped, unable to run, but unable to stay put either.  
  
-------------------  
  
PFC Jern was trained in operating the sound sensor he held in his hands, and thus, as he began his sweep from the end of the train, he could tell something was wrong. The sound register seemed to be offline somehow. So, barely a few steps into his sweep, Jern paused, rubbing his chin.  
  
Sargent Aves, his obvious superior, had been responsible for servicing the sensors on the train right before it left, and making sure they were operating. If something was wrong with the sensor, then it was his fault and would be his responsibility.  
  
Jern began to open his mouth to tell his superior what was wrong, but then paused. What would the sargent say if Jern questioned his work on the sensor, considering that Aves was very proud of his mechanical and technical skills? And how would Aves respond to Jern's challenging his superior's work in front of the rest of his men?  
  
But still, there was the possibility of intruders, and if Jern didn't tell his sargent something was wrong, then that could comprimise the President's security. And Aves certianly wouldn't take the blame for it. In the Galbadian military, if an officer could use a lesser ranking soldier as a scapegoat, they usually did. If something went wrong with the security system, Jern would be the one with the pay cut and demotion, not Aves.  
  
Not sure what to do, Jern frowned, and then shook the sound sensor, and tapped it a few times. To his relief, the sensor began operating, and he let out an audible sigh of relief.  
  
"Something wrong, PFC?" Aves demanded, glancing back at his subordinate.  
  
"Um, no sir!" Jern replied with a salute. "Sensor's operating fine!"  
  
"Good," Aves stated with a nod. "Those things always work fine. I designed 'em, you know!" The sargent chortled, and the rest of the group of soldiers laughed with him, even though most knew Aves was just boasting.  
  
At that moment, Jern's sensor beeped faintly, and he looked down at it.  
  
"Sargent, I think I got something," he called. "Very faint reading, sir." The whole train shushed in an instant. Several soldiers' hands clutched their weapons more tightly now, ready for action in an instant. Aves immediately checked his sensor, then began advancing down the train, eyes riveted on his sensor.  
  
"Elick, that hand better be hovering over the alarm button," Aves called as he moved down towards Jern, sweeping the ceiling very methodically. If there was something up there, his sensor would spot it.  
  
-------------------  
  
Squall's mind raced. He couldn't move, probably not even jump. If he did, he'd surely be spotted on the sound sensor. But if he stayed put, that only delayed the inevitable reading he'd make on the temperature sensor.  
  
Movement made sound, and his staying in place would trigger the temperature sensor. But what other options did he have? There was no way he could hide his body heat.  
  
Or wasn't there?  
  
As Aves closed in with the temperature sensor, Squall focused,and called up a basic Blizzard spell. He had to concentrate very hard now, to ensure the spell went as he needed it to.  
  
A Blizzard spell was really a misnomer. The name conjured up the image of a snowstorm, but in reality, the basic spell simply created a heavy block of ice that shattered on contact after being hurled by telekinetic force. However, magic was a mallable thing. If one focused their will and concentrated enough during the casting, one could somewhat shape the result of the spell one was casting.  
  
Such was what Squall was doing. He didn't want to hurl the ice, and he didn't want it to shatter, either. What he needed was for it to stay intact long enough. Just for a few seconds, really. That was all he needed.  
  
But manipulating the magic wasn't easy. Squall was a combat specialist, who used magic in a supportive fashion, supplementing his skills with the gunblade and his junctions. He knew how to cast advanced spells using his Guardian Forces, but had only taken the most basic magical manipulation classes in Balamb Garden. GF spellcasting somewhat limited what one could do with spells, so those classes weren't as heavily emphasized there as they were in Trabia Garden.  
  
Squall focused on the block of ice forming overhead. He needed it to be the right density and exist for the right amount of time, which was really as long as he could get it to. He didn't want it to go flying anywhere, either. If everything went as he wanted it to, the ice block would fall right into his hands.  
  
The Blizzard spell finished casting, and a block of ice, slightly larger than normal and signifigantly denser, finished forming. Instead of flying anywhere, it simply dropped. Squall deftly caught it, almost sighing in relief that the spell had acted the way he needed it to. He also almost cringed; the ice was bone-chillingly cold, and if it weren't for his junctions, his hands might have started going numb.  
  
But he didn't have time to think about that. Within moments, that temperature sensor would be scanning him.  
  
-------------------  
  
"Lemme have a look-see here," Aves said, looking down at his temperature sensor. "There's no way anyone could have slipped past my scan, so he's either here, or further back. And he'd only be further back if he slipped your scan, Jern."  
  
"No way, Sarge," Jern replied with a defiantive shake of his head. "Been watching this thing like a Thrustavies. No way he could have slipped forward or backward without me hearing him."  
  
"Good," Aves replied with a nod, scanning up into the area directly over Jern. "Nothing slips past my scanners. Hmmm, let's see . . . ." Aves watched his scanner for any abnormally high temperature. After several seconds, the scanner showed him a negative. There wasn't anything up there giving off any body heat.  
  
"Well, PFC, looks like we were mistaken," Aves said with a chuckle. "No way in hell there's anyone up there. But, let's sweep to the back in case somehow something did get past your watch, eh?"  
  
"Of course, sir," Jern replied, and they began moving towards the back of the car.  
  
-------------------  
  
Zell waved, and Squall was more than happy that both sensors had moved on. He stood up, and hefted the magical ice shard he had placed between his legs to mask his body heat. With a quick upwards heave, the ice chunk went flying up and away, shattering in midair a good hundred or so feet behind the train. Squall scrambled forward, and soon reached the front of the car.  
  
"Wow!" Selphie said, looking suprised. "That's some tough manipulation you did back there, especially considering you cast with GFs."  
  
"You were trained in manipulation?" Squall asked as they began moving down the President's car.  
  
"Like any good student out of Trabia isn't!" she replied.  
  
-------------------  
  
Lietenant Griff glanced at his watch as he leaned back in his chair.  
  
"Ah, time for the report," he said, glancing up at the private sitting across from him in the first escort, Private Sivern. Unlike his commander, Sivern was not leaning back with both boots on his table, acting totally nonchalant even with the warning from the second escort concerning possible intruders.  
  
"Private, if you'll do the honors?" Griff said with a wave of his hand. Sivern hesitated for a second, a retort on his lips concerning how he'd been the one to make the standard five-minute report to the President the last twenty-seven times, and that he'd appreciate if the Lieutenant followed the damn procedure he'd outlined for this trip.  
  
But Sivern said nothing, instead simply nodding and heading back.  
  
"Stupid officers," Sivern muttered, shaking his head at the fat laziness the President's guards showed as he opened the door between cars. Opening the door into the President's car, Sivern once more had to supress a whistle at the luxury appointments.  
  
President Deling himself, a somewhat overweight, graying, dark-haired man in his sixties, was sitting in the same spot on the same couch Sivern had seen him in last time. The President glanced his way, slightly annoyed at the constant doting his guards were putting him through.  
  
"Sir!" Sivern said, snapping to attention and saluting. "Everything is in order, sir!"  
  
"You again," Deling muttered, shaking his head. "That's twenty-seven times now. How many more times are you going to disturb me with that meaningless report?"  
  
"Sir, I'm sorry, sir," Sivern replied. "But, it is my duty, sir."  
  
"Hard to believe that anyone would put up with this nonsense," the President muttered. "But I suppose its none of my business. Dismissed."  
  
"Sir, yes sir!" Sivern replied with another salute. He turned to leave but paused, sniffing the air. "Sir, do you smell something?"  
  
"No, Private, I do not," Deling replied.  
  
"But there's something slightly rank in the air, sir," Sivern said, looking around. "Are you sure you don't smell anything?"  
  
"I'm certian," Deling answered, his voice very cold and almost dangerous. "I smell nothing. You are dismissed, Private."  
  
"Of course, sir. Forgive me." Sivern saluted again and walked out of the car, shaking his head.  
  
"Great, just great," he muttered as he returned to his car. He shouldn't have pushed the smell issue. He might have insulted the President himself! "There goes next month's pay check. How am I gonna propose to her now? I'm gonna have to put it off again . . . ."  
  
-------------------  
  
"'Kay, optic cable's inserted," Zell called as he finished slipping tha cable through the vent on top of the first escort. "I've got a good view of the whole car from here."  
  
"Good," Squall nodded, finishing fastening the cable to his belt. "Selphie, you got this end?"  
  
"Yup!" Selphie replied, coiling the cable around her hands.  
  
"I've got the codes," Rinoa said, holding up a piece of paper that flitted in the wind. "You ready?" Squall nodded.  
  
"Zell, anyone near the rear door?"  
  
"Nope," Zell replied with a shake of his head. "No one moving. I've got a single officer in red and a soldier in blue sitting near the rear, but everyone else is towards the front."  
  
"Keep an eye on 'em," Squall ordered, and moved to the edge of the train's roof. Glancing back at Selphie, Squall got a thumbs up, and then dropped down the side of the car, holding onto the cable for dear life.  
  
Selphie stopped the cable precisely, and Squall braced his feet against the rear door, coiling his legs into a crouch so he could get at the control panel, the rushing ground only a couple of feet below.  
  
"Still clear?" he called to Zell.  
  
"You're clear!" Zell shouted back.  
  
"First code!" Squall called as he opened a small panel beneath the door. Surely enough, there was a series of four symbols, a cross, a square, a triangle, and a circle.  
  
"First code is . . . ." Rinoa began. "Four, three, four, one!"  
  
Squall punched in the symbols. Circle, triangle, circle, cross.  
  
"Second code!" he shouted.  
  
"Second code is . . . . Two, one, three, four!" came the reply. Squall punched it in.  
  
"Third!" he shouted.  
  
"Third is-"  
  
"Incoming!" Zell shouted. "Get back up!" Squall was hauled up by Selphie, barely dodging the glance of a wandering blue-uniformed soldier.  
  
"He spot us?" Squall asked, to which Zell shook his head.  
  
"Nah, just talking with the two at the back," he said. "Let's see . . . looks like he's going back now. Umm, you're clear." Squall nodded, and Selphie took the cable in hand once more. He leaped off again, and once more was stopped inches above the rapidly passing ground beneath.  
  
"Okay, third code is . . ." Rinoa continued. "Its one, four, two, one!" Squall pounded the buttons in, and then was quickly hauled back up. He glanced to toward the connected cars, and unsurprisingly, the two disconnected. With nary a sound or movement beyond a faint creaking in the disconnected couplings, the cars came apart.  
  
Moving quickly, the team scrambled to the President's car as it slid away.  
  
"Okay, now, we wait for the others to get in position," Rinoa said, looking back.  
  
She held up a hand, and lit a green flare. That was the signal to the Forest Owl's base car. A responding green flare confirmed that they had been seen and the yellow base, with its false dummy car, sped up. It quickly passed the retreating President's car, and a moment later, reached a junction, sliding onto the same track. The base fell back, reaching the President's car and automatically coupling with it. Then, it sped up, dragging the whole train up to connect with the first escort car. As soon as it met, the cars coupled, and one long train was suddenly formed, linked together and moving.  
  
"We have to move fast," Rinoa said. She handed Selphie the same paper she'd been reading to Squall. She then pulled out a second paper. "You and Zell use those for the dummy car, its got the codes to release it from our train. These," Rinoa held up the second paper, "Will be for the second escort. I'll take care of that one with Squall."  
  
"Gotcha!" Selphie replied, and she and Zell moved forward to disconnect their train from the dummy. Squall and Rinoa crawled to the back, Squall getting the cable ready.  
  
"There won't be anyone to watch for you this time," Rinoa warned, to which Squall shrugged.  
  
"I'll keep a lookout for myself," he replied. "You just give me those codes."  
  
-------------------  
  
"What should I do?" Sivern asked himself as he walked back to the President's car. "I know he isn't gonna like it. But its my job." Steeling himself, Sivern stepped into the car and prepared to deliver his report quickly. No hanging around this time, he assured himself.  
  
"S-Sir!," Sivern began, stuttering slightly. "Everything is in order, sir!" This time, though, the President didn't look up, and didn't even say anything at all, he just kept looking at the newspaper he was reading.  
  
Well, at least he wasn't mad, though Sivern wondered where the President had gotten the paper from. Maybe from the second escort? Then Sivern noticed the smell, or lack of one. Huh. Maybe the President had been right and Sivern had been mistaken?  
  
"Hey, Private!" Griff called out as he stepped back into the President's car. "What's taking you? I'm about to whip that idiot who challenged me to Triple Triad and . . . ." Griff looked around, at the unusually quiet President and the surroundings. "Is there a problem, sir?" he asked the President, stepping closer. As Griff approached, the President looked up from his paper.  
  
"I'm in a very bad mood right now!" he complained gruffly. "If there is nothing in particular, I order you to leave, immediately!"  
  
"S-S-S-Sir! Aye aye!" Griff practically stumbled over himself, stepping back and saluting frantically. "YESSIR! You! Private! What are standing around for? Move! Get back to your station, before you comprimise the President's security!"  
  
"Sir! Yes sir!" Sivern wanted to add 'hypocritical retard' onto the end of that but held his toungue, instead hurrying back to the first escort.  
  
There goes another paycheck, he thought. No ring, and now no candlelight dinner. Sivern was never going to get married . . . .  
  
Though something bothered the private. The President's car seemed odd. Almost shabbier, somehow. But that didn't make sense, not at all.  
  
-------------------  
  
Sargent Aves strode back and forward through the second escort, almost acting as if he were on patrol. PFC Jern walked with him, while the rest of the troops sat around, not as on edge as they had been but still anxious. There had been no indication of intruders, and now, the suspicious train that they had seen earlier had flown past at high speeds. Aves didn't know what was going on, but he was worried.  
  
"Jern, check the front windows, see if anything odd's going on," Aves ordered. "Elick, check with the first escort. I'll check out back. Everyone else, stand ready!"  
  
Confidence boosted slightly by his order, Aves walked to the back of the train, looking out the windows for any threats.  
  
"Sarge!" Elick called as Jern reached the front of the train. "Sir, I can't reach the first escort."  
  
"Everyone, at alert!" Aves shouted, checking his arm-guns. Too much weird stuff had been going on, and Aves had had enough. If something was wrong with the intercom, he was well within his rights to put his men at alert in case of intruders. Better to be safe than sorry.  
  
"Jern, check outside!" Aves called as his men readied their weapons.  
  
"Yes sir!" Jern paused by the front side door, looking out the window. He thought he might have caught a flash of black, but it was probably his eyes playing tricks on him. Still, he had to make certian, and thus, Jern slid open the door leading between the cars, so he could check outside.  
  
-------------------  
  
Squall had entered the fourth code, and was ready to enter the fifth when he caught a flash of blue in the windows, that of a patrolling trooper. Thinking quickly, Squall pushed off the side of the train, moving forward to where the two cars met. There, he'd be out of sight of prying eyes.  
  
It was there that, perched between the two cars, Squall heard the soldier opening the door between the cars, and realized very suddenly that he would be practically right in front of the soldier when he stepped out to check.  
  
-------------------  
  
Jern stepped outside, looking to his right, then left.  
  
"Hm," he said, shrugging, looking back and forth again. He turned and stepped back in, shutting the door behind him.  
  
"Negative, sir. I didn't see anything," he called back.  
  
-------------------  
  
Squall had nowhere to go but up. And thus, up he went, leaping straight up into the air and perching between the two cars, his feet placed on either rooftop. He waited up there, not breathing, until Jern had become satisfied that there wasn't anyone out there.  
  
"Fifth code, Rinoa," he asked her. Rinoa, sitting right next to where Squall was perched, nodded.  
  
"Four, two, four, two," she said, and he nodded. Squall dropped back down and to the side, and entered the final code. He then pulled himself back up.  
  
"Done," he said, and as if on cue, the train cars began decoupling. The two scrambled back onto the real President's car. Up ahead, they could see Zell and Selphie having finished their work, the first escort and its dummy car pulling ahead slightly.  
  
A second later, the base car hit the junction, and turned off with its prize.  
  
-------------------  
  
"The hell?!" shouted Griff as he saw the yellow car pull off with the President's car. He flicked on the intercom. "Stop the train! Stop the Hyne- damned train!"  
  
The engineer in the locomotive immediately complied, slowing the train down immediately. Moments later, the whole vehicle shuddered as something slammed into the train from behind.  
  
"Secure the President! Now!" Griff shouted, and his men complied, charging to the back and into the President's car. They met Sargent Aves and his men, who were running forward, their car having been what had slammed into the train and caused the violent shudders.  
  
The soldiers crowded around the President, who was still reading his paper as if nothing had gone wrong.  
  
"I'm in a very bad mood right now!" the President shouted angrily, looking up. "If there's nothing in particular, I order you to leave, immediately!" With that, he resumed reading his paper.  
  
"I'm sorry, sir!" Sargent Aves said with a salute. "But there appears to be a threat to your saftey, and we have to protect you, sir!"  
  
The President said nothing, in fact he didn't even twitch a muscle in response to Aves's warning. Aves and many other soldiers looked around at each other, confused at the Presiden't odd behavior.  
  
"Excuse me, sir," Lieutenant Griff said, stepping into the car. "There appears to be a threat, and we're acting to-"  
  
"I'm in a very bad mood right now!" Deling shouted. "If there is nothing in particular, I order you to leave, immediately!"  
  
"But sir, there's a threat to your life, and-"  
  
"I'm in a very bad mood right now!" Deling repeated again. At that moment, Private Sivern stepped forward, as if suddenly realizing something. Before anyone could react, he snatched the paper from Deling's hands.  
  
"If there is nothing in particular, I order you to leave immediately!" the President continued, seeming to completely miss the fact that his paper was gone, rudely snatched out of his hands. In fact, he didn't react at all as Sivern reached over and pushed him hard. Deling toppled over, falling to the floor.  
  
"I'm in a very bad mood right now!" Deling fumed on the floor, still holding his hands out like he was clutching the newspaper.  
  
"We've been had," Sivern proclaimed, even as the President ordered them to leave his presence.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------  
  
What? It ends so abruptly? What about the battle at the end?!  
  
......grin Guess what? The battle with the President gets its whole seperate chapter! Just like Ifrit, some of the major boss battles get their own chapters, though I'll roll in some of the intro to Timber itself in there too. To tell the truth, this upcoming chapter and part of the game is one of my least favorites. But I'll slog through it, and try to give ya'll the best writing I can! 


	18. Harsh Reality

Chapter 15: Harsh Reality  
  
"That was perfect sir! Amazing, sir! You're the best, sir!"  
  
Watts was showering the praise on Squall and his team as they were rechecking their equipment in preparation for what Rinoa called "serious negotiations" with Deling. The President was no doubt completely unaware of the fact that he had been kidnapped, unless he looked out the window. But even then, Squall doubted he'd realize anything was amiss unless he tried moving between cars, which was unlikely.  
  
Squall had already conferred with Zell and Selphie. They were going to rush in quickly, to secure the train against any possible threats inside the President's car. Watts had already warned them Deling carried a powerful pistol for self-defense, and they didn't want to go in with their guard down.  
  
"Are we ready?" Rinoa asked, to which Squall nodded.  
  
"Good. We've waited so long for this confrontation with Vinzer Deling . . . ." A mixed expression of both anticipation and anxiety was apparent on Rinoa's face as she finished strapping a slashing crossbow to her forearm. The weapon looked kind of like a metal, bladed disk mounted on a small crossbow. The device, oddly enough, included a laser sight and some kind of tracking equipment. It was reffered to as a Pinwheel, a kind of lock-on crossbow that would strike its target like a slashing sword before returning to its wielder. It was decidedly expensive and extremely high- tech, from what Squall knew concerning weapons.  
  
The group armed and ready, Squall opened the door into the Presiden'ts car. Moving quickly, the three SeeDs charged in, securing the room. A quick sweep showed the car was empty, save for the President himself, who sat calmly in his chair, seeming completely unsurprised at the sudden intrusion. Squall stood over him, the tip of his Revolver aimed at the dictator's throat, but judging by the smile on the man's face, Deling either didn't realize the danger, or he didn't care.  
  
"Disarm him," Squall ordered, and Zell stepped forward. He quickly patted the President's coat, and found the small but deadly pistol concealed in its pocket in his jacket. In the meantime, both Selphie and Squall stood tensed and ready to move if Deling even twitched wrong. Deling watched it all with a seemingly detached amusement, a faint and unusual twinkle in his eyes.  
  
"Are you children done yet?" he asked, his voice full of contempt, and a degree of impatience. Squall was somewhat taken aback by the President's calm and collected demeanor, as if the man was not only unimpressed by the SeeDs, but as if he had been expecting them the whole time. Squall glanced back and forth between the rest of his team, and they too seemed equally confused.  
  
"Is he secured?' Rinoa asked from the entrance to the train, to which Squall nodded. She took a breath and closed her eyes for a second, as if collecting herself for the task at hand. Then, moving as deliebrately and calmly as she could, Rinoa crossed the car and stood in front of the President. Squall took the gunblade away from Deling's throat and stepped back, but stood ready to strike and slice the dictator down.  
  
"President Deling," Rinoa began, looking down at the man, her eyes meeting his. "If you don't resist . . ." Rinoa began faltering, Squall noticed. Her voice took on an almost unsure waver as she appaerently engaged in a mental fencing duel with the dictator. Deling just watched her, meeting her eyes and maintaining that odd smile of his.  
  
"If you don't resist," Rinoa continued. "You won't get hurt." She took a quick and surprised step back as Deling suddenly began shaking in laughter.  
  
"And if I do resist?" Deling asked, looking Rinoa dead in the eye as he continued laughing. "What would you do . . . young lady?"  
  
Squall caught a sudden change in Deling's posture and eyes. They turned a darker color, the whites transforming into a dull yellow as a scowl appeared on his face. Rinoa took another step back in shock, and Squall's fingers tightened around the handle of his gunblade. He shot a glance to his teamates, who were also tensed. Something was defiantely not right here, and they knew it.  
  
"Oh, boo-hoo," Deling stated, still laughing. He stood from his seat, oblivious to Squall's raising of his weapon or the SeeDs sliding into combat stances. "All these resistance groups in Timber. Pass along a little false information, and they fall for it . . . how pathetic. Seems there are nothing but amatuers in charge around here."  
  
"Ama . . . tuers?" Rinoa asked, shaking her head in denial. "No! We still caught you, Deling!"  
  
The President shook with more laughter, his voice seeming to change slightly, taking an almost unearthly tone as he spoke.  
  
"Don't you get it?" he asked, his voice now a snarl. Squall caught cracks in his voice, as the pitch of his words began rising and falling oddly.  
  
"Rinoa, get back!" Squall warned, putting his free hand out and pushing her away from the President . . . or whatever the hell he was.  
  
"I see your hired goons understand," Deling said with another strange laugh. "I'm not really the President. I'm what they call a body double. A little misdirection goes a long way, wouldn't you say? Even now, Deling is safely entering Timber through another route, while I deal with you." The clone creature patted his rear, and snarled again, taking a step towards Rinoa.  
  
"My butt hurts from all this sitting," he complained. The faux Deling's body began twitching and his skin started crawling in a strange and sickening way. "So, what did you have in stORE for for me had I resiSTED?" The thing's voice rose and fell strangely, mutilating the words as they came out of its mouth. It advanced another step, and Squall saw strange black drool coming out of its mouth.  
  
He had seen enough. Whatever this thing posing as Deling was, it was dead.  
  
Squall exploded into motion, the Revolver rising over his head in an overhead cleave. Zell attacked as well, scooting forward and low for a sweeping kick to the thing's side. Selphie fell into spellcasting.  
  
To Squall's amazement, the faux Deling shot an arm up and caught the gunblade on its blocking forearm. The sharpened edge cut rather deeply in, but despite the blackish goo splattering out, the fake President seemed uninjured. The thing shrugged off Zell's kick as well, though the powerful blow should have killed an ordinary man.  
  
That, combined with the slam from its uninjured arm that took Squall in the chest and hurled him across the cabin, told the SeeD that this thing, whatever it was, was definately not human in any sense.  
  
Zell came in with another strike, a rapid pair of jabs to the monster's face, but it blocked one, took the other in its face with a smile, and returned the hit with bone-crushing force. Zell was tossed back like Squall. It spun to Rinoa and laughed again in its strange, crackling voice, ignoring Selphie, who continued casting her spell.  
  
"QuiTE aMUsing thouGH . . . . " it said, stalking towards her. "For beING such amAtEurs! HoW daRe YOU InSUlt tHe presIDent!" It suddenly rushed forward and threw Rinoa to the ground with a swift backhand. She let out a cry as she fell and hit the wall of the cabin. The President took another step forward, drooling and towering over her. It raised its hands to slam down on her, and then the arms descended.  
  
Only the hands stopped in front of Rinoa's face, blocked by a shimmering transparent shield that materialized over her, intercepting the blow. The false President growled, and turned its attention to Selphie, who had cast the Protect spell over Rinoa. It took a step towards the small SeeD, but then spun around as Squall rose from his location and charged.  
  
The SeeD swiped hard with his gunblade, but the President once more blocked with his forearm, the gunblade cutting in but doing no apparent harm. The President punched at Squall, whose free left hand rose up and crossed over his gunblade, catching the fist and holding it. The two were locked in a stalemate for a moment until Squall heaved against the false Deling, shoving him back and pulling way. He stopped immediately, leveling his gunblade at the imposter.  
  
The fake was caught off-guard for a second, and prepared to charge at its retreating foe, when Zell's incoming flying kick caught it in the back and hurled it forward, the monster flying at Squall and his ready gunblade.  
  
The faux Deling impaled itself on Squall's extended weapon.  
  
Amazingly, though, the creature still thrashed. It turned its blackened eyes up towards Squall, and to Squall's complete surprise, it grabbed onto the front of the gunblade and pulled it in deeper, growling and spitting black goo, at the same time getting closer to Squall. The creature leaned forward, lunging and biting at Squall's throat, but he leaned back, getting his vulnerable neck out of range.  
  
For an instant, Squall tried to pull the gunblade out of the monster's gut, but he instead dropped his left hand to his side. Drawing his backup knife, Squall jabbed it into the monster's face, sending black ichors oozing up around the blade. The creature screamed and thrashed, but Squall's knife hadn't seemed to do more than blind the monster with its own fluids. But that was fine; Squall had really just been trying to keep the thing from biting him for a moment. His hands tightened around the Revolver's handle, and he squeezed the trigger.  
  
Black goo splattered out the monster's back as the concussive shell went off, but amazingly, the monster still lived. Squall pulled the trigger a second time, then a third thime, then a fourth. Each shot blew more of the creature apart, but somehow it still held on. Gritting his teeth, Squall continued pulling the trigger, counting the number of blasts it would take to drop the damn thing.  
  
Finally, after nine shots, the monster stopped moving and fell limp. Squall planted a foot against its stained and torn jacket, and shoved the dead thing off his blade. The body fell with a dull thump, and Squall looked up at his squad. Selphie was helping Rinoa stand, while Zell had positioned himself between them and the monster, ready to stop any attacks the creature would have made at either of them.  
  
"I'm good," Zell responded to Squall's unanswered questions. "Knocked me around a bit but I'm alright."  
  
"We're fine too," Selphie said to Squall as Rinoa stood. She looked down at the dead fake Deling, and visibly shuddered, her eyes still wide with shock and confusion.  
  
"What?" she shook her head. "What was that thing?" Squall shrugged, though he had his suspicions now that he'd thought about the monster. He remembered classes he'd taken about a certian type of monster, a form of reanimated dead creature, entities that lived on the power of death itself.  
  
"Whatever it was, its dead now," he replied, walking over to them. "Though now-" The sudden surprise on both Zell and Selphie's faces stopped Squall in mid-sentence. He spun around, the Revolver rising into a guard . . . .  
  
And Squall just stood there, staring at the remains of the clone Deling, or rather, what remained of those remains. The clone's corpse was boiling and changing, steaming black goo erupting from tears in its skin. The body shook and twitched, and from somewhere within, something began growing.  
  
Squall watched in openmouthed shock as the body broke down into steaming mush, and from that, a monster rose, like a twisted version of a butterfly erupting from its cocoon.  
  
"What the . . . ?" Squall asked, totally shocked by the bizzare and hideous creature that emerged.  
  
It was humanoid in only the vaguest sense, with a vaguely humanoid skull. Its white, peeling skin was sickly and pale, with blueish veins running throughout its body. A long flap of the thing's skin stretched from the left side of its skull down to a massive, deformed left arm, the hand like a bloated, green and blue growth, tipped with green and blue claws. Its left leg was massive, overgrown and swollen, almost like the trunk of a huge animal's leg as opposed to a human's limb. Its right arm and leg were almost of normal proportions, except skinny and emaciated. A bright blue tumor-like growth was on its left hip, the purpose unknown, but still disturbing as it writhed like a seperate entity. The creature glared at the SeeDs with its dark blue eyes, full of malice, as it began to stumble forward, its torso swaying back and forth oddly.  
  
"Selphie, Rinoa, stay back and support! Zell, you're with me!" Squall shouted, organizing his small group. "I go high, you go low!" Zell nodded, and he broke into a charge alongside Squall. As per his orders, Selphie and Rinoa stayed back, Rinoa lining up the monster with her crossbow while Selphie began casting a Fira spell. Rinoa may have been his superior for this operation, but she deffered to Squall when it came to tactical combat.  
  
Squall reached the monster a second before Zell, who was behind and to his left. The creature took a swing at Squall with the over-sized limb, but he ducked beneath the attack and countered, the Revolver coming across in a cleaving slash. The blade bore into the monster, and Squall pulled his trigger, blasting the creature. Black goo erupted, but aside from a slight shudder, the monster seemed unaffected. Its normal right arm shot across in a punch, catching Squall across the jaw and tossing him back with surprising strength.  
  
The attacks left the monster open to Zell's low, spinning kick, which struck the monster in its normal right leg, the kick impacting with its knee. The joint popped with a sickening crunch as Zel's hit shattered the kneecap and bent the leg in a direction it was never intended to go.  
  
The monster, however, didn't even seem to notice, and its own countering blow, a massive sweep with its clawed forearm, hurled Zell away. It moved to pursue, but an explosion of fire tore at its skin, burning chunks away. For the first time, the creature seemed to really have been hurt by that attack, and it turned a baleful glare at Selphie, right in time to catch a spinning blade that slashed across its face. The monster roared in anger as the returning blade of Rinoa's crossbow arced back to her waiting hand. She caught it deftly and began to reset the weapon in her crossbow.  
  
The monster completely ignored Selphie and focused on Rinoa. It glared at her, then arced its head back. The head then shot forward in a snapping motion, and a black mist spewed forward at Rinoa. She looked up to see it incoming, and was then shoved aside as Selphie hurled herself at Rinoa. They both fell down and away from the mist, though Selphie caught a lungful of the dangerous substance. She began coughing and hacking, one hand going to her chest as it and her throat and nostrils burned. She tried standing but fell back to the floor, her nunchakus slipping from her grasp.  
  
Squall rose to his feet, and looked their way to see Selphie down.  
  
"Poison!" he shouted to Rinoa, who nodded in understanding. Squall glance Zell's way to see the martial artist standing back up. Zell shook his head, shaking off the effects of the hit. He glared at the monster, and then glanced at Squall.  
  
Squall signaled for him to hold back and act as support, and then he charged. Zell fell into his own spellcasting as Squall closed with the creature. He made to strike with his gunblade, but as the creature spun to face him and raised its arm to strike, Squall suddenly stopped and leaped back, his left hand dropping to his belt.  
  
Zell blasted the creature with another Fira spell, and it spun to face him, hate and death in its eyes. It took a step towards Zell, but then had to turn as Squall charged it again. Only this time, Squall wasn't raising his gunblade for a strike. His right hand still held the Revolver, but in his left he held an open vial. Before the monster could attempt to swing at Squall, he hurled the vial at it. The small bottle struck the monster across its face, and the fluid inside, a curative potion, splashed across its face.  
  
Normally, one drank a potion of that type, which resulted in a very quick healing, but one could also ingest the potions by merely splashing it across their skin. That was a far simpler and less efficient method of healing, but it worked in a situation where one couldn't drink the fluid.  
  
However, in the case of this creature, and all others of its type, that healing potion did nothing to mend its wounds. To the contrary, the monster began thrashing and screaming, its normal hand rising to its face, clutching at the head, which seemed to smoke as if acid had been applied to it.  
  
Squall nodded, confirming the monster was undead. Undead creatures thrived off the energy of death itself, of unlife. From this, they drew the energy that allowed them to live while not truly living. Being not truly living entities, the energies of concocted curative potions or magic actually brought harm to the undead.  
  
"Hit it with healing magic!" Squall ordered, reaching into his mind and calling forth the energies of curative spells. He began casting a spell, only to suddenly inhale a black mist that the monster spewed his way. He coughed and spit, trying to force the poison out of his body, but to no effect. However, unlike the mist that had poisoned Selphie, the tainted cloud Squall had breathed did not burn his lungs or steal his strength. Instead, Squall found his vision clouding over, a grayish pall covering his sight.  
  
Realizing his sudden disadvantage, Squall instead focused on hearing, and on his other warrior senses. He could hear and feel the pounding on the train car's floor as Zell charged, could sense the train moving over the tracks and dirt below. He could faintly hear Rinoa whispering to a coughing Selphie and opening a vial, doubtless of an antidote for the poison. Squall also sensed the presence of the undead creature. A sound like the pounding of steel bars on raw meat sounded, as Zell attacked, a four-hit combo blasting the monster. Squall then winced as he heard an even louder version of the same sound as Zell was backhanded away, and then the crashing sound of him slamming into a wall, the intervening structure bending under the impact.  
  
He then sensed an incoming attack as the monster shifted its attentions to the blinded SeeD. Squall felt the air disrupted by the incoming arm, and his gunblade shot up, slicing a chunk out of the attacking claw. However, the brunt of the attack still got through, smashing into Squall and hurling him back. He crashed into the floor, dropping his gunblade, and rolled, coming to a stop against something soft and warm.  
  
"Squall?" Rinoa's voice, directly overhead, spoke.  
  
"Blinded," he explained, scrabbling for his gunblade. "Vial on my left side. Marked as eye drops." He could sense Rinoa's hands fumbling with his belt, grabbing at one of the pouches on his left side, and also felt something moving nearby, rising off the floor.  
  
"Selphie?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah," Selphie replied, an odd, uncharacteristic growl in her voice. "Curative magic, right?" Squall felt his pouch opening and Rinoa removing a vial.  
  
"Yeah," Squall replied as he heard the vial opening. He also felt the impacts on the floor as Zell rose from his prone position and charged the monster again, in a seemingly suicidal charge, but intended to keep the monster busy. Rinoa's hands wrapped around his gloved ones as she slid the vial into his hands. He gulped down the tasteless contents quickly, as Zell landed as solid and no doubt painful blow on the undead creature. The creature responded with an even more solid and doubtlessly even more painful hit, and as the grayness dissappeared from Squall's vision, he heard another impact with the wall.  
  
Squall made out Selphie, twirling her nunchakus oddly as she focused. He then glanced around, and spotted his gunblade a few feet away. He dove for it and rose, his gunblade up and ready as he scanned the car. Zell was lying in a crumpled heap directly beneath yet another dent in the wall, but was rising shakily. Squall had to hand it to the martial artist; he was as tough as he was stubborn. Then Squall focused on the monster as it plodded forward.  
  
Once more, Squall fell into spellcasting, calling forth the magical energies of curative magic. Even as he focused, some part of his mind wondered why Selphie hadn't cast any spells yet. Even as he continued calling up the magic, he flashed a glimpse back to Selphie, to see her stop twirling her nunchakus.  
  
Reddish light erupted around her as she raised her weapon up high, holding them as far apart as the chain would allow.  
  
Rippling magical energy came forth, washing over the undead creature. It let out a sudden pained scream, clawing at itself as the magic seemed to rend it apart, tearing it to pieces, melting its skin. Within seconds, the energies broke the undead monster down, robbing it of the very energies of death that empowered it. Lifeless and collapsing into mush, the creature fell over, and lay limp.  
  
Squall turned back to Selphie as she sighed, and smiled.  
  
"Limit?" he asked, to which she nodded.  
  
"I call it Slot. It really weird," she explained as Zell rose up to his feet. "Generates random magic. I can control it, but it keeps changing the energies I can use. I have to wait until it gives me something useful." She gestured to the dead undead. "That was an odd magic. I call it Full Cure, totally heals injuries. Or, in an undead's case, kills it instantly."  
  
Squall nodded at the explanation, and looked over to Zell, who was rubbing his bruised face.  
  
"You okay?"  
  
"Dandy," Zell replied, giving Squall a sarcastic thumbs up. He looked over at the decomposing mass of undeath. "Unlike today, I guess." Squall nodded in agreement.  
  
-------------------  
  
"A fake!" Zone said with a shake of his head. "I can't believe it! The President was a fake!" The SeeDs and Rinoa nodded. The small group had gathered in the planning room once more for the debriefing on their operation. For the most part, it had gone off without a hitch . . . excepting the monstrous fake President. If nothing else, Squall had to commend Deling on his creativity.  
  
"Info!" a voice shouted from outside. The door flew open, and the SeeDs momentarily started, hands dropping to their weapons, or in Zell's case, fists rising into a guard. However, they stood down as they saw it was only an overly excited Watts. He ran in, looking almost like a kid that needed to go really badly, and looked around. "New info, sir!" he shouted again.  
  
"What's the news?" Zone asked immediately.  
  
"Its big!" Watts responded, getting even more excited. "The real reason the President's in Timber is because he's going to the Timber TV Station for some kind of announcement! Security's really tight, though. Looks they've got at least a company of soldiers around the Station, and there's lots more patrolling the streets."  
  
The group of SeeDs and rebels looked back and forth at each other, considering this news.  
  
"The TV Station?" Rinoa asked, shaking her head in confusion. "Why here? They can just as easily broadcast from inside Galbadia. The only difference between the Timber station and any in Galbadia is that we still have radio systems."  
  
"That might be it," Selphie said, sudden understanding appearing on her face. "I think the Dollet Communication Tower may have something to do with it. What do you think?" Squall shrugged, while Zell rubbed his chin thoughtfully.  
  
"The comms tower?" Zone asked, not understanding. "What's that?"  
  
"Dollet has a communications tower that can transmit and recieve radio waves," Squall explained. "Its been abandoned for years, but the Galbadian army got it up and running a few days ago." Zone nodding, understanding the connection.  
  
"And Timber's TV Station is the only one around that can still handle radio broadcasts over the air. Everyone else uses HD cable."  
  
"So," Rinoa asked. "What does that mean?"  
  
"They're using radio waves," Zone explained. "They must be trying to broadcast to regions that don't use cable."  
  
"I know that," Rinoa replied, shaking her head. "What I want to know is what the President is going to broadcast. There must be something they're trying to say to the whole world, but what?"  
  
"I know!" Selphie responded, hopping up and down. She held her hands out like she was hugging someone. "They want to tell everybody! Love! And peace!"  
  
Doubting glances came back from the assembled group.  
  
"I doubt that, Selphie," Squall replied. Selphie, not really deflated by their skepticism, simply shrugged.  
  
"Hey, it sounded like a good suggestion," she replied, still smiling.  
  
"If I remember correctly," Zone spoke up, interrupting them. "Radio hasn't been used in seventeen years."  
  
"Its been that long?" Rinoa asked, surprised. "Wouldn't it be great if the first broadcast was Timber's declaration of independence?"  
  
"Hey!" Zone replied, nodding. "That could work!"  
  
"Let's come up with a plan!" Rinoa said, and Watts and Zone nodded. Rinoa glanced over at the SeeDs. "Give us a minute, would you?"  
  
Then to Squall's absolute surprise, the three of them just dropped to the floor, sitting or squatting, and began conferring among themselves.  
  
"They call that a strategy meeting?" Zell muttered, shaking his head. Squall couldn't help but agree. He watched the three for a moment as they continued whispering among themselves, making imaginary maps with their fingers and the floor. A tap on his shoulder got Squall's attention, and he looked back at Selphie.  
  
"What is it?" he asked.  
  
"Can't we go home now?" she asked, her voice and expression somehow reminding Squall of a pleading kid. "We did the job. What about our contract? Shouldn't you check it?" Squall nodded, surprised he hadn't thought about it. He walked over to where the Forest Owls were "planning" and stood over Rinoa. She noticed his shadow and looked up.  
  
"Oh, good timing," she said, standing up. "We've got a plan."  
  
Two minutes, and they'd come up with a plan for liberating Timber? Squall looked down at the floor for a second, not wanting Rinoa to see his disbelieving expression at the absurd notion. After a moment, he looked back up.  
  
"I want to see our contract," he said simply. Rinoa nodded, and bent down, looking through a nearby crate filled with papers. A couple of seconds later she stood back up, holding a folder and a sheet of paper. Squall took it and began reading it.  
  
"What's it say?" Zell asked as he and Selphie came forward, crowding around their leader. Squall shook his head, not exactly sure. The thing was steeped in legalese that he could barely comprehend, and probably would require a trained lawyer to decipher.  
  
"Oh, yeah," Rinoa said, recognizing the confused expression on Squall's face. "That one's pretty confusing. When I told Cid I didn't understand, he gave me a new one." Rinoa took the confusing document out of Squall's hands and handed him a new, much shorter, and much more understandable one, this written in clear print with Cid's almost illegible signature at the end.  
  
To the Forest Owls,  
  
This SeeD deployment contract will last until Timber has achieved independence from Galbadia. Please make good use of each SeeD member. I wish you the best with your objective. Please understand that this contract is an exception, and no replacement of any SeeD members can be made.  
  
Balamb Garden Headmaster Cid Kramer  
  
It was short, but simple.  
  
"Until Timber's independence?" Selphie asked, shaking her head. "That is soooo vague!"  
  
It was that too.  
  
"Hey, you're paid proffessionals," Rinoa responded, putting her hands on her hips. "No complaining!"  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------  
  
Yeah, this chapter ended abruptly too. But hey, no complaining, you're the guys who are reading this! :P 


	19. Timber

Chapter 16: Timber  
  
The Forest Owls' train managed to slip into Timber unnoticed, and quickly dropped the SeeDs and Rinoa off at a platform. Watts wished them luck as the train pulled out. The speeding engine almost left him behind in the Forest Owls' hurry to get out of town before the Galbadians found them.  
  
"Do you know where the TV Station is?" Squall asked Rinoa as the foursome walked off the platform. Rinoa nodded as they joined the flow of pedestrians walking on Timber's streets. Once again, Squall made note of the apparent lack of amenities or technology that he was used to in Balamb Garden. The city seemed to be stuck in a previous age, decades in the past.  
  
Squall also made note of something else: there were a lot of uniformed Galbadian troopers walking around on the streets, patrolling in large squadrons. Groups loitered around at intersections or in front of important buildings, or wandered the streets, doubtless keeping an eye open for resistance members.  
  
"There's a lot of blue out here," Zell muttered, to which Squall nodded. The patrolling Galbadians would definitely be something they would have to keep an eye out for. It wouldn't do to be caught now, especially with their client in tow; they were going to have to tread softly.  
  
"We'll try to dodge them," Squall ordered, and the group nodded. They knew the group's best defense would be stealth. He glanced back at his comrades. Neither he, nor Zell or Selphie were well known to the Galbadians in any sense, but Rinoa . . . .  
  
"Rinoa, are you well-known?" he asked her. She blinked in surprise.  
  
"You could say so," she replied, sounding a bit uncertain.  
  
"What do you mean?" Squall asked.  
  
"The people here in Timber know me, and some of the soldiers might recognize me," Rinoa explained. "I am a somewhat familiar face."  
  
"Are you wanted?" Squall asked, now suddenly very wary of the Galbadian soldiers. He scanned the nearby streets for any patrolling squads. There weren't any present, at least here.  
  
"No, not wanted," Rinoa said with a shake of her head. "Its just I might be recognized by the soldiers. But they don't know I'm a resistance member."  
  
Squall nodded, and then paused, spotting a small squad of Galbadians rounding a corner ahead and headed their way. A quick signal of his hand told Zell and Selphie to look inconspicuous, and Squall did the same, pulling Rinoa into a nearby building, a large hotel. Squall glanced back out the window as they entered the hotel to see Zell and Selphie standing in front of a store window, looking in. Zell had an arm resting comfortably around Selphie's shoulders, giving the perfect illusion of boyfriend and girlfriend.  
  
Squall then turned around and quickly scanned the lobby of the hotel for any potential threats. Aside from the receptionist, her son, a girl operating a model train in a corner, and a few scattered guests sitting around, the lobby was empty.  
  
"Let's try to look inconspicuous," Squall began to say, but Rinoa shook her head. She gestured to the receptionist behind the desk.  
  
"I know Mrs.DiMarco. She's a friend of mine," she explained, and walked toward the woman behind the desk, smiling. The woman looked up from something she was doing behind the desk, and spotted Rinoa's approach.  
  
"Oh, Rinoa," she said with a smile as Squall followed his client. "I'm glad to see you. I heard about the kidnapping attempt and I was worried. Those Galbadian soldiers mentioned that they had left a trap for whoever went after them . . . ."  
  
"Nah, by bodyguard protected me," Rinoa replied, gesturing to Squall. As she said so, a burst of laughter came from an open door down a nearby hallway. Squall glanced in that direction, to see the open door led into a small cafeteria. Inside, he spotted a number of Galbadian soldiers, sitting around on various pieces of furniture - or just lounging around as if they owned the place, busying themselves with talking and eating. Squall tapped Rinoa's shoulder, suddenly thinking that being here wasn't such a good idea.  
  
"Rinoa, there's-"  
  
"Galbadians?" Mrs.DiMarco replied. She frowned and shook her head, looking down that hallway. "Shouldn't be saying this out loud, but there's a bunch of Galbadian roughnecks staying here after the government said we should house them for the President's visit. They've taken all the rooms here. It's not safe."  
  
"I understand. We'll be out of here soon," Rinoa said with a nod. "Thanks, Mrs. DiMarco."  
  
"Rinoa," Mrs. DiMarco said with a smile. "How long have we known each other? Two years now? Call me Francesca."  
  
"Sorry," Rinoa replied. "Blame my father. He was always one for etiquette."  
  
"You can't blame him," Francesca responded. "After all-"  
  
"Street's clear," Squall reported, looking out the window. He put a hand on Rinoa's shoulder. "We should go, now." Squall glanced back at the soldiers in the cafeteria, and Rinoa reluctantly nodded. She thanked Mrs. DiMarco again and they stepped outside onto the busy street. They quickly linked up with Selphie and Zell, who were walking out of the same store they'd been looking into. Squall noticed Selphie was stuffing a small stuffed bear into her backpack. He glanced at Zell, his expression questioning.  
  
"Had to convincingly pull off the boyfriend routine," the martial artist explained with a shrug. "Selphie insisted we do it to dodge the soldiers."  
  
"Mmm-hmm!" Selphie nodded with a smile, hugging Zell. "My boyfriend's really sweet, isn't he?" Squall shrugged.  
  
"You two can get a room when we get done with the TV Station," he replied with his usual dead serious humor. "Speaking of which," he turned back to Rinoa. "Can we get there from here without traveling down the main streets? We need to avoid the majority of the Galbadians."  
  
Rinoa nodded.  
  
"It's this way," she said, turning back to the alley they had ducked down a moment before. "Follow me." The trio of SeeDs followed her through the alleyway, past trash-filled bins and around a corner. The alley opened into a side street, which they quickly crossed.  
  
"Hey, Squall," Zell muttered to Squall's rear left as Rinoa continued to guide them. They crossed a major street and a bridge overlooking a train track.  
  
"Yeah?" he responded.  
  
"While we were window shopping, we overheard a few of those soldiers."  
  
"And?"  
  
"They're getting suspicious," Selphie said from Squall's right.  
  
"Apparently, Watts's intelligence-gathering alerted some of the Galbadians," Zell continued. "They connected his politeness to a face, and from that, they connected him to us."  
  
"You mean they're onto us?" Squall asked.  
  
"Yup," Selphie stated.  
  
"Great," Squall muttered, glad he had chosen to travel the side streets and avoid being seen. The group exited an alley and found themselves on another bridge, this one overlooking a number of train lines. Rinoa paused here, looking over the bridge at the tracks.  
  
"What is it?" Squall asked.  
  
"The lines are shut down," Rinoa said with a shake of her head. "Usually the local trains would be running through here. Lots of hustle and bustle . . . ."  
  
"The Galbadian military must have shut them down," Selphie stated as she leaned over the bridge's railing. "The soldiers said they were checking the trains out. The only open line is the one leading to Galbadia Garden's southern station, for the commuters. They said something about reopening the lines after the President leaves."  
  
"So the Galbadia Garden route is the only viable escape we have if we need to leave town," Squall said with a nod. "Rinoa, you know how to get there?"  
  
"Of course," she said. "Come on, the TV station's not /i far away." With that, the group set off again.  
  
Two alleys, another bridge, and ducking through a resturant where everyone knew Rinoa personally, it seemed, the small group stood at a street corner. Just down the street there was a police barricade, manned by at least three platoons of fully armed Galbadian soldiers. Squall spotted the green uniforms of Galbadian paratroopers and special forces among the blue and red of regular soldiers and officers. Heavy machinegun emplacements and armored cars were located behind the barricade.  
  
Zell whistled faintly.  
  
"Uber-tight security," the martial artist whispered.  
  
"This street leads towards the main road in front of the TV Station," Rinoa explained. "They're not letting anything get near the station. There has to be another way in . . . ." Rinoa thought for a second, furrowing her brow. "Wait, I remember! There are side roads that bypass the main streets. They might not be as well-guarded."  
  
Squall nodded, indicating she should lead the way. Rinoa led them down another meandering course through alleys and buildings, until they reached a shadowy, curving alleyway that Rinoa said would open onto the main road in front of the station. They began to round the bend in the alley when Squall held up a hand in warning, hearing voices colored by a drawling Galbadian accent up ahead. He waved the rest of the group back and crept forward silently, stopping by a dumpster.  
  
Poking his head around the corner, Squall saw a group of men in blue uniforms. They weren't Galbadian regulars, however, as they wore blue jackets, pants, and hats. Each man had an old, bolt-action rifle and a pistol, as well as shoulder straps and bandoleers with extra bullets within easy reach.  
  
"Timber militia," Squall reported back to his comrades.  
  
"They'll let us through," Rinoa began to say, but stopped when she heard the Galbadian voices again. Squall spotted a pair of red-uniformed officers step out of a nearby doorway and slam it shut. The Galbadians then gestured for the Timber militia to follow.  
  
"Okay, we finish checking this alley and we'll leave you guys at the entrance," one of the officers stated. "I'm sure you Timber boys will be able to keep those rebels away." The officer's voice was dripping with sarcasm as the group continued up the alley, towards Squall's position.  
  
He held up a hand and waved his group back; the patrol would be arriving there soon. He began to back away too, but still kept an eye and an ear on the officers. If they went to check again, Squall might be able to signal to the militia and sneak his group past.  
  
The patrol group paused, the officers checking nearby doors to see if they were locked. If they weren't, they made sure to search inside before returning. After a few minutes of checking, they were satisfied and returned to the squad of militia.  
  
"Better keep your eyes peeled," one of the two officers growled. "Especially after we leave you yokels here. If one resistance member gets through, your kids are, well," the officer grinned evilly. "Well, dead meat." He laughed quietly as the group resumed its patrol. The militia members didn't reply, although several clenched their teeth or narrowed their eyes at the threat.  
  
As the patrol approached the bend, Squall glanced back again at his own group. Selphie had stepped into a nearby doorway, out of sight. Zell was crouching in the shadows near her, unnoticeable as well. Rinoa was closer to Squall, by the dumpster. He gestured for her to get closer to him, and then ducked behind the trash container. Rinoa crouched beside him as the voices rounded the corner, the officers still taunting the militia members.  
  
"I hate this," she whispered. "The Galbadians are so mean. I can't stand to see the militia treated like this." Squall nodded. He wasn't unfamiliar with insults, though they often came from Seifer, and he didn't like them much either. The Galbadians were unnecessarily humiliating the Timber soldiers. In a distant part of his mind, Squall wondered then how the Galbadians would act if those guards were hardened SeeDs, fully armed with magic and junctions, instead of lightly armed militia with families.  
  
"Everyone here supports the resistance," one of the officers remarked off-handedly. "You guys are such fools. Imagine how much this town would thrive if you were loyal to us. No heavy taxes, no tariffs, no technology restrictions . . . I guess Timber'll be stuck in the backwoods forever."  
  
That remark must have struck a nerve with one of the guards, as he stopped and spun to face the insulting officer.  
  
"And you?" he asked, jabbing a finger at the Galbadian. "Are you happy with your life? Blindly following orders everyday like a damned machine, doing things you probably don't believe in? You're no better than your war robots!"  
  
"Yeah," another replied, joining his comrade. "So what if we're undeveloped? We're not looking to thrive. We just want to stand on our own feet, to be independent and live according to the ways we believe."  
  
"You'll never understand," a third remarked. "Having thrown away our pride and dignity. Mitch is right, you're no better than robots."  
  
"We're not the fools," the militiaman named Mitch added. "You are." The rest of the militiamen nodded in agreement, voicing their assent.  
  
The two officers, however, were visibly shaking with rage. One of them leveled the gun on his right arm at Mitch, who took a step back in shock. The other officer followed suit, pointing his armguns in the general direction of the other militiamen.  
  
"You're dead!" the first officer growled.  
  
Rinoa tensed beside Squall, and before she could even begin to tell the SeeDs to intervene, Squall had already signaled Zell and Selphie as he was rising.  
  
The officer threatening Mitch was caught off-guard as Squall vaulted over the dumpster, the Revolver flashing down and cutting into his gun. He opened his mouth in shock as Squall landed on his feet, his gunblade arcing up and then down, around the armgun Squall had chopped. The gunblade dove low, taking the officer's knees and laying him out flat on the pavement. The weapon arced back up into the air in a wide curve, before Squall brought it down again into the officer's back. He let out a stunted cry of pain and lay still, his back cleaved open by the chop.  
  
The other officer took a Fire spell in the face and fell back, away from the militiamen he was threatening. He then found Zell in front of him, leg rising into a kneeing blow that smashed the red-armored soldier in his stomach. The man doubled over, presenting his helmeted head for a perfect headlock. Zell grabbed the officer, his right arm wrapping around the man's neck, left dropping to grab the soldier by the front of his armor. Zell lifted and then fell back, rolling onto his back and slamming the headlocked soldier's head into the pavement with brutal force. The helmet absorbed the brunt of the hit, but it was still enough to crack the officer's skull and flatten his helmet.  
  
Zell heaved the unconscious officer over and away from him, and rose from his prone position. He flashed Squall another tumbs-up, to which Squall nodded as he extracted his gunblade from the dead officer's corpse.  
  
The militiamen around them stood frozen, clutching their weapons and eyeing the SeeDs cautiously. The teenagers had saved them, of course, but the militia still weren't certain what the motives of the well-armed were SeeDs, or at least not until Rinoa stepped out from behind the dumpster. The militia stood down immediately on seeing her with the SeeDs.  
  
"Rinoa," Mitch greeted with a smile and a nod. "Are they with you?"  
  
"Yeah," Rinoa responded with her own nod. "SeeDs sent to support the Owls."  
  
"SeeDs?" Mitch exclaimed in surprise, and there were echoing murmurs scattered throughout the group. "Well, that explains a lot," he commented, glancing at Squall as the SeeD calmly wiped his bloodstained gunblade on the dead officer's uniform. Mitch turned back to Rinoa.  
  
"Thank you for helping us. I think we got a little carried away when they kept taunting us . . . ."  
  
"We heard most of it," Rinoa said, frowning. She looked down at the dead man and the unconscious soldier. "What about them?"  
  
"We'll fire a few shots," Mitch explained. He looked back at his men. "Resistance members attacked our patrol, killing one man and injuring another because they were at the front. We opened fire and drove them off." The rest of the group nodded. The story sounded reasonable, and it certainly made the militia look like heroes.  
  
"Can we get through?" Rinoa then asked the militia leader. Mitch sighed and shook his head.  
  
"I'm sorry," he explained.  
  
"We need to get to the station," Squall stated bluntly as he returned his gunblade to its sheath.  
  
"I can't let you through," Mitch explained, voice apologetic. "Even if it is just a bluff, I can't risk the life of my daughter." There were murmurs of assent from the rest of the squad, and a few angry grumbles directed at the Galbadians. Squall clenched his teeth, but he had to agree with the militiamen. This route was closed.  
  
"However, there is an alternate entrance to the station," Mitch added, his voice hushing a bit. "The rear door of the Aphorora Pub leads to an alley that connects to a rear maintenance access to the TV Station. Its unguarded."  
  
"Thanks!" Rinoa said with a smile. "Let's go!" She waved for the SeeDs to follow her out of the alley.  
  
"You know where Aphorora Pub is?" Zell asked as they cut across town. Rinoa nodded.  
  
"Its pretty close to the Timber Maniacs building, right next to one of the train platforms," she said as they crossed the bridge overlooking the multiple tracks once more. "Its not too far away."  
  
"Good. Let's get this damn mission over with!"  
  
-------------------  
  
The two Galbadian soldiers exited the cafe and walked towards the parked military truck in the parking lot.  
  
"And so, the guy says 'My wife wasn't eating any popcorn!'" one of the soldiers delivered the punchline to his joke as he reached the truck's driver side door. The second soldier burst out laughing, and the first joined him.  
  
"Yeah, I know, funny as hell!" the first man commented. The second continued laughing, and then dropped to his knees and fell over on his side. The first man began to comment on how he didn't think the joke was quite that funny when he saw the figure that had been standing directly behind his comrade. The man - no - a kid rather, was holding a weird sword- gun thing, the butt of the gun aspect being held right where the back of his comrade's neck had been.  
  
The soldier began to grab for his own sidearm when the teenager's gunblade shot forward, gouging him through the shoulder. The teenager pushed forward, forcing the soldier back and pinning him against the side of the truck. The kid's free left hand rose up and closed around the soldier's neck, cutting off his air.  
  
"Keys, now," he ordered, scowling. The soldier tried taking a breath, still off-guard from the sudden attack, and he didn't immediately comprehend the kid's order.  
  
The blonde teenager's scowl deepened as he tightened his iron grip around the soldier's throat and twisted his gunblade ever-so-slightly. Pain jolted through the man's shoulder.  
  
"Give me the keys to your truck, now," he ordered again. "I don't like searching dead bodies." The soldier, realizing that if he didn't act his life would end swiftly, dropped his right hand to his belt. At first acting as if he was slowly and cautiously reaching for his keys, the soldier suddenly reached for and extracted a knife. He stabbed forward with it, hitting the kid in the stomach with a solid jab. Somehow, though, the blow didn't seem to penetrate right, as if this teenager was wearing body armor.  
  
Suddenly the hand was gone from his neck, and the soldier could breathe. Then he felt the gunblade being torn from its spot in his shoulder. The man gasped in pain right before he saw the kid's sword arm shoot across, the butt of the gunblade smashing the Galbadian's jaw and laying him out cold.  
  
Seifer Almasy grimaced and cast a quick curative spell on his stomach wound. On any ordinary man that would have been serious, but thankfully his junctions had stopped a lot of the damage. He grimaced again as he bent down and dug through the man's pockets, pulling out a set of car keys.  
  
"Idiot," he muttered as he opened the driver side door. As the cadet sat down, he paused, thinking about that word. It could just as easily describe what he was about to do as well.  
  
"Guess we're all idiots then," Seifer muttered with a laugh as he shut the door and started the engine. "Just hope you idiots armored this truck properly." Seifer glanced down at the controls, recognizing most of them. The armored car didn't handle much differently than any ordinary car, thankfully. He reached for the door, about to slam it shut, when a hand jabbed through the open door. It stopped at his neck, a stainless steel knife poised millimeters from Seifer's throat.  
  
Seifer, sitting frozen in his seat, eyed the knife carefully. Even with his hardening junctions and curative magic, a slice across the throat would be very bad for him. His eyes flicked to the hand holding the knife, noting the dark, detached sleeve on the slender arm and gloving the delicate fingers. That sleeve and arm told Seifer volumes.  
  
"Sorry about being so rude, Quistis," he remarked offhandedly, smiling. "Didn't think it was much more than a love tap, myself."  
  
"Get out of the truck," Quistis ordered, her voice like steel. Seifer turned his head a few inches, and looked into her blue eyes. He noted the slight, rising bump on her head and couldn't help but grin.  
  
"You should really get that checked out, you know."  
  
"Out."  
  
Seifer shrugged and moved to step out of the truck. Quistis moved with him, hand still poised at his throat.  
  
But then, Seifer was moving in the opposite direction, away from her knife, inhumanly fast. Before Quistis could react, Seifer's left hand shot up and closed around her right, holding the knife hand like a steel bar. Quistis managed to open her eyes wide in surprise as the cadet then jolted forward, pushing her back and stepping around behind her, twisting her knife arm back and behind as well. A flick of his wrist sent a painful jolt through her hand, and she dropped the knife into Seifer's waiting right. That hand rose up and placed the knife against Quistis's throat.  
  
One moment, she'd been in complete control; the next, Seifer had disarmed, grappled, and held her helpless.  
  
"Missing something?" he asked, smiling. "You seem a bit slow today, Instructor." Indeed, she was slower than normal, her reflexes and strength not anywhere near equaling Seifer's without her Guardian Forces. He then glanced at the bump on the side of her head. "Wow, this thing looks even worse from this angle, you know," he added.  
  
Then, in a surprising move, Seifer released Quistis's pinned arm, his left hand dropping down to her belt. With a single swift motion, he snatched the coiled rante and another backup knife off her belt, effectively disarming her. That done, Seifer took the knife away from Quistis's throat. She blinked again in surprise, turning to face the cadet as Seifer took a step back and dropped her weapons behind him, including the knife he'd stolen from her hands. The blonde cadet leaned back against the side of the truck and crossed his arms.  
  
"One thing I will say, Quistis," Seifer said, smiling once more. "You certainly are persistent. That's twice so far I've gotten the drop on you." An annoyed look crossed her face as she crossed her arms.  
  
"You need to go back," she said simply.  
  
"And you're the one to do it?" Seifer laughed. "Alone? Unarmed, no Guardian Forces, nothing whatsoever, and you're going to take me back?" He shook his head. "Sorry, Instructor, no way. Not until I'm done."  
  
"You mean not until you've killed yourself," Quistis responded evenly. It was a statement more than a question. "I know what you're about to do. Its suicide. You'll throw away your life for nothing?"  
  
"Its not nothing," Seifer rplied, scowling. "If I take out Deling, Timber will be free, simple as that. I owe it to her . . . ." he said the last bit quietly, almost to himself. Quistis caught it, however.  
  
"To who?"  
  
"No one," Seifer replied, shaking his head. "It's nothing." Seifer then stood up straight, and grinned. "Well, its nice knowing you're in town, Instructor," he added, moving towards the open door of the truck. He began to step inside. "Keep an eye out for the fireworks."  
  
"Wait," Quistis began, taking a step forward. "You'll need someone to cover your back." Seifer stopped and laughed.  
  
"Quistis, you've got no junctions," he stated."You're just gonna slow me down. I appreciate the concern and all, but," Seifer slammed the door shut, "I don't need you."  
  
A blast of fire slammed into the door, jolting Seifer and getting his attention. He looked at Quistis in surprise, seeing her pointing a hand at the door.  
  
"Not all SeeDs need Guardian Forces for magic," she stated, then shifted her aim, pointing at the engine of the armored truck. "I have Thundaras stocked." Seifer understood the threat implicitly. A Thundara could set off the gas tanks, and junctions or no, that would be extremely unpleasant for Seifer.  
  
"Okay, fine, you win," Seifer conceded, and reopened the door. He stepped out, shut it, and leaned against the truck again, arms crossed. "You can come along, just stay out of my way." Quistis let out a sigh of relief and stepped over to retrieve her weapons.  
  
"No GFs, though," he added. "You understand, right?" Quistis nodded as she affixed the rante and knives to her belt.  
  
"But after this is over, you will come with me back to Garden," Quistis said, looking Seifer in the eye. He hesitated for a moment, then shrugged.  
  
"Fine. Let's get moving; the President isn't going to wait around all day."  
  
-------------------  
  
"I've had enough of this city!" came a shout as Squall led the group into the Aphorora Pub. It came from a bruised and battered-looking man sitting against a door at the back wall of the pub, doubtless the door leading into the alley. The drunken man spoke with a slurred voice, the somewhat refined Dollet accent slipping through as he ranted and raved, waving a green-labeled bottle around.  
  
The room itself looked rather trendy, featuring deep blue and purple colors on the walls, chairs, and tables, with a more brightly lit semi- circular bar. A large television was positioned high up, showing a commercial for some sports team in Galbadia with a morphing cat-like creature as their mascot.  
  
"I came here to have me a good time," the man growled. "But now, the damn trains aren't running, I can't stay at any hotels because of some jerkoff official, and then those damn Galbadian soldiers took my cards!" The man took another swig. "Bastards. Think they can just push people around and get what they want through brute force. Hell, this town's an example!"  
  
Several people from around the club joined the man with agreeing shouts. Squall, on the other hand, frowned. The drunk was blocking the door leading out of the pub, and they needed to get past him. The mention of cards, however, prompted an idea.  
  
"I'll talk to him," Squall told the others, who nodded and waited by the door.  
  
"Everything's messed up since the resistance tried to kidnap the President," the drunk muttered as Squall worked his way around the tables. "Thanks to them the trains are all locked down and there's soldiers all over the city, all because of their stupid asses! Stupid, boneheaded, good- for-nothing resistance . . . can't they see I'm the one suffering from their actions?"  
  
While the drunk's earlier remarks had garnered him some sympathy from the other people in the pub, those words had suddenly lost it. There were murmurs of surprise and a little anger, which was unsurprising, since the term "resistance member" would apply to most of the people in the room. Squall paused and glanced back at Rinoa, whose eyes had widened in response to the insult directed at her.  
  
His eyes met hers, and the expression he gave her told her it would be best to ignore the drunk's words.  
  
"We need to get through," Squall stated bluntly to the drunk. The man looked up and glared lasers at the SeeD.  
  
"And now I'm getting dissed by some punk," the man complained. At this close range, Squall had to wince at the stench of alcohol coming off the drunk. "Like hell I'll move."  
  
The SeeD suppressed an urge to simply grab the man and toss him aside, and instead reached into one of his pockets. The man may have been obnoxious, but Squall doubted he'd be so caustic if he showed the man what he'd found outside.  
  
"These yours?" Squall asked, crouching in front of the drunk, holding a deck of Triple Triad cards up for inspection.  
  
"Yeah!" the drunk's slurred speech came back, his eyes widening at the cards. "How'd you get them?"  
  
"Found them outside," Squall replied, which was sort of true. They had found it, on the corpse of one of two now dead Galbadian soldiers who had challenged the SeeDs outside the Aphorora Pub. They must have either recognized Rinoa or received descriptions of them from other soldiers, as they'd attacked immediately upon seeing the SeeDs.  
  
A quick block and cleaving counter from Squall had dropped one man, while Zell and Selphie had taken the other. A disarming grapple by Zell and two quick and shockingly powerful whacks by Selphie's nunchaku had taken the second trooper down.  
  
"You want them back?" he asked the drunk, who blinked in surprise.  
  
"Are you serious?" Squall nodded. "Wow." The drunk then smiled. "You know, I'm feeling like a nice guy. That's not my best deck anyway, so keep it."  
  
It was Squall's turn to blink in surprise. Triple Triad cards, and especially large decks, were not something most people parted with easily. The cards were very valuable. That this drunk had given the deck away was very significant.  
  
"You sure?" Squall asked.  
  
"Hell yeah!" the drunk replied, laughing. "Don't worry, my brother owns a pub in Dollet called the Shining Bomber. He's loaded with cards. He'll replace 'em for me." The drunk then began to get up, but his coordination was obviously suffering from the booze he'd been chugging. He almost collapsed back against the door, but Squall caught him and helped the badly drunk man move out of the way.  
  
"Thanks, kid," he responded as Squall helped him sit down. The SeeD nodded and waved the rest of his group on. They exited out the back door of the pub and into the alley.  
  
"I didn't now you were so diplomatic," Rinoa remarked as she led them down the trash-lined path, tall buildings looming up around the small band.  
  
"We're SeeDs," Squall replied simply. "We're trained to succeed."  
  
The group moved down the alley for a short while until they passed a small, rusted iron gate. They came to a stop, and looked up at the tall building looming above. The structure was huge, many stories tall, with a series of metal steps leading up and past it, doubtless the maintenance access Mitch had told them about. The building featured a giant television screen at the top, with scrolling red gibberish running up the screen.  
  
"This is . . . kinda creepy," Rinoa remarked as they walked up the stairs and stopped at the catwalk at the top. In front and to their left, they could see the skyline of the city of Timber stretching out, grays and blues stretching away, but Rinoa's attention was focused on the giant television and the gibberish. Squall afforded it a look, and, watching the red letters ascending up the black screen, he couldn't help but feel a bit of a chill as well. He had no idea what the words were, or even if there were any words, but something about the content of the screen bothered him.  
  
"Its noise," Squall commented, recognizing what he was seeing, if not comprehending it. "Its jamming signals, broadcast over most of the frequencies. Its what denies us access to radio waves and communication. Something has to be done about it before Galbadia can transmit over the air."  
  
Rinoa nodded, and the other two SeeDs watched the screen for a moment, mesmerized by the rising red characters. The clanging footsteps on the stairs below snapped the small group out of it, and the SeeDs spun around, readying their weapons in case of a threat.  
  
It turned out to be another false alarm, as the person was only Watts, running up the stairs after the group.  
  
"New intelligence!" Watts shouted as he stopped a level below where the SeeDs stood. He paused for a second, panting. "The guards are on high alert now. The President is in the studio, and they've got the place sealed tight. No way you guys can get through, sir!" Squall nodded at the rebel's words, and frowned.  
  
"So we can't just rush in," Rinoa commented, echoing Squall's thoughts. "We've got to come up with a new plan then. When the President's gone, maybe the guards will be too? That's when we can do our broadcast. Maybe not as influential, but it's better than nothing, right?" Squall turned to Rinoa, surprised again by the very informal and hesitant way she seemed to be going about this operation.  
  
"Whatever," he said, shrugging. "We'll fight based on your decision," he added, to which Zell and Selphie nodded. However, they didn't seem exactly eager to do so. Neither was Squall, to tell the truth, but he didn't want to voice his opinion in front of his client.  
  
"It's our job," Zell added with a shrug. "Tell us to go, we go. Even if it is suicide."  
  
Rinoa considered their words, and apparent willingness to dive headlong into an impossible battle. She looked down at the catwalk below their feet, and shook her head.  
  
"Acting on our decision?" she asked in a serious tone, surprising Squall again. "How easy that must be to not think about what you're doing. To jump at our orders regardless." Squall's eyes narrowed.  
  
"Call it what you will," he replied. "We're SeeDs. Mercanaries. It's our job. You pay us, we do your dirty work. All we care about is making sure you succeed with our help, and then getting paid." He looked away, off towards the city skyline. "But I find it hard to believe you could do that," he added quietly.  
  
"What?" Rinoa asked, shocked. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Forget it," Squall replied, shaking his head. "Just forget I said anything."  
  
"No," Rinoa replied, scowling and shaking her head. "Tell me. That's an order."  
  
"Fine," Squall hissed, turning to face her. "How serious are you, really? The three of you plop down on the floor to discuss strategy, and crank out a plan too liberate a nation in five minutes. On top of that, you can't make any decisions without our input. How do you think we feel, working for such an organization? Do you think we like serving a group that acts like kids?"  
  
Squall could tell his words had had an impact. Rinoa looked away, her lower jaw working in anger as she digested Squall's harsh criticism. Squall turned back to his group, reading their expressions. While Zell and Selphie definitely looked like they agreed with his assessment, they didn't look too happy about his commentary on the resistance group.  
  
"You know," Rinoa remarked quietly behind him. He sighed and turned back, to see a much more serious expression on Rinoa's face. "Maybe this was just a big mistake. I thought everything would turn out fine once SeeD came to help us." She turned around and looked out over the city.  
  
"I guess I was wrong. You're hired. It's not like you're one of us. You guys think its all a game to us, right?" Rinoa shook her head. "It's not. We're serious. So serious, it hurts. Watts and Zone lost their fathers when Galbadia invaded; Deling murdered them himself. And the rest of us have been hurt too. We want Timber freed, no matter what it takes. But . . . ." She let out a breath and turned back, a look of determination on her face.  
  
"We'll cancel the plan and fall back for now," Rinoa stated. "No way we can take them on, right?" Squall nodded. "Okay. We'll disperse and meet back at the base train in about two hours. I'll have Watts send word to you when it arrives."  
  
Squall and his squad nodded in comprehension as Rinoa spun and hurried down the steps. Squall turned back to his team.  
  
"We'll let Rinoa get ahead before we follow, so we don't raise-"  
  
Squall stopped as he noticed out the corner of his eye that the red and black screen of gibberish suddenly turned into static.  
  
"They're broadcasting!" Selphie shouted.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------  
  
I have to apologize for how long it took me to do this chapter. The Timber sequence seemed to drag on and on, and was definately my least favorite part of the game. But next chapter, we get to see of my favorite sequences: Seifer's betrayal! 


	20. Fate Beckons

Chapter 17: Fate Beckons  
  
The two soldiers at the roadblock noticed the kid in the white trenchcoat the second he rounded a corner and came into view. While no one actually leveled a weapon at the teenager, though, the Galbadian troops immediately went on a slightly higher stage of alert. Fingers hovered near the triggers of their guns, which were ready to pop up at the slightest threatening motion from the kid.  
  
The tenseness rose a little as the teenager, a blonde kid, strode towards the roadblock confidently, as if he were a general instead of some Timber citizen. Two soldiers from the heavily reinforced position stepped forward and approached the teen as he came closer. Both men noted the scar running down his face as he stopped and smirked at the men.  
  
"I'm sorry, kid, but this street is closed," one of the Galbadian soldiers stated. "You can't go this way."  
  
"Really?" the kid asked, his eyes arcing in surprise. "I have a friend who says this road is open."  
  
The two soldiers glanced at each other, and the soldier who'd spoken laughed.  
  
"Look, kid," the soldier replied. He hooked a thumb over his shoulder at the barricade. "See those guns, tanks, and soldiers? This road is blocked off by the Galbadian army. You can't go through, it would compromise President Deling's security."  
  
"I know," the kid responded, his smile widening. "That's the point," he stated as he closed his eyes.  
  
The two Galbadians blinked in confusion, and then grabbed for their weapons. They weren't sure, but had this kid just told them he intended to hurt the President? The sight of the two soldiers readying their weapons caused the rest of the troops at the barricade to begin to go to alert as well.  
  
"Hey," the second soldier said, frowning as he pointed his rifle at the kid. "You, you're under arre-"  
  
The soldier quieted as the air between him and the trench-coated teenager burned. A portal of raging flame erupted, the heat registering on the soldiers' infrared sensors as the baking fires burned their skin. The two men fell back from the flames, one opening his mouth to shout back to the barricade. But he stopped, as did his comrade, and all the men at the barricade as well, for stepping forward from the hellish portal came a monster. No, not a monster.  
  
A demon.  
  
Ifrit roared, a thundering blast that shook the walls of the structures on either side of the street. Fire then rippled down his arms, and solidified in roiling balls of magma resting in his hands. He raised them.  
  
"Fire! Fire fire fire!" a major at the barricade shouted, and weapons swung to face the fury of the Guardian Force. The rifles, machineguns, and cannons sighted the GF, who then swept his arms forward. Even as the troops began squeezing the triggers, the balls of hellish flame hit the barricade and detonated. Galbadian soldiers, metal, concrete, and ceramic went flying as ammunition detonated and a pair of tanks was reduced to slag. Ifrit roared in triumph and vanished.  
  
As Ifrit struck, a Galbadian army truck rounded the corner and drove hard, its passenger-side door flying open. The white-coated teenager reached out towards the open door as the truck passed and grabbed it. As his hands closed around the metal, Seifer Almasy leaped up and sideways, into the passenger seat. He slammed shut the door beside him as Quistis accelerated through the destroyed barricade.  
  
"That was fun," Seifer commented as they passed the barricade. They rounded another corner and came within sight of the TV Station's front entrance. Squads of blue and red-armored soldiers and a couple of trucks drove their way, doubtless having heard the commotion Ifrit had caused. Quistis slowed down a bit, but kept guning the engine. The soldiers and men in the vehicles didn't even glance their way, thinking them to be on the same side. It was a Galbadian army truck, after all. The Galbadians quickly rounded the corner and passed out of sight as they hurried to the compromised barricade.  
  
"You sure about this?" Quistis asked Seifer, who shrugged as they drove straight for the TV Station's front doors. There were a few men inside the lobby, but that was the extent of the security.  
  
"Almost positive," Seifer replied as he checked his gunblade. "Keep your head low, Instructor, don't want you getting hurt." He flashed her a smile, to which Quistis rolled her eyes. She planted her foot on the gas pedal even harder, and the truck accelerated even faster at the doors.  
  
The men inside looked up to see the truck's approach, and pointed. One waved his hands, as if telling them to stop. The truck, however, did not stop or even slow down, and the man's mouth dropped open as the vehicle barrelled in. He, along with the rest of the Galbadian troops scattered around the lobby, dove for cover as the truck connected with the doors.  
  
Glass shattered and flew, metal bent and warped, and the truck, four tons of metal and plastic, smashed into the center of the lobby. Before it had even really stopped, the passenger-side door flew open as Seifer kicked it. The metal door hung partially off its hinges as the cadet leaped out of the vehicle, Hyperion flashing up.  
  
In front of the doors there had once been a reception/security desk, now smashed into kindling by the truck. Behind that was an elegant fountain, and beyond that was a large double staircase leading up to a landing, beyond which were the elevators. Around the truck, the Galbadians who had dived for cover rose. Several of the soldiers' mouths clenched in anger as rifles and swords rose to meet the intruding cadet.  
  
A fireball sent one man spinning to the floor as the soldiers charged. Three closed with Seifer immediately while a fourth circled around to his right, trying to sight him in his rifle's scope. A fifth ran to the side of the truck, taking cover on the driver's side and pointing his weapon at Seifer over the hood while a sixth and a seventh drew swords and charged around the intervening vehicle.  
  
The driver's side door swung open, and the man by the hood spun, in time to see Quistis plant a foot in his jaw. He fell back, and she stepped forward. Quistis closed her free hands around the rifle, and spun it over. The soldier, his hands tightly grasping the weapon, was flipped over as the rifle spun, and landed hard on his back. Quistis brought the rifle up and swung it down, smashing the side of the man's head with the stock and knocking him out cold. Quistis spun, the stolen rifle in hand, and loosed a burst at one of the sword wielding Galbadians. The man cried out as the bullets tore through his armor and laid him out flat.  
  
The other soldier spun to face Quistis, and cast a quick Fire spell at her.The flash of magic struck her, stunning Quistis for a second. Without her GFs, Quistis was much more vulnerable than normal. She blinked and quickly dropped the rifle, and ducked low as the soldier came in. The man slashed for her head, but her ducking sent her head beneath the arc of the soldier's sword. Quistis' fists shot forward, side by side, taking the soldier in the stomach and doubling him over.  
  
The SeeD uncoiled her rante, simultaneously jumping back to give herself room to maneuver. The chain whip snapped forward as the soldier recovered, and the blade cut into his chest, slicing through his armor. The soldier gasped and grabbed at his gushing chest wound, then fell, his sword clattering to the floor.  
  
Seifer realized that the rifle-wielding soldier wouldn't fire if he was in melee with the man's comrades, due to the unclear shot that would present. Thus, the knight dove at the three Galbadians charging him. The men were clustered together, two in front and spread out to the sides, with the third in back. As the cadet closed in, the one to Seifer's right slashed down diagonally, while the one on his left sliced across. The one at the rear sent a quick thrust at Seifer's head.  
  
The cadet responded by ducking down and to the left, putting him below the plane of the left soldier's slash and out of the path of the right soldier's cut as well. Hyperion weaved up as Seifer's left hand rose, a Fire spell charging. Hyperion intercepted the thrusting blade, and the cadet forced the soldier's weapon down into the floor. At the same moment, Seifer discharged the Fire spell in the left soldier's face.  
  
As that man fell, his face exploding from the fiery blast, Seifer flicked his wrist over, and swept his right arm up and out to the right. The gunblade cleaved clean through the right soldier's neck, and his head went flying. The cadet then rose to his full height, leaping up and back, spinning away from the remaining soldier. As he did so Seifer's left hand crossed over his chest, his palm pointing to the right. Energy gathered there.  
  
Seifer landed on his feet, and stopped spinning. His left palm was pointing directly at the rifle-wielding soldier. The man managed to open his mouth in surprise before the spell took him.  
  
The final soldier began to cast his own spell, but Seifer beat him to the punch. A third Fire spell erupted and dropped that man as well.  
  
"The President's likely in the studio!" Seifer shouted to Quistis as she rounded the truck, her soldiers taken care of. "Haul ass!"  
  
-------------------  
  
The image on the giant television resolved, showing the inside of a studio. In the center of the image, between a pair of black flags proudly displaying the Galbadian symbol, there was a large podium. A half-dozen microphones were set on the podium.  
  
The three SeeDs watched as several technicians scrambled about, finishing last-second work. The techs then cleared out as a somewhat pudgy man in a striped suit stepped onscreen and stood behind the podium. He tapped one of the microphones a couple of times.  
  
"Testing," he called, speaking into the microphones. "One, two, testing, testing . . . ." He glanced off screen as someone said something, and then turned to face the camera, suddenly becoming excited. "Oh! P- people of the world! Can you see me? Can you hear me? This is incredible! This is not a recording, this an actual live broadcast over the air! It's been seventeen years since we've been able to do this!"  
  
A shout from off screen stole the announcer's attention, and he paused for a second, face reddening slightly.  
  
"Oh, yes," he said, more subdued. "Please excuse me, I seem to have lost my manners. We would like to present to you today a message from the lifelong President of Galbadia, Vinzer Deling. Ladies and gentlemen, President Deling." The announcer gestured offscreen, and then stepped away from the podium. From the left side entered the President himself, looking exactly like the graying, slightly overweight imposter the SeeDs had encountered on the train.  
  
Deling stood behind of the podium, and looked straight at the camera, as if evaluating his viewers. His dark eyes searched, hidden among the thick wrinkles in his skin. His graying black hair was immaculately combed, and the suit he wore was equally spotless. The dictator seemed every part the politician he was reputed to be.  
  
Finally, Deling spoke.  
  
"Greetings, people of the world," Vinzer Deling began, his voice ringing loudly and clearly. "I am obviously Vinzer Deling, lifelong President of the Galbadian Republic. I come before you today to make the following proposition." He paused, and looked into the camera. The President held up a hand, as if letting something rest in his open palm.  
  
"We, the people of this world, have the power to end all wars. There is hope for peace between all nations, great and small."  
  
"See, see!" Selphie suddenly burst out. The other two SeeDs glanced at her. "It's a peace proposal to the world! I knew it!" both Zell and Squall frowned, not exactly happy that Selphie had seemingly been right all along.  
  
"Unfortunately," Deling continued, holding out his hands as if he were offering friendship. "There are some trifling problems between Galbadia and other nations. They must be resolved before we can draft any proposals for world peace. I plan to convene with the leaders of these nations to solve these problems." Deling paused as there was a shout and something breaking somewhere beyond the camera's point of view. He blinked, and then continued.  
  
"At this time, allow me to introduce the ambassador who will be my representative at the conference."  
  
"What?" Zell muttered. "All this trouble to announce an ambassador?" Squall nodded as Deling paused dramatically before announcing the ambassador. It did seem somewhat pointless to go to all this trouble for a diplomat.  
  
Which was what had Squall worried. Who was an ambassador who was so important that their announcement to the world required a full-scale war?  
  
"The ambassador," Deling stated, holding up a hand and gesturing off screen, "is the Sorceress . . . ." Deling smiled and trailed off, pausing dramatically again. He opened his mouth to state the Sorceress's name, but even as he was about to announce her, Squall's own mouth had opened in shock. A Sorceress?  
  
The term "Sorceress" caused images and lessons in history to flip through Squall's mind at lightning-fast speeds.  
  
The Sorceresses. Women who were endowed with incredible magical power and strength. Able to cast and manipulate magic like it was a nothing. The most glorious and benevolent leaders and also the worst tyrants in history. Entire nations and empires rose or fell with the coming and going of the Sorceresses. Sorceress Adel was the direct cause of the war between the western nations and Esthar nearly two decades ago. Her mad quest for domination had led to countless deaths and atrocities, until she had disappeared seventeen years ago. It was unknown whether Adel was still alive and active or not.  
  
Had Deling thrown in with another Sorceress? Someone to oppose the possible power of Sorceress Adel in Esthar?  
  
Squall's line of thought was broken as, in the midst of Deling's dramatic pause, there could be heard the sound of wood splintering and glass shattering. There were shouts heard off camera and, more surprisingly, the sound of metal ringing on metal and a pair of death cries.  
  
A white-coated figure suddenly leaped into view, causing the shocked President to fall back. The figure brandished a slender, black and silver gunblade. As another Galbadian soldier charged in and was quickly cut down, Squall could make out his features.  
  
"Seifer?!" Squall shouted in surprise as a pair of Galbadians grabbed Seifer from behind, looping their arms underneath his to restrain him.  
  
The blonde cadet smirked and, as a third soldier rushed him, broke free of their grasp with almost casual ease, throwing one man aside and elbowing the second in the face hard enough to hurl him away. In the commotion, someone knocked the camera over, the image rotating ninety degrees as the camera fell on its side.  
  
The third soldier pulled out a handgun, only to be knocked aside as another blonde figure rushed in. She spun around, snapping her whip at a pair of sword-wielding troops as Seifer sprang at the President. The blonde cadet placed his gunblade across Deling's throat as he stood behind the President, using him as a shield.  
  
"Instructor Trepe?" Zell exclaimed as Quistis stood between the soldiers and Seifer.  
  
"Stay back!" she ordered to the soldiers, as more came into view around the sideways camera.  
  
"Squall, what do we do?" Zell asked, frantically as more Galbadians rushed into view, some edging closer to the President and his captor. Seifer leaned closer to the President's ear and said something, likely a threat or order. The President nodded and stood still in response.  
  
"For the last time, stay back!" Quistis commanded the soldiers surrounding them. "You're only going to provoke him!"  
  
"Nothing," Squall replied to Zell's question. "Our job is to assist the Forest Owls. This isn't our business."  
  
Even as Squall spoke, Quistis spun to the overturned camera.  
  
"Timber team, are you watching?" she shouted. "Hurry to the station! You have permission! I need your help!"  
  
Squall stiffened at those words, and nodded as if she were talking to him directly.  
  
"Let's move!" he ordered to his team. The other two SeeDs nodded and ran up the staircase to their left. The catwalk turned to the left as it rounded a building, and led straight to the TV Station, which was alight with spotlights and shining illumination.  
  
A few minutes later the group had entered that station. Following the trail of bodies Seifer had left in his wake, they quickly found the studio where Seifer was holding Deling hostage. The area showed signs of damage, with the bodies of a half-dozen bodyguards sprawled among broken and scattered electronics. Squall scanned the area, to see the remaining soldiers collected at the far side of the room, conferring with several officers. Quistis was standing between them and Seifer and Deling.  
  
"The cameras are offline," Quistis told Squall as soon as she spotted the SeeDs. "The soldiers are keeping their distance, like I advised them. But we have to restrain Deling quickly!" Squall nodded, scanning the area for some heavy-duty cable they could use. Whatever Seifer was planning, it was sanctioned by Garden, or at least by Quistis. If they could restrain Deling and free up Seifer, they might be able to escape. But the SeeDs would have to move quickly, as Deling's soldiers were doubtless surrounding the TV Station even now.  
  
Squall spotted some cable and pointed Selphie to it. She nodded and moved to take a bundle and cut it with her knife. As Selphie did that, Squall turned back to Seifer and Deling.  
  
His self-proclaimed rival was alternating glares towards the Galbadians with softer looks at his fellow SeeDs. He wasn't giving Squall the usual superior look, but instead was regarding them as his comrades, which was something that surprised Squall. Seifer was taking this situation seriously, for once.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?" Squall demanded to Seifer.  
  
"Obvious, ain't it?" Seifer barked. "Resistance makes a kidnapping attempt on Deling. Which means you want him. What are you planning to do with this guy?"  
  
"Planning to do?" Squall echoed, and then Seifer's remarks about the resistance brought Squall back to the conversation he'd had with Rinoa on the train. Rinoa and Seifer knew each other . . . was that why he was here?  
  
"Oh, yeah, I get it," Zell said, nodding. "You're Rinoa's-"  
  
"Shut your damn mouth, Chicken-Wuss!" Seifer cut him off with a snap, scowling viciously at Zell's almost-remark. His quick and forceful tone angered Zell to a degree, judging by the martial artist's clenched jaw and trembling hands. As Zell set his jaw tightly, Quistis turned towards them. Squall opened his mouth to ask why Seifer was here when he was supposed to be in the detention area of Garden, but Quistis cut him off with a raised hand.  
  
"He broke out of the disciplinary room," she said quietly, so only Zell and Squall could hear. "He injured many in the process." Squall nodded, but Zell's face reddened at the news of Seifer's actions. He looked back up at Seifer, who still stood behind the President, although he was edging further back, towards an open door leading out of the studio.  
  
"You stupid idiot!" Zell shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Seifer. The cadet rolled his eyes as the Galbadian bodyguards at the far end of the room looked up, hands dropping to holstered and sheathed weapons.  
  
"Zell, calm down," Squall said, but the martial artist ignored his words. "Be quiet." He glanced to the side as Selphie returned with a bundle of cut cables.  
  
"Instructor, I know!" Zell continued, turning to Quistis. "You're gonna take this idiot's stupid ass back to Garden, right?"  
  
"Zell, no!" Squall exclaimed, slapping one hand over the surprised martial artist's mouth. It was Garden protocol to never openly state that one was a SeeD working for Garden when on covert operations. That would compromise the security of Garden. Zell seemed to have realized that a moment too late, his eyes widening as he slapped a hand over his mouth.  
  
However, it seemed Deling had overheard, and began laughing quietly. The Galbadian soldiers had also stopped talking, and were watching and listening to the conversation intently.  
  
"I see. You're all with Garden, then," Deling stated loudly. He smiled. "Should anything happen to me, the entire Galbadian military will undoubtably crush Garden." There were nods from the assembled soldiers as they understood their implied orders.  
  
"You can let go of me now," Deling remarked to Seifer.  
  
"What, and lose a good meat shield?" Seifer responded, shaking Deling's shoulder. He looked up at Zell, and narrowed his eyes. "Good going, chicken-wuss. You and your stupid big mouth. Instructor and Mr. Leader!" Seifer looked at Quistis, then Squall. "Handle this mess!"  
  
Then he pulled Deling back, towards the door. Quistis began to follow, but at that moment the Galbadian soldiers began to rush forward, swords sliding out of sheaths and rifles rising.  
  
"Follow Seifer!" Squall shouted to Quistis as he focused, calling up Quetzacotl. "We'll keep them busy!" Zell and Selphie nodded at his implied order. As one soldier approached, a shard of ice appeared above Selphie and struck him down, shattering into a thousand glittering needles and deadly frigid air. Two more Galbadians were met by Zell, who quickly disarmed and pounded the two men, shattering bones and cracking skulls.  
  
A bolt of lightning from the ceiling struck the floor as rain inexplicably fell inside the studio. With a flash of awe-inspiring light, Quetzacotl came forth to rain his fury on the Galbadians. As the eyeless snake-bird entity unleashed its lightning, Quistis could barely be seen hurrying out of the door Seifer and Deling had disappeared through.  
  
-------------------  
  
"This is obviously not the best course of action for Garden, wouldn't you say?" Deling asked as Seifer backed into another studio, dragging the politician with him.  
  
"If you don't shut your ass, I'll-" Seifer paused, listening to the sounds of distant combat. After a moment, he continued backing away from the door. He glanced around, and spotted some hanging white curtains, partially covering a news stage. Just beyond them Seifer spotted a door on the opposite side of the studio.  
  
"Over there, move it!" Seifer ordered, pushing the President along. Deling sighed but obeyed, and the hostage and his captor moved up onto the stage, heading for the distant door.  
  
Suddenly, Seifer's warrior instincts charged up, and he knew that he and the President weren't alone. Perhaps he'd caught a faint change in the ambient temperature, or perhaps had heard quiet breathing, or maybe just a slight tingle of the unnatural, but Seifer sensed the presence of another.  
  
He tightly grasped Deling's shoulder, and the dictator paused. Seifer caught the edges of the President's mouth rising, which in turn put Seifer more on edge. Whoever was in the room could potentially be an ally of Deling's, which would unnecessarily complicate things.  
  
For once, Seifer actually wished Squall was here to back him up. At least then he wouldn't have to worry about holding onto Deling while Squall dealt with the enemy as quickly and efficiently as Seifer would have otherwise. Despite Squall's nice and honorable tendencies, he had learned rather well from his rival.  
  
The curtains rustled faintly, and Seifer ducked down a little behind Deling. He considered beating the man across the back of his head and putting him out, but before he could begin to go through with that course of action, Deling's ally stepped out from behind the white sheets. Seifer was expecting heavily armed guards, or maybe even a robotic weapon. What he saw instead shocked the cadet for a brief moment.  
  
A slender wisp of a woman, clad in a long, form-fitting dress, glided forward. The dress was a deep shade of purple at the top, but gradually lightened the lower down her body it went, until it was nearly pink around her ankles. Her dress covered her entire body, excepting a bit of cleavage, upper chest, and her neck, the skin an almost milky white. Around her shoulders, the dress featured thick, heavy black fur, reminding Seifer of Squall's jacket somewhat. Her fingers were oddly elongated, although one couldn't tell whether that was due to gloves or if the long digits were natural. She wore a crimson beak-like mask over her face, and was ornamented with a corkscrewing white horn on the left side of her head, with a second, straighter horn of a darker reddish-purple shade rising above that.  
  
"Poor, poor boy," she said quietly, shaking her head as she faced the cadet. Seifer tensed up, his fingers tightening around his gunblade. It was her . . . the Sorceress Deling had spoken of moments ago. One of the women of legend, confronting him. Even through the mask, Seifer could feel her eyes boring into his very soul, searching and probing.  
  
"Stay away from me!" Seifer ordered. He felt her mental probe becoming a little more tangible as it worked its way through his mind. He could feel his heart pounding in his ears as the woman stepped forward, continuing to speak as if he'd said nothing.  
  
"Such a confused little boy," the Sorceress remarked, her voice and tone sounding like a condescending mother speaking to a toddler. The words knifed under Seifer's skin, angering him as they cut into his pride. He felt the urge to release Deling and strike the woman down, but his mission held him back. He had to get out of here with the President, but this woman was in the way.  
  
"Are you going to step forward?" the Sorceress asked, seeming to read his very mind. "Retreat? You have to decide." She edged forward again, and Seifer stepped back, dragging Deling with him. He felt her intrusions growing.  
  
"Stay back!" he ordered again, both at the woman's physical body and her mental assault. Seifer raised his gunblade against Deling's throat slightly, a clear warning.  
  
The Sorceress paused, and waved her hands for a moment, pale purple motes of light forming around her, combining into a single shining light source. Seifer tensed, but the woman did not hurl any magic his way. She gestured past him, toward the door, and Seifer felt a rush of magical energy behind him. He risked a glance over his shoulder.  
  
Quistis was standing in the door as magical power washed over her. She dropped to her knees, clutching her head as the spell took and incapacitated her.  
  
The Sorceress took another step forward, and Seifer spun back to face her, clenching his jaw. He glared at the woman, showing her all the legendary defiance he had developed throughout his years in Garden. He wanted to attack her, to kill her, but he knew he couldn't give in to the urge. He had his mission. He had to do this for Rinoa.  
  
But the Sorceress blocked him from escaping. He wanted to attack, he knew that he had to attack, but not only did he need to get away with Deling, the Sorceress was frightening, something Seifer didn't want to admit. Her magic, her mental intrusions, the way she seemed to be able to see into Seifer's very soul, it was incredible, and intimidating.  
  
"The boy in you is telling you to come," the Sorceress continued, her whispering voice finding the mental mark once more. "The man in you is telling you to back off. You can't make up your mind, you don't know the right answer."  
  
Seifer growled inaudibly, and took another step back. Dammit, where was Squall when he needed him?  
  
"You want help, don't you? You want to be saved from this predicament."  
  
"Shut up!" Seifer growled, frustrated by her and her ability to read his mind.  
  
"Don't be afraid to ask for help," the woman responded, her intrusions shifting deeper in response to the emotional outburst. "After all, you are only a little boy."  
  
"I'm not . . . ." Seifer hissed, angered by her tone and her insults towards his pride. "Stop calling me a boy." He'd intended for the statement to be one of defiance, but it came out as more of a plea. He wasn't a boy. Seifer Almasy was a man. A fearless man, a warrior and a hero. The best. He'd prove it, to everyone. Squall, Quistis, Deling, even this damned Sorceress.  
  
He was Seifer Almasy, Hyne-dammit!  
  
"You don't want to be a boy anymore?" the woman asked, her words almost enticing. No, Seifer wasn't a boy; he'd give anything to not be a child.  
  
"I am not a boy!" Seifer responded loudly and forcefully. The woman nodded and raised a hand, pointing it at him.  
  
It was as if a light had been switched on in his mind. He wasn't a child; the Sorceress knew it. Yes, she knew he was a real man, a warrior. The greatest warrior in the world. She understood. Her words had only been needed to show him the truth.  
  
The Sorceress would let him fulfill his dreams. Seifer would become the ultimate warrior, and all she needed was his service. She needed him to be her knight. Seifer knew this, understood it, and accepted it.  
  
For the Sorceress.  
  
Seifer released Deling, who immediately scrambled away, disappearing out the very door that he and his captor had been headed for earlier. Neither Seifer nor the Sorceress paid him any more attention than a mouse. Deling wasn't important; only Seifer and his Sorceress mattered now. They, and the dreams they were destined to bring.  
  
"Come with me to a place of no return," the Sorceress said to him. Seifer nodded. "Bid farewell to your childhood."  
  
-------------------  
  
Squall, Selphie, and Zell had driven the remaining Galbadian soldiers away, and now were charging down the hall Quistis had taken. They burst through the doorway into a room that seemed to have been filled with a faint purple haze. Squall scanned the room, his warrior senses immediately lighting up. Something wasn't right here.  
  
He spotted Quistis, on her knees and clutching her head. An instant later, he spotted Seifer on the stage of the studio, facing a woman in a dark purple dress and wearing a red mask. The woman and Seifer turned to face the SeeDs, and Squall caught the strangest smile on Seifer's face, and an odd gleam in his eye.  
  
Seifer raised Hyperion in a salute to Squall, and the woman gestured. Purple energy suddenly washed over Squall and his comrades, blinding them.  
  
When the light faded, Quistis was standing, the purple haze had vanished, and Seifer and the mysterious woman were gone.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------  
  
This chapter was relatively short, but I felt that Seifer's betrayal was an important enough part of the storyline to earn its own chapter. 


	21. Escape from Timber

Chapter 18: Escape from Timber  
  
A quick but thorough search of the room showed no trace of either Seifer or the mysterious woman. They had vanished completely, and that, combined with the magical blast that had blinded the SeeDs, told Squall all he needed to know about the purple-garbed woman. Whoever she was, she had been Deling's Sorceress.  
  
As the SeeDs finished their sweep, the door Deling had escaped through burst open. The SeeDs started to draw their weapons, but then stood down as they saw who the intruder was.  
  
"Hey!" Rinoa called. She glanced out the door, and then looked back at the SeeDs, her eyes scanning the room. Squall noted that Rinoa was fully armed now, and, he realized a moment later, accompanied by Angelo. The dog sniffed the air, her ears going flat, as if she sensed danger. Squall couldn't help but agree that this area wasn't secure.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Squall asked Rinoa as he gestured the rest of his squad and Quistis to head for the door behind Rinoa. He joined them after checking the corridor behind.  
  
"I saw the broadcast," Rinoa explained. She looked around the room once more, her expression turning concerned. Squall realized exactly what she was searching for, and knew what she would say before the words left her mouth.  
  
"Where's Seifer?"  
  
"I don't know," Squall replied. "But we can't stay here. Let's move." Rinoa reluctantly nodded and led the way out of the studio, with Squall pointedly moving up beside her.  
  
"He'll be okay, right?" Rinoa asked quietly as they entered another hallway. Squall remained silent as they rounded a corner and passed through another empty studio. He didn't have an answer to that question, though he, too, was concerned with what had happened to Seifer - though Squall would never openly admit it.  
  
The small group soon found their way outside. The maintenance access was still unguarded, although a squad of blue-clad Timber militia were working their way up the catwalk. For an instant, Squall thought that they would have to injure or incapacitate the militia in order to keep up appearances, but stood down at a wave from Rinoa. She conferred with the leader of the militia squad, who simply nodded and waved them on.  
  
"They found our base while we were in the city," Rinoa commented quietly as the SeeDs and their client passed the giant television screen. "It's been completely destroyed." The news surprised the SeeDs, obviously.  
  
"And everyone else?" Selphie asked, realizing that only Rinoa had come to meet them. Rinoa suppressed a giggle.  
  
"Don't worry about them," she replied. "They're good at hiding. They saw the attack coming and evacuated. They even managed to get Angelo for me."  
  
Soon the group was advancing down the alleyway, heading back through the Aphorora Pub.  
  
"I need to get away from Timber for a while," Rinoa stated as they came into sight of the pub. "They've gotten some information from the train, and while its not enough to point to me, if I get detained . . . ."  
  
"They'll ID you, right?" Zell finished, to Rinoa's nod.  
  
"Is there a safe place you can take me?" Rinoa asked. Squall frowned, unsure. Obviously, Rinoa meant a Garden facility, but those may or may not be the safest locations now that Galbadia knew that SeeDs were involved. Even if Galbadia didn't attack Garden for Seifer's actions, the housing and safekeeping of someone opposed to the Deling regime might not come off well.  
  
"This is an order. I am your client, remember?" Rinoa added to which Squall sighed and nodded. She had a point.  
  
"All right. We'll take you back to Garden after we get out of town," he replied. Rinoa smiled and patted his shoulder in thanks. He simply shrugged as they passed through the door into the Aphorora Pub.  
  
"Rinoa!" A rather heavyset woman called out from behind the bar, where she was mixing drinks. "Thank Hyne you're all right. Did you get your people out of there?" Rinoa nodded, gesturing to the SeeDs.  
  
"I heard your base had been destroyed too," the woman added. She glanced at the equally heavyset owner of the pub, who nodded. The woman stepped out from behind the bar. "You and your friends had better come to my place until things settle down."  
  
"Okay," Rinoa replied with a nod. She gestured for the group to follow her, and they quickly cleared out of the Aphorora Pub, following the woman.  
  
They passed through the streets without incident, evading the numerous blue-uniformed patrols that rushed about, combing the city for the rebels and SeeDs. After passing through a few alleys and crossing a busy street, the group arrived at the woman's home, a two story household next to Timber's biggest newspaper and magazine publisher, Timber Maniacs. The building dwarfed the tiny house next door, Squall saw, as they entered.  
  
"Well, this is it," the woman stated as the group entered the modest home. They passed an entry hallway and entered a mid-sized dining room and kitchen, with hallways branching off to the rest of the first floor and a staircase leading upstairs.  
  
"I'll head out and keep an eye open," the woman added, walking to the door. "I'll let you know if anything changes. 'Til then, make yourselves at home." She then stepped into the entry hall to keep watch.  
  
"Thanks, Chief!" Rinoa said, to which the woman simply smiled and waved the gratitude away.  
  
"No problem," she replied as she dissappeared out into the hallway.  
  
"Chief?" Squall asked, recalling how everyone in town was a resistance member.  
  
"She's leader of the Forest Fox group," Rinoa replied, smiling. "You know everyone here's a rebel, though my group's the only one very active at the moment. But it would be best if we stayed here for a while anyway."  
  
Squall agreed, and they settled in to wait, something that Squall was not very good at.  
  
-------------------  
  
Rinoa had, at the Forest Fox's Chief's urging, prepared some food for the SeeDs over the next hour. During that time, Squall had gone up to the second floor, taking up a watch there. Not that he didn't trust the Chief to keep an eye out, but he'd rather have two eyes scanning for trouble.  
  
After about an hour, the Chief's daughter showed up at the house, and relieved Squall of his duty as a lookout. She had also brought word that the Galbadian army was starting house-to-house searches.  
  
As Squall returned to the first floor, he noticed Zell was working on the water heater in the kitchen's corner, apparently out of both boredom and because the thing was malfunctioning. The rest of the group loitered about, Rinoa looking out a window while Selphie and Quistis sat at the table. Angelo was curled up in a corner, sound asleep.  
  
"I still don't get it," Selphie said to Rinoa. "What did Seifer come here for? It was so out of the blue."  
  
"I think I know, now," Rinoa replied. She turned around and faced the SeeDs. "He came to help us, the Forest Owls." Squall blinked in surprise for an instant, before nodding. Seifer had been the one who'd arranged for the mission, after all. It seemed obvious he would do whatever it took to see the mission complete.  
  
"So, that was what he was talking about," Quistis murmured, nodding in her own understanding. "Seifer kept telling me he was doing it for someone."  
  
"I talked about it a lot with him," Rinoa explained, walking across the room. Her eyes seemed to be set on a time and place far removed from the kitchen. "He agreed with me wholeheartedly. He kept saying that Galbadia had no right to control Timber, and that he'd help me someday. I knew he meant it, but to come all this way like he did . . . ." Rinoa looked around at the SeeDs. "He did it for us. Please, don't think too badly of him."  
  
The front door suddenly rattled as someone pounded on it roughly. The SeeDs' hands went to their weapons as Angelo suddenly awoke, rushing to Rinoa's side protectively. At the same moment, the Chief's daughter bounded down the stairs.  
  
"The Galbad-" she began to say, but was cut of by a shout.  
  
"Hey!" a loud, gruff shout from outside could be heard. "Anybody in here?" The Chief hurried to the door, opening a small window and glaring at the soldiers outside.  
  
"What?" she shouted angrily, in an angry-mother-like tone, the kind one used to scold children. "What is this? I have two young children in here! Don't scare them!"  
  
"But, ma'am-" the soldier began to protest.  
  
"Honestly, you should be ashamed of yourself!" the Chief continued. "Big, bad soldiers, going around, frightening little children!"  
  
"I meant n-"  
  
"Was that what you read on the recruitment posters? That you'd spend all your time barging in on mothers and frightening babies? What kind of soldier are you?"  
  
"Upstairs," the Chief's daughter hissed. "Hurry!" Squall nodded and waved his team up. They quickly scrambled up the stairs, but Rinoa paused at the foot of the staircase.  
  
"Will she be okay?" she asked. The girl simply smiled.  
  
"My mom'll be fine. The legend goes," she quickly explained, "that during the Galbadian invasion, my mother took down many soldiers with her strength, cooking, and beauty. She can keep them busy with the best of them. Don't worry."  
  
"That beauty part sure makes it seem like a legend," Selphie commented from the top of the stairs.  
  
-------------------  
  
The Forest Fox Chief and her daughter kept the Galbadian soldiers busy with a withering barrage of accusations and questions while the SeeDs and their client waited on the second floor. Squall kept an eye on the small squad of men outside, who kept persistently trying to convince the Chief to let them in. Selphie was sprawled out on the single bed in that room, Angelo at her feet, while Zell continued his silent repairs on the water heater, working on the section of the device on this floor. Quistis and Rinoa continued their talk about Seifer from downstairs.  
  
"I wonder if he's all right?" Rinoa asked absently. Quistis chuckled. "What?"  
  
"He was so angry when he found out . . . ." Quistis explained. "When he knew it was only you three dispatched to Timber. 'They could be going up against the entire Galbadian army!' he said." Quistis shook her head. "'And they send three rookies? Hyne damn it! Let me outta here!' I never thought he was serious about it."  
  
Squall, overhearing the conversation, shook his head. Seifer was always serious. Quistis should have realized that by now.  
  
"What's going to happen to him?" Quistis thought out loud a few moments later. Squall glanced back at her and shrugged.  
  
"He may already be dead," Squall deadpanned. Both Quistis and Rinoa turned their gazes his way, and a surprising degree of shock was in Rinoa's eyes.  
  
"How can you be so casual?" she asked, her tone accusing. Squall blinked, surprised by Rinoa's outburst and protest against a simple statement of what was likely true.  
  
"I . . . I feel sorry for him," Rinoa added, turning her gaze down to the floor as she fiddled with the ring on her necklace. "I hope he's okay."  
  
Somehow, Squall couldn't help but imagine Seifer's reaction to her display of emotion. Likely the cadet would have been angry or even offended that Rinoa was worried about him. It was almost amusing, and Squall couldn't help but let out a quiet, if dark, laugh at the idea.  
  
"What's so funny? You're terrible!" Rinoa snapped, her implicating tone returning tenfold. Squall was surprised by the second outburst, just as he had been the first time. Did Rinoa even know Seifer? Or maybe she was seeing him from a different angle than what Squall had always experienced.  
  
They were quiet for a while after that, until Rinoa broke the silence again.  
  
"So, why do you think he may be dead?" she asked Squall. He shrugged, as if it were obvious.  
  
"The President and the Sorceress have joined forces, and it seems that the Sorceress did something to Seifer," Squall explained. "Seifer attacked the President. It's not surprising he may have been killed for it."  
  
"Even so," Rinoa replied, almost pleading. "I still hope he's alive."  
  
Squall audibly snorted and turned away. Rinoa could think what she wanted, it still wouldn't help at all. Reality wasn't so kind. Not everything worked out the way one wanted it to.  
  
"A bit of advice," he stated coldly, staring out the window. "As long as you don't get your hopes up, you can take anything. You can feel less pain." He glanced back at Rinoa. "Anyway, whatever wish you have is none of my business. All I care about is fulfilling the mission."  
  
Rinoa's expression hovered somewhere between disbelief and anger. Her jaw trembled slightly as her eyes widened at Squall's icy tone and impassive advice.  
  
"You're . . . ." she said, trailing off. Her fists balled by her sides and shook in frustration. "You're mean! MEANIE!"  
  
Squall blinked in surprise at the childish outburst and equally childish choice of insults. What was with her and the emotional outbursts today? Squall felt the need to actually calm her down, but he didn't know exactly what to say in response to the accusation.  
  
"Sorry," he offered with a shrug, turning back to the window. It was the best he could come up with. He looked out the window, and was surprised to see the Galbadians were dispersing, moving on to the next house. The departing of the soldiers was accompanied by the sound of the Chief's daughter bounding up the stairs.  
  
"The Galbadians are withdrawing. The President's headed out now," she explained, waving for them to head back downstairs. "Only the soldiers normally stationed here are going to stick around. If you're gonna leave town, now's your chance! You know how persistent those soldiers can be."  
  
The SeeDs and their client returned to the kitchen, and there, Squall considered what they had to do next. Obviously, they would have to get out of Timber first. Even though the Forest Fox's Chief had thrown the pursuing soldiers off, it would only be a matter of time before the forces regularly stationed in Timber would find them.  
  
"So, what's your plan?" the Chief asked, her question directed at Squall.  
  
"We have to get out of Timber first," Squall answered. "Any way we can."  
  
"Getting out is only the first step," Quistis commented. "We have to find safe harbor." Squall nodded, recalling that line in the Garden Code. Article Eight, Line Seven: In the event that returning to the assigned Garden is impossible, report to the nearest available Garden. In their case, the nearest Garden would be Galbadia Garden; returning to Balamb would likely be impossible, as the Galbadian soldiers would have the rail lines to Balamb closed or at least being watched.  
  
"Didn't you say that the only rail line open was the one for Galbadia Garden's commuters?" Squall asked Selphie, who nodded. "Then that's our target. We have to get on that train, no matter what it takes." Rinoa and his fellow SeeDs nodded. Selphie, though tired, had a look of determination on her face, as did Zell, despite the normally loud SeeD's bout of silence. Quistis looked more than ready to leave, as did Rinoa, even though she wasn't a SeeD.  
  
"Quistis," Squall asked, "You've been to Galbadia Garden before, right?"  
  
"I've been there several times," she answered with a nod. "We'll need to get off at the East Academy Station, and head north through Yaluny Canyon to the Monteresau Plateau. Galbadia Garden isn't far beyond the forest in the canyon. It shouldn't take more than a half a day's travel."  
  
"Okay, then," Squall said with a nod. "Let's go." He turned to the Chief and gave her a nod of thanks.  
  
"You kids be careful, now!" she called as the SeeDs, along with their client and her dog, left the house.  
  
-------------------  
  
Watts met the SeeDs outside the Chief's house, though his chosen dress nearly got him killed. The Forest Owl was defiantely a master of disguise; they didn't recognize him in the uniform of a Galbadian soldier. Squall had almost chopped him in half before Watts had cried out a warning, stopping the SeeD's weapon.  
  
"Good disguise," Selphie commented as Squall sheathed his gunblade.  
  
"Thanks," Watts replied, smiling. "Anyway, I've got some new info, sir! It turns out that they're shutting down all the rail lines out of Timber."  
  
"Mega-bummer!" Selphie replied, her words echoing the sentiments of the rest of the SeeD group.  
  
"Not necessarily," Watts said quickly. "They're letting one last train out, the one headed for Galbadia Garden and Dollet."  
  
Squall nodded. "We're getting on that train," he said, as much an order as a statement.  
  
"Rinoa, you're going with them?" Watts then asked, his voice low and a bit sad. He already knew the answer to the question.  
  
"Yeah," she replied, sadness creeping into her voice as well. "What about you?"  
  
"Don't worry about me!" Watts said, with a crisp and very Galbadian salute. "I'll gather more info! Knowledge is power!" Rinoa smiled at Watts' chipper attitude.  
  
"I promise I'll be back," Rinoa told him. "You take care, okay?"  
  
"I will," he answered. "Squall, you'll take care of Rinoa, right?"  
  
"Yeah," Squall responded, nodding. "Client's orders. Rinoa's safe with us."  
  
"'Til we meet again, sir!" Watts said, smiling once more. He saluted, then strode away purposefully, appearing as if just another patrolling soldier. Within moments he was gone, and Squall led the group away toward the northern section of the city.  
  
A short time later, the group was passing the Aphorora Pub once more. Without warning, an old man who was loitering around suddenly stepped into their path.  
  
"Squall, Rinoa!" he called, his voice definately not that of an old man. Both the SeeD and his client recognized the voice.  
  
"Zone!" Rinoa called, running up to the "old man." Zone smiled behind a huge, bushy gray mustache.  
  
"You're headed for the train departing for Galbadia Garden, right?" he asked. Squall and Rinoa nodded. "Bad news, then," Zone reported. "There's no more tickets left."  
  
"Super-duper-mega-bummer!" Selphie complained, attracting everyone's attention for a brief moment.  
  
"We'll do whatever it takes to get on that train," Squall stated. "Even if we have to cut our way on board."  
  
"You won't have to do that," Zone replied, his smile growing.From his pants pocket the Forest Owl produced a handful of tickets. "Lookie what I've got here! Someone bought these tickets up so no one else could get on the train. What a coincidence I happen to have them."  
  
Zone handed one to Rinoa, and then three more to Squall, for his team, leaving one ticket in the rebel's hand.  
  
"This last one's for me . . . ." Zone began to say, but then paused, looking at Quistis. With startling speed, Zone stepped up to her and put the ticket in her hand. Quistis's mouth opened in surprise, and she attempted to give it back to Zone, but the Owl would hear nothing of it.  
  
"Take it," he said quickly, and then backed away, clutching his stomach. "Ow, my stomach . . . just get going, the train's leaving soon."  
  
"Thank you," Quistis said, nodding her sincere thanks for the oddly selfless act.  
  
"Yes, Zone," Rinoa added. "Zone, you keep out of trouble, okay? You have to survive. We've got to liberate Timber together."  
  
"I know, I know," Zone replied, still holding his tummy. "I'll go hide in a bathroom or something. Now get moving. And you," Zone looked at Squall. "If anything happens to Rinoa, I'll kill you."  
  
In response to Zone's threat, Squall simply shrugged, not menaced at all by someone who he could break in half even without junctions. He then led his team and their client to the train station, where the vehicle waited. The conductor glanced at the SeeD's tickets and quickly waved them on board.  
  
The SeeDs entered the last car, and Seplhie immediately ran to the door leading to the SeeD's private cabin. The intercom sounded with an announcement of the departure, and the train shuddered as it started moving. Squall took a quick inventory of his group. They were all tired, but Quistis and Rinoa appeared to be relieved to be out of Timber. Zell, however, seemed very anxious as he stood away from the group, staring out a window at the passing city.  
  
"We'll," Squall began to say, but was interrupted.  
  
"Open, open, OPEN!" Selphie shouted while waiting impatiently by the door between cars.  
  
". . . make it," Squall finished.  
  
"Please," Selphie shouted. "Open up!" Squall sighed, realizing that Selphie was shouting as much to him as to the door. He'd best let her have her way. Squall quickly scanned the ticket across the reader, which then beeped in confirmation. the door slid open, and Selphie tittered, smiling. She thanked Squall and then scrambled toward the SeeD car.  
  
"So, weren't you saying something?" Rinoa asked as the door shut. Squall nodded.  
  
"We made it," he said. "We're out of Timber. We have a couple of hours between now and our arrival at the East Academy Station."  
  
"We'll have to thank Zone for that," Quistis responded. "I wish I could pay him back, though."  
  
"He's into naughty magazines," Rinoa commented with an embarassed giggle.  
  
"I'll keep that in mind," Quistis replied as Timber passed beyond the windows, the cityscape giving way to rolling plains and forests.  
  
-------------------  
  
As Squall had predicted, the train dropped them off at the eastern station near Yaluny Canyon a couple of hours later. The SeeDs picked up their gear and disembarked quickly, stepping out onto the empty platform. Well, everyone except Quistis. All she had to carry were her knives, belt, and rante.  
  
"You're a bit light on equipment," Squall commented as the group headed north. The towering peaks of the mountains bordering Yaluny Canyon could be seen in the distance, a good hour's walk from the station.  
  
"I came light," Quistis replied. "I was following Seifer from Balamb, I didn't think I needed to carry a lot of equipment for a long stay. I suppose I was mistaken."  
  
"How did you meet up with him?" Rinoa asked, adjusting her pack as Angelo followed. Quistis let out a laugh and tapped the side of her head, where there was a small, shrinking bump.  
  
"He jumped me on the train," Quistis replied, shaking her head. "Locked me in the cabin and took my Guardian Forces."  
  
"You don't have any GFs?" Squall asked, surprised. Quistis confirmed his question with a nod. Squall paused, and focused. Blue energy played down his arm, solidifying and forming into a small blue gemstone.  
  
"You can use my Shiva stone for now," he explained, handing her the gemstone. Quistis nodded her thanks, and then stopped as Selphie handed her a pink stone as well.  
  
"What's this?" Quistis asked, confused.  
  
"Its a GF I drew during the exam a few days ago," Selphie replied, shrugging. "Her name's Siren, but I haven't been doing too well junctioning her. Maybe you'll do better?" Quistis nodded, thanking Selphie as well, as she junctioned the two Guardian Forces. The stones dissolved, and she sighed, feelling the alien but familiar thoughts of Guardian Forces in the back of her mind. After a moment of arranging her magic, Quistis nodded to Squall, and the group continued on.  
  
"So, that's your source of power?" Rinoa asked a couple of minutes later, to Squall. He nodded. During the train ride, she had calmed down a bit, and was less angry at Squall for his remarks about Seifer. Perhaps it had been saying farewell to her friends, but for whatever reason, Rinoa was less cold to Squall now.  
  
"Guardian Forces are SeeD's primary source of strength," Squall replied. "They are the primary weapon SeeD employs during its missions and the reason why Balamb Garden and SeeD are the most respected mercanary force in the west."  
  
"You sound like a training manual," Rinoa commented. She was quiet for a moment, before continuing. "How, exactly, do you do it?"  
  
"Its similar to casting magic," Squall responded, shrugging. "If you can cast spells, then junctioning a Guardian Force is no different than simply stocking a spell. If you want, I can show you when we stop to rest."  
  
"You'd show me?" Rinoa asked, surprised. "Isn't that breaking protocol?"  
  
"No," Squall replied, shaking his head. "Garden doesn't prohibit us from explaining or teaching others how to use GFs."  
  
"But I thought that Guardian Forces were some big secret Garden kept protected," Rinoa said. "I thought that was why only SeeDs from Balamb used GFs."  
  
"No," Squall said, again shaking his head. "Balamb Garden makes extensive use of Guardian Forces, but Trabia Garden avoids arming SeeDs with them and Galbadia Garden outright refuses to use them. Most world militaries avoid use of Guardian Forces as well, despite their power and the ease in which one can be trained in their use."  
  
"Why?" Rinoa asked, curious. She supressed another comment at how Squall was sounding like a training manual again.  
  
"Other militaries are hesitant to use them because of mental effects," Squall explained. "Guardian Forces inhabit a section of their host's brain, and the effect of this is unknown. Most militaries refuse to use the GFs until they know more about the effect that they would have on their soldiers, but Balamb Garden research indicates there is no irreparable brain damage resulting from their use."  
  
"So they're safe?" Rinoa asked, to which Squall nodded.  
  
"It does take getting used to," he added. "If you're not careful with the junctioned magic, you may hurt yourself."  
  
"I see," Rinoa replied, nodding. "I'd like it if you showed me." Squall shrugged and nodded.  
  
"It's practical," he replied. "If you have Guardian Forces you can defend yourself better. We won't worry about having to protect you."  
  
"I figured you'd say something like that," Rinoa replied, shaking her head.  
  
An hour later, the SeeDs and their client had passed under the boughs of the small forest nestled between the rock walls of Yaluny Canyon. They made good time through the forest, using a well-established trail made by Galbadia Garden's students as they passed through the forest. Another hour later, and the group had reached the northern edge of the forest.  
  
"We're almost to Galbadia Garden now," Quistis commented as the group paused for a break. Everyone sat down for a breather, excepting Zell, who paced nervously.  
  
"Heeey," Selphie said, her expression suddenly mirroring Zell's. "I was just thinking . . . ."  
  
"What is it?" Squall asked.  
  
"We're passing into Galbadian territory," she said. "There might be some bad news from the Galbadian government." She grabbed her throat and made choking sounds. "What if we get caught and then get broadcast to the whole world?"  
  
Zell snarled and turned to face Selphie.  
  
"Whatever happens, happens!" he said quickly, his voice anxious. "C'mon, let's keep going! I want to get to Galbadia Garden. I . . . I'm worried about Balamb. I need to know they're all right. If anything's happened, its my fault." He hung his head low, shaking it. Then, Zell glanced up at Squall.  
  
"Squall, do you think Deling will retaliate on Garden?" Zell asked, his eyes needing an answer.  
  
Squall shrugged, not knowing how Deling would have taken the attack. He'd threatened to assault Garden, but he had to understand what it meant to go up against SeeD, both the expert soldiers in Galbadia Garden and the SeeDs in Balamb.  
  
"Maybe," Squall answered honestly. Zell sighed and looked down, shaking his head.  
  
"Figures," Zell muttered. he then turned back to Squall, a sudden hopeful look on his face. "B-B-But, we have a whole bunch of SeeDs at Garden! They wouldn't lose to the Galbadian army, would they?"  
  
"It depends on how strong the army is," Squall replied, again honestly.  
  
"I know, but . . . ." Zell shook his head and looked away, still anxious and not at all comforted by Squall. The SeeD leader yawned as Zell turned. The long walk and the equally long day had taken its toll on him.  
  
"Oh, you're just a great leader, aren't you?" Rinoa accused sarcastically. Squall turned to face her, surprised by her continued scolding. Not again . . . .  
  
"Do you actually enjoy acting so callous to your comrades?" she demanded, putting her hands on her hips and giving Squall a very Quistis- like look. "Zell needs your support," she stated. Squall sighed in vexation, knowing Rinoa was going to say that before she'd even spoken.  
  
"Any kind of encouragement will make-" Rinoa began, but stopped as Squall turned away, blatantly ignoring her. Whatever she was suggesting was just to ease the mind, and otherwise was completely useless. Squall preferred it that way, honesty over meaningless words. He wasn't the only one who thought that way, though. Surely Seifer would have agreed with him.  
  
"Don't you ever worry about, or even think about the well-being of your comrades?" Rinoa asked loudly to his back. Squall clenched his teeth but didn't answer. He didn't believe in relying on others, but that was answer that would only get Rinoa angrier at him. Squall blinked for a second as he thought that. His eyelids were getting heavy. He must be really tired . . . .  
  
"Don't you understand?" Rinoa asked from behind him, but Squall shook off the question as he suddenly recalled a similar sensation from just yesterday, the sudden tiredness. "Are you even listening?"  
  
Squall ignored her, feeling the wave of sleepiness sweep over him. He grabbed his head, and turned to face Rinoa, who was shocked by the sudden appearance of both exhaustion nd confusion in his face.  
  
"Squall!" Zell shouted, jumping to his feet and scanning the surrounding area. "Again?" he asked quietly, as Selphie and Quistis began to mirror Squall's expression.  
  
"Augh!" Squall muttered, dropping to his knees. The blackness swept over him, despite his best efforts to stay awake. The flattened grass of the trail rose up to meet him, but it never connected with Squall's face as he lost conciousness.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------  
  
Argh. I can't believe how long it took me to slough through this chapter. This particular part of the Timber arc was especially boring during the game, but now, for another of my favorite parts of the game: a Laguna interlude! Yayness! Expect me to make up for the lack of action in this chapter with piles of combat in the next. The whole chapter's gonna be one long running gun battle! 


	22. Interlude: The Man With The Machinegun

Interlude: The Man with the Machinegun  
  
Laguna looked down at the vast canyon below. He paused for a moment, scratching the back of his head in confusion. This wasn't right, was it? That thing down there in the canyon . . . it shouldn't have been there in the first place. Hell, the canyon shouldn't have been there. The last recon flight into this section of Centra had shown a level plain, not this gouge in the earth. Nor did it show the miles-long crystalline structure below, partially encased in a massive rectangular metal shell.  
  
"Kiros, you sure this is the place where the report of Estharian activity originated?" boomed Ward from behind Laguna. The soldier turned to face his huge comrade, as Kiros stepped around the bend in the mountain trail.  
  
"Positive," the lithe man replied with a nod.  
  
"Good," Ward responded, with a nod of his own. "I don't wanna be patrolling the wrong area, like last time. There weren't any Estharians for miles."  
  
"Ahh, sorry," Laguna said, turning to face his comrades. "This isn't the place."  
  
"Oh, no you don't," Ward said, shaking his head. "Even you couldn't have gotten us off track here."  
  
"This is it," Kiros added. "We're exactly where we're supposed to be. Let's get going, fearless commander. If the Estharian forces are up to anything, its here. We won't find out anything by sitting around."  
  
Laguna sighed, and brought out his map. He looked over it, then into the canyon below. He checked again, and then blinked in surprise. The map that he'd been using was in fact the one for the region ten miles north of this area. Considering how Centra was pretty barren and featureless, that somehow didn't surprise him.  
  
"Oops," Laguna added, a sheepish expression painted on his face. "I brought the wrong map."  
  
"Shouldn't have been in a rush to leave," Kiros muttered under his breath as he and Ward shook their heads in disbelief. "Well, let's go. Even your total incompetence couldn't screw this up."  
  
"But, man," Laguna commented before the team could resume their patrol. "I've got a real bad feeling about this." He looked down at the structure below. "Something fishy's going on here. Esthar's up to something. You know what the old folks say, the unfamiliar always happens . . . ."  
  
"Unfamiliar?" Kiros asked, surpressing a laugh. "You mean 'unexpected,' right?"  
  
"You only go the 'un' part right," Ward added.  
  
"Ah, shut up," Laguna muttered. He took out his rifle and checked it quickly. "Check your gear before we move out."  
  
-------------------  
  
"For once, you're right, man," Kiros commented as the small squad reached the canyon floor. "Something funny is happening here."  
  
"Told ya," Laguna replied as they neared the strange structure. The trail that he had led them down had circled halfway across the canyon, so they were approaching the crystal and its encompassing metal structure from the east side, as opposed to the western end. At this point, they could hear the distant sound of ocean waves crashing against the cliffs to the south. Doubtless the ships that had dropped the team off were still waiting there for the patrol's return.  
  
"Looks like no one's home," Ward muttered quietly as the team advanced down a cut trail. The trail featured rail lines along its length, and led to a large doorway in the side of the metal structure. As the group continued advancing, they heard the sound of operating machinery and the rumblings of stone.  
  
"Maybe they're out for lunch," Laguna commented. "Keep an eye open for any threats." The other two soldiers nodded and readied their own weapons. Ward had his harpoon out, while Kiros' hands hovered near his belt, ready to draw the katals swiftly.  
  
No soldiers charged out to attack them, and neither did an alarm sound or gunshots boom as the team came closer. They soon spotted the source of the noise: a large conveyor belt, transporting heavy stones and dirt from some place deep underground.  
  
"Excavation," Ward commented as they closed. Beyond the machine there were a pair of catwalks branching off, leading into the structure. Beyond them was an eerie crystalline glow.  
  
"Seriously," Laguna said as they passed the machine. "This place sure is strange. What are they up to? Are those rocks natural rocks for carving tombstones or something?"  
  
"Who knows?" Kiros replied, surprised by the random comment. "Or cares?"  
  
"Well, the government might," Ward replied. "They sure are interested in finding out why Esthar has such a large force operating in Centra in the first place."  
  
"Nothing here of interest anyway," Kiros said, shaking his head. "Not much in the way of resources, and its too far south to launch an effective attack from."  
  
"Maybe . . . they're checking out the ruins?" Laguna suggested. "Definately looks like they're excavating here. Maybe they're after old Centra tech?"  
  
"Its possible," Kiros replied. "Though the idea of anything useful surviving the Lunar Cry from eighty years ago seems a bit of a stretch."  
  
"Well, Esthar seems to think so," Laguna said with a shrug. He paused, then held up a hand, letting the others know to be quiet. They couldn't really hear very well, but Laguna thought he heard the sound of boots clanking on metal over the machinery.  
  
"You hear that?" he asked, raising his rifle. The others nodded, and their own weapons rose as well. A moment later, there was more clanking, as if more boots were joining the first set. Then, sudenly, a group of white and purple-garbed men came into sight on one of the catwalks, the one directly ahead. The men wore a white bodysuit made of some toughened elastic metal. Over this they wore purple armor on their torsos and shoulders that conformed to their bodies, and similar purple armor over the thighs and lower legs. Their heads were encased in a purple and white helmet, with large red eyes, almost insectile in appearance. The armor and helmet definately made the soldiers look like inhuman machines.  
  
"Esthar soldiers!" Laguna warned. "Still wearing those flashy armor suits." He pointed his rifle at the soldiers ahead. The men paused, and brandished odd weapons. They looked like three-barreled pistols, with a huge and heavy pickaxe head mounted on top. The weapon, called a shotaxe, was an effective weapon for ranged and melee combat, and the standard issue Estharian weapon.  
  
"Laguna!" Ward shouted from behind. Laguna glanced back.  
  
"Don't be such a weenie, there's only three of 'em!" he said, but then stopped as he looked behind. Three more Estharian troopers were behind the squad, and more could be seen closing from the distance, hurrying down the mountian trails. An ambush?  
  
"What the . . . ?" Laguna managed to say before the soldiers attacked. The three behind the group leaped into melee, hacking with their axes. Those further down the catwalk in front of Laguna charged as well, firing as they advanced.  
  
Ward raised his harpoon to block a chop from one of the soldiers. He shoved the stopped axe aside and swung the harpoon across, the butt end smashing into the man's helmeted face. The soldier reeled, stunned, and Ward smashed him again in the face, knocking him down, his helmet crushed inward by the sheer force.  
  
Ward spun to face a second soldier, though in the back of his mind he realized that even he didn't have the strength to crush hardened metal like the Estharian alloys. As he knocked another chop aside, Ward recalled the battle against the Wendigos just a month ago. He'd been far stronger than normal there too . . . .  
  
Laguna, standing on the narrow metal catwalk, didn't have anywhere to go as the soldiers ahead of him fired. He gritted his teeth and dropped prone, his left hand grabbing a grenade off his belt. The soldier fired his rifle one-handed as the Estharians closed, and as he hit the deck, Laguna let fly with the grenade.  
  
Kiros faced off against the last soldier behind the squad. His katals leaped into his hands and deftly parried the clumsy shotaxe swing. His right arm swung in a circular parrying motion, knocking the shotaxe aside, while his left shot forward. The katal struck the hardened torso armor, but did not penatrate. Kiros retracted the arm and sent it forward again in a blindingly fast jab, aiming higher. His katal cut through at the soldier's neck, jabbing into his throat.  
  
Ward spun his harpoon over while it was still connecting with the soldier's axe. The big man drove the soldier's weapon down using the butt end of his harpoon. He angled the sharpened tip forward, and thrust hard. The razor edge of the harpoon punched clean through the soldier's chest armor, impaling him.  
  
Laguna's sustained fire caught the leading soldier in the stomach. The man cried out, lurching over in pain as blood erupted from his stomach. A second later, the grenade Laguna had thrown detonated. The leading soldier simply vanished in a black and red cloud. One of the other soldiers was blasted to goo, while the third was hurled off the catwalk to tumble down into the depths below.  
  
Ward pulled his harpoon free from its victim, and then ducked as a shotaxe blast tore a chunk out of the ground below him. The soldiers behind the group were rapidly closing, and there was no argument among the small squad. They turned and ran down the only route they could.  
  
Straight into the crystalline structure.  
  
"Wasn't our mission just to patrol?" Kiros asked as they hurried down the catwalk, bullets pinging and flying around them. Another group of Estharian solders emerged, directly ahead, blocking escape down that catwalk.  
  
"Why does it always turn out like this?" Ward asked as Laguna veered the group down the other catwalk. Laguna fired at the approaching soldiers, dropping one and sending the rest diving for cover. He looked ahead, and then pointed. The catwalk ended, but there was a ladder leading down.  
  
Kiros reached it first and practically bounded down the ladder. Ward was second, while Laguna held back, firing bursts at the pursuing Estharians. He lobbed another grenade at them, then scrambled down the ladder. Halfway down the fifty-foot ladder, the grenade exploded.  
  
The ladder led down to a narrow catwalk, positioned between the outer metal wall and an inner wall of an eerie blue-white crystal. Laguna could almost feel the power resonating through the crystal as he hurried down the ladder. The outer metal wall was criss-crossed with metal support beams and high-tech Estharian machinery. Both above and below the catwalk were more catwalks and supporting beams, many leading to tunnels bored directly into the inner cystal wall.  
  
As the team hurried down the ladder, a bullet suddenly bounced off it, followed by a second that flew over Kiros' shoulder. A single Estharian soldier, standing on the catwalk near the ladder, was firing. The small man dropped off the ladder, falling the remaining fifteen feet. His katals flashed as he landed, knocking aside the striking axe of the soldier. Kiros struck quickly, spinning around. His katals came around and smashed into the soldier's torso. They didn't penetrate, but the force of the weapons and Kiros' spin knocked the soldier off his feet and over the edge of the catwalk. The man plummeted into the gap.  
  
The other two soldiers reached the catwalk a second later, and Laguna dropped a grenade by the foot of the ladder. The trio ran on, and were more than safely far away when the grenade went off, destroying part of the ladder.  
  
"Can't come at us that way," Laguna commented as they ran down the catwalk. A few minutes later the catwalk turned down to one of the tunnels bored into the crystal, and standing there was another Esthar soldier, who had his back turned to the group. The man turned to look in their direction, and took the butt of Laguna's rifle in the face. He fell away, and Ward grabbed the man. With one arm, Ward slammed the soldier against one of the crystalline walls, and then flung him off the catwalk.  
  
Not stopping, the group hurried into the crystalline tunnel. Their footsteps rang as if they were hurrying across thick glass, and a strange, blue inner light illuminated the shining tunnel. None of the soldiers really understood what this crystal was, though they could easily sense the power throbbing through it, as if the massive structure was a living thing.  
  
The men ran on without tiring. They rounded two bends, and blasted past a pair of Estharian soldiers, a katal taking one man in the stomach while Ward simply slammed the second against the wall, cracking both the man's helmet and the wall.  
  
The crystal had changed to a greenish tint at this point, but Kiros, Laguna, and Ward paid it no attention as they reached an intereston. Before Laguna could even begin to decide which direction to take, though, Estharian soldiers came charging down both routes, four from the right, five from the left.  
  
The leading soldier from the left tunnel died almost instantly, a burst from Laguna's rifle tearing apart his face. The rest of the soldiers raised their axes and dove in. Laguna fell back, with Kiros stepping forward to meet the group coming down the left tunnel. Ward spun on the Estharians coming down the right.  
  
Ward struck the first blow as the soldiers attacked him. He flipped his harpoon over, grabbing it close to the point, and swung it like a warhammer. The ring slammed into the closest soldier, crunching his armor and smashing him up against the wall, killing him instantly. Ward then deftly spun the harpoon over, holding it like a quarterstaff to deflect the next attack, an overhead chop of the next soldier's shotaxe.  
  
The first soldier to strike at Kiros died in a quick spinning parry of the right katal, while the left thrust into his throat. The next soldier died just as quickly, his shotaxe parried by Kiros' left katal, and his neck cut by a crossing right katal. The third soldier struck with a powerful overhead cleave, the axe head aimed squarely for Kiros' head.  
  
Laguna found one of the soldiers from the left tunnel attacking him. The man came across with his shotaxe, as strike which Laguna ducked under. The axe came back around, but this time Laguna blocked it with his rifle. Laguna shoved the axe down, and stomped on its shaft, using his foot to hold the axe down for the split-second he needed. Laguna thrust the rifle up, jabbing the barrel into the soldier's chest. At point-blank range, Laguna fired, his rifle's bullets tearing into the soldier's armor. The rounds punched through and blasted into the man's chest. He fell back, dying as blood poured out the holes in his armor.  
  
Ward easily stopped the chopping hit of his foe's shotaxe. He twisted his weapon to the right, shoving the enemy's weapon aside, and at the same time putting the butt of his harpoon in line for the man's face. The iron ring shot forward, smashing into the soldier's helmet and crushing the metal faceplate.  
  
Kiros' katals rose into a crossing block, catching the descending axe between them. He quickly pushed back, shoving the soldier and his weapon back, and then stepped away, bring the katals out wide. Kiros then hopped forward, his katals coming together like the snapping jaws of a wolf. The katals slammed into either side of the shotaxe, hitting it on its shaft. The momentum of the two katals striking from opposite sides knocked the weapon out of the man's hands, and before he could react, Kiros' blades went out wide and snapped closed again, this time taking the man's head.  
  
A third foe closed with Ward, who stepped back. He tossed his harpoon backwards, as if he was thrusting it one-handed at a foe behind him. However, instead of releasing the weapon, his right hand, which had been positioned near the spear tip, ran down the length of the weapon. Ward caught the harpoon at its ring, and then came forward, reversing the harpoon's momentum. He swung the harpoon across, slashing with the spear tip as if the weapon were one of Kiros' katals.  
  
The tip missed the soldier it was aiming for, the target hopping back and sucking in his stomach, narrowly avoiding the razor tip of Ward's weapon. But Ward spun the harpoon over his head, bringing it back around to his side. This time, instead of thrusting, Ward punched out with the harpoon, again like one of Kiros' katals. The Estharian soldier brought his weapon up to block, but Ward's strike was too fast, and it went clean through the man's chest.  
  
Ward yanked his iron spear loose with his right hand as the last soldier came in. Ward's left hand rose up as the shotaxe descended, and caught the hybrid weapon by its shaft. Ward then pulled his harpoon back with his right hand, releasing it as he did so. The weapon flew back, and Ward caught it at mid-shaft. He then spun the weapon, thrusting it at the soldier. The man took the iron spear in the chest, and went down.  
  
Not wasting anytime, Laguna glanced down the tunnel behind them, to see more Estharian soldiers coming. A quick check of the other tunnels showed another party of enemy soldiers coming down the left tunnel.  
  
"The right! Go right!" Laguna shouted, and they did so. Laguna paused long enough to drop a grenade and then ran as well. The Estharian soldiers converged at the intersection in time to meet the grenade's explosion. The pursuit was stalled, with the survivors either unconscious or in no condition to fight, until yet another squad of soldiers arrived, and bypassed their disabled comrades.  
  
A couple of minutes and a ladder later, the small team ran across a trio of plates built into the floor of the crystal tunnel, apparently to cover up holes in the tunnel. Laguna paused at the middle one, and examined it, upon hearing a rattle in its frame.  
  
"Hey, the lever's broken," he said, bending down. The plate, he saw, was designed so it could swing open if pressure was applied, probably either so teams could access the gap below or for trash disposal. All that was needed was someone to remove the lever.  
  
"If we use this, we can slow down those stubborn Esthar fools!" Laguna proclaimed, as he fiddled with the lever.  
  
"What are you up to?" Kiros asked, stopping and glancing back at Laguna. Ward stopped as well.  
  
"Probably something stupid, I bet," the big man added.  
  
"You guys," Laguna replied, shaking his head as he continued working with the lever. "You guys are gonna regret saying that. They say the one who makes fun of a genius will end up crying in the end."  
  
"So . . ." Ward replied, "Who's the genius?"  
  
"Oh, shut up!" Laguna said, continuing trying to force the lever. "Anyway! The lever on this hatch is busted. If I can just get it loose . . . "  
  
"They come at us from that direction, and . . . ."  
  
"Yeah! You guessed it!" Laguna replied. "They'll walk right over the plate without expecting anything! Then all of a sudden, whoops! Down they go!" Laguuna laughed. "I have to admit, I really am a genius."  
  
Ward barked a laugh.  
  
"Like the Estharians are gonna fall for that trap," he said, shaking his head.  
  
"We won't know until we try!" Laguna replied. "And those who never try will never know! You guys stand back. Its almost loose . . . there!" Laguna stood up, smiling at his handiwork. Aside from a small piece of metal that was missing, the trap was invisible. Not waiting to see the effectiveness of their simple trap, Laguna, Kiros, and Ward cleared out.  
  
A couple of minutes later, the pursuing squad charged down the tunnel. Not even paying any attention to the metal plates below, the men crossed them without a thought.  
  
Four men fell in as the plate swung loose, and two more were accidentally pushed in as the whole squad came to a sudden stop. The soldiers paused, and then turned around, running back down the tunnel. They would be able to catch up with the intruders, but the clever trap had cost them many minutes.  
  
-------------------  
  
Another couple of intersections and a pair of patrolling Estharians later, the trio of Galbadian soldiers passed a series of boulders and rubble piled among an open chamber in the crystal.  
  
"Must have been using explosives," Ward commented, noting a large tunnel leading straight down, on the west side of the cavern. A small, round boulder was perched nearby, a small pack of explosives set beneath it.  
  
"No time to admire the scenery!" Laguna said, waving them on. "Those Estharians are hot on our tails!"  
  
The group continued up the tunnel, passing by a very large boulder, also featuring a pack of explosives set under it. Just a few feet away there lay a detonator panel, with two switches, one red, one blue. They corresponded with a pair of fuses, the red one leading down the tunnel, while the blue one led to the large boulder nearby. Laguna paused next to it, then looked down the tunnel.  
  
"Maybe we can block this tunnel, using the boulders?" he asked.  
  
"Hey, man!" Ward exclaimed, an incredulous look on his scarred face. "Are you crazy? You don't even know how powerful that thing could be! Look at that boulder . . . ." Ward pointed at the massive boulder nearby. "No telling how much firepower's needed to move this thing."  
  
"Ahh, I bet its not all that," Laguna assured his large friend. "The detonator's right here. As long as we stay behind it, we should be alright. Only an idiot would put the detonator where he could get caught in the blast!"  
  
"Well . . . I guess so," Ward conceded. Laguna nodded and crouched beside the detonator.  
  
"Let's see," he said. "Which one first? Red or blue?" Laguna shrugged and hit the red switch. He glanced back up at his friends. "Don't worry. The bomb blast won't reach us he-" Laguna was cut off as the crystal beneath their feet shuddered violently. A tremendous rumbling rippled through the structure, and Laguna and Ward were hurled off their feet. Kiros barely managed to stay standing, relying on his amazing agility to keep upright. Seconds later, the quakes faded.  
  
"That was . . ." Kiros commented as the others rose. "Awfully loud. Must have been some major bombs they were using."  
  
"Lucky we were here," Ward commented, dusting himself off.  
  
"Like I said," Laguna said. "You should always check how powerful the thing could be first!"  
  
"I thought I said that," Ward muttered.  
  
" . . . . Uh . . . ah . . . hm . . . Anyway!" Laguna said quickly, scratching the back of his head nervously. "We're still alive, right?"  
  
"Over there! That's where the explosion came from!" A shout sounded down the corridor.  
  
"Maybe not," Kiros said. "They probably heard us."  
  
"Probably?" ward muttered. "That kind of explosion would wake the dead."  
  
"No time to waste, then!" Laguna said, he bent down and tossed the blue switch. "This'll slow 'em down!" He then stood and waved frantically for the group to run. Judging by the power behind the bombs needed to move the small boulder in the chamber before, this explosion was going to be tremendous.  
  
"Its gonna blow! Run for it!" Laguna shouted, and they did. Within moments, the group was almost out of sight up the corridor, scrambling up a staircase at the end of the tunnel. Halfway up, they paused and waited for the explosion, but none came. There was a faint cough, like that of a small firecracker, and then a distant rumbling as the boulder rolled away, accompanied by the panicked screams of the Estharian soldiers scrambling out of its way.  
  
"That was . . . awfully quiet," Kiros commented.  
  
"I was expecting a blast of some sort," Ward added. "Something big."  
  
"Ha! I told you!" Laguna replied. "It was close to the detonator. I knew it wasn't that powerful!" His companions merely shook their heads, and the group ran the rest of the way up the stairs.  
  
Soon, the trio reached the top, to find a catwalk leading over a vast chamber. The far end of the crystalline cavern was open to the sky, a circular opening ringed by pink crystal. The glimmers of outside light reflecting off the inside walls cast beautiful reflections and beams of light around the chamber.  
  
Still, Laguna, Kiros and Ward did not pause to appreciate the beauty, instead hurrying up the catwalk. The catwalk featured a staircase halfway up its length, leading to a second level, above the one they were on. The second level turned to the left, at a right angle to its original course and leading to another tunnel across the chamber. The soldiers rushed up the catwalk's stairs, and turned. The distance between the staircase and the distant tunnel was well over a hundred feet long, and the narrow catwalk made for an excellent ambush spot.  
  
The trio knew this, but they had no choice but to cross. Thankfully, no Estharians approached from the distant tunnel, nor did any pursue them from the previous tunnel. Laguna expected the group to be able to get off the catwalk without encountering any threats, but those hopes went flying away, as did Laguna, a second later.  
  
Something slammed into Laguna's face, hard. The soldier went up and back, flying over the railing. He would have plunged to his death but managed to catch the railing with his left hand. Kiros and Ward came to a stop as the air in front of them rippled.  
  
"Optic camo!" Kiros shouted, the implications surprising the other two soldiers. Esthar did indeed possess optical camoflague, rendering the wearer invisible and enabling them to hide their troops effectively, but the technology was still in the experimental stages.  
  
Nonetheless, the soldiers in front of the group possessed this new technology. Now that they were revealed, though, the soldiers didn't bother with continuing the use of the tech. Like a rippling pond, the invisibility was swept away from the soldiers, revealing dozens of insectile suits of armor packing the catwalk's length with deep ranks. The Estharians readied their shotaxes and advanced.  
  
Laguna began hauling himself up as the enemy surged toward Kiros and Ward. The two Galbadian soldiers readied their weapons, standing side-by- side on the narrow catwalk, and met the attack. The initial pair of attackers met swift ends, one impaled on Ward's harpoon while the second found his weapon knocked aside and his throat slashed by a katal.  
  
Kiros ducked low, the katal in his left shooting across, taking the next soldier coming at Ward in the knee while his second katal blocked an incoming shotaxe. Ward sent his harpoon to the right, the iron spear shooting through the opening the parried shotaxe had opened. The harpoon plunged home. Ward then brought his weapon back against the staggering soldier in front of him, the ring of the harpoon thudding against the man's head and sending him over the railing.  
  
Kiros then went low again, beneath an attacking foe's shotaxe. He stabbed out with both katals, one striking the soldier in front and the other against the man next to him. Both men found katals in their stomachs, and then both went flying, one from Ward's swinging harpoon, the other from his swinging fist.  
  
Another pair of soldiers attacked the pair, and met similar ends, one's head severed while the other's skull was caved in. The men behind them died just as quickly, as Kiros and Ward's weapons danced and struck, the two soldiers covering each other and striking at the openings left by the other.  
  
Still, the soldiers knew they couldn't keep up with the pace. They were rapidly tiring, despite the odd stamina and strength they had seemingly been blessed with. The Estharinas kept on coming, with more streaming out of the tunnel behind the force already arrayed on the catwalk. Over a dozen enemy soldiers were dead or dying, but more than twice that number were on the catwlk, waiting for their shot at the Galbadians.  
  
Laguna managed to haul himself back up onto the catwalk, and raised his rifle. However, he couldn't fire, asKiros and Ward were in front. As Ward's harpoon dove home and Kiros struck another foe down with a stab and slash, Laguna found himself unable to help them. None of the enemy presented a clear target.  
  
Ward's harpoon hurled another foe aside, and he brought the point back around to strike again, only to see his next foe not charging. Instead, the man leveled the shotaxe at him. The weapon kicked up once, and the barrel flashed, and then Ward went down, a searing pain in his shoulder and chest.  
  
"Ward!" Laguna shouted as the big man fell. The Estharian rushed in qucikly to finish him, only to be cut down in a hail of gunfire. Laguna clenched his teeth and held down the trigger. Bullets tore through the enemy ranks, dropping more enemy soldiers.  
  
Kiros, meanwhile, found himself hard-pressed. He was more than a match for his enemies, but the only way he could prevent them from firing on him like they had at Ward was to keep fighting them in melee. Thus, he had to continiously advance and force the enemy into close-quarters battle. The enemy pressed back against his attack, however, and Kiros felt himself becoming overwhelmed.  
  
Laguna kept tearing into his foes, hitting them hard, but instead of retreating, the Estharians kept coming. Laguna knew he was running short of ammo, and as his magazine emptied, he grabbed a grenade off his belt. His ammunition ran out, and the grenade flew. It landed in the middle ranks of the enemy soldiers and detonated, even as more foes closed with Laguna, trying to cut him down.  
  
Blood and body parts flew as those soldiers in the immediate vicinity of the grenade simply vanished. Those not right next to the grenade were torn apart, and many more went flying, the lucky ones landing on the catwalk, the unlucky ones flying over the ledge to their deaths. Only a few of the remaining soldiers were left in any condition to fight, and were cut down quickly as Laguna slammed a new magazine home and struck before they could recover. Several bursts of gunfire and a few strokes of the katals later, the catwalk was cleared.  
  
Laguna and Kiros knealt next to their comrade, who groaned in pain. Ward coughed once, spitting up blood.  
  
"Ward! Are you okay? Say something!" Laguna asked pleadingly, to which Ward coughed again.  
  
"Ouch," Ward replied. Then he laughed. "Damn, that hurt!"  
  
"That shot should have killed you," Kiros exclaimed, shaking his head.  
  
"Nah, Ward's to ugly to die," Laguna joked, helping the big man to his feet. The man stood, and shook his head, then blinked a few times.  
  
"Laguna, is something odd going on?" he asked.  
  
"Aside from being inside a crystal cavern being chased by a small army of Estharian soldiers?" Kiros commented. "Well . . . ."  
  
"Its that buzzing again," Laguna said, nodding. "Like when we were in Timber and then in the desert. We're . . . we're stronger and faster than normal."  
  
"And tougher," Ward added, putting a hand over his chest and the nasty wound. The big man pulled a healing potion off his belt and drank it down.  
  
"What does it mean?" Laguna asked, perplexed. He seemed lost in thought for a moment, before shrugging. "I dunno."  
  
"We can figure it out later," Kiros said, pointing back the way they'd come. "Those Estharians won't sit around with their ambush wiped out."  
  
"Right," Laguna said with a nod. "Let's move!"  
  
-------------------  
  
The Estharians had gained on the trio of soldiers during their battle and the short pause afterwards. Laguna rolled a few more grenades and fired some bursts behind to slow the pursuit several times, until the group reached an intersection, one direction leading ahead and deeper into the structure, the other leading to the right, and to daylight and the sound of the sea. Not hesitating, Laguna swung the group to the left. They bounded up a flight of stairs, with Laguna dropping the last of his grenades to stop pursuit, and as the explosive detonated, the group reached the top of the stairs.  
  
The tunnel ended ahead, opening to the outside, and the group felt the blowing wind and smelled the salt of the ocean. They ran forward, and exited the massive structure.  
  
Only to find their exit blocked by a cliff overlooking the ocean, four hundred feet below.  
  
"Don't tell me . . . ." Laguna moaned, shaking his head and staring at the waters below. So close . . . .  
  
Seconds later, there came the pounding of boots on metal behind them, bounding up the stairs. Esthar's army had finally caught up with them.  
  
"Of all the worst possible . . . ." Kiros growled, and they spun to face the enemy as they reached the top of the stairs. A dozen men, a full squad of Estharian regulars, stood atop the staircase. They readied their shotaxes and advanced. Behind them, a trio of additional soldiers, clad in black and green insectile armor, with blue eyes instead of red, approached the top of the stairs.  
  
"Predicaments?" Ward asked, shaking his head as he brought his harpoon down and around. The black, blue, and green soldiers were actually cyborgs, part living, part machine. They were either manufactured, created from machinery and cloned human tissue, or made from the bodies of fallen soldiers too wounded to continue combat and military service without assistance. Esthar's elite shock troops, their cyborgs were faster than normal, stronger, and far deadlier combatants.  
  
Then, as one, the Estharian regulars surged forward. Ward speared one with a quick thrust, while Kiros dropped two with a pair of parries and a pair of cuts. Laguna's bullets tore through the soldiers' ranks, dropping three. A fourth struck at Laguna, who rolled under the blow. Laguna came up behind the man and kicked him, hard. The unnatural strength running through the soldier hurled the Estharian through the air and right over the cliff's edge. The long-haired soldier then fired again, taking the next man in the face with a burst and laying him dead.  
  
Ward parried a cleaving blow, then hopped aside, evading an arcing, horiziontal chop from another soldier. Ward dropped his right hand from his harpoon and punched the man whose blow he had deflected, and then thrust towards the second man, hitting him in the chest with the ring of the harpoon. The man staggered back, and Ward swept his weapon around, smashing the ring into the first soldier's face, crushing the helmet. The heavy harpoon rose again, and the ring descended on the second soldier. The man recovered from the first hit in time to catch the descending iron ring on the top of his head. He fell dead instantly, now several inches shorter with his crushed skull.  
  
Kiros dispatched his foes with a dazzling display of slashes and parries. Before the remaining pair of soldiers had realized what had happened, one's axe was high, the other's low and to the side, and Kiros' katals had sliced their throats. The men fell to the ground, clutching their mortal wounds.  
  
As the last of the regulars fell, the cyborgs stepped forward. As one, the man-machines leveled their shotaxes at the trio of soldiers. Laguna opened his muth to warn his friends to take cover, but then the cyborgs fired. Three sets of shotaxe barrels, nine shells in total, fired at the Galbadian trio.  
  
Laguna dove to the ground, and the shells aimed his way flew overhead harmlessly. Ward tried diving aside, but he was caught in the chest and neck by the shells. Blood streamed down his body from the wounds, and the big man fell back, dropping his harpoon. He scrabbled at his belt, grabbing for another healing potion.  
  
Kiros managed to twist aside, catching the shells aimed at him along the side. His flank erupted in pain, but the soldier gritted through the firey explosions and charged, katals raised.  
  
The cyborgs then advanced, one going for each of the three Galbadians.  
  
Ward, not wasting time drinking his potion, simply broke the bottle and splshed the fluid over his face and neck, and let the healing liquid work. He then brought his hands up. The cyborg attacking him swung fast and hard, but Ward was even quicker. His hands closed over the descending shotaxe's haft, stopping the weapon's tip several inches from his face. His muscles showing no strain at all, Ward the spun the axe over, twisting it out of the cyborg's hands. A flick of his wrist sent the shotaxe flying away, and then Ward dove into the man-machine.  
  
Kiros matched his foe's speed and strength, his katals striking in rapid succession. The cyborg fell back into a defensive posture, its shotaxe working to fend Kiros' attacks. For a couple of seconds the two seemed evenly matched, until the cyborg suddenly hopped back and then came forward. Kiros stepped after the retreating machine, only to take a shoulder in the chest as the cyborg came back. The man stumbled backwards, and the cyborg struck, its shotaxe crossing in a powerful blow. The sharpened tip slammed into Kiros' side, diving deep.  
  
Laguna met his foe head on, firing as the cyborg advanced. The man- machine took several bursts to the chest but ignored them, coming down with its axe. Laguna swung his rifle out in front, blocking the strike. He pushed off the cyborg, tossing it back. The cyborg came right back in, swinging its axe one-handed. Laguna's left hand shot out and caught the axe hand by the wrist, holding it tightly and stopping it there. He raised his rifle to fire it one-handed, but the cyborg's own free left hand came up and clasped the weapon by its barrel, holding the rifle fast.  
  
Ward bore his foe to the ground, punching away. However, the cyborg was much tougher than the Estharian regulars, and it seemed to ignore Ward's heavy punches, and countered with its own. The two traded blow for blow, meaty fist slamming the cyborg while armored machinery crunched into bone and flesh. Within a few hits Ward was dazed, and the cyborg curled its legs underneath it and planted its feet on Ward's chest. A quick heave tossed the man off it, and the cyborg rose.  
  
Ward shook his head and rose as well. He fell into a fighting stance, clearing his dazed head. The cyborg rushed forward, hands shooting out in a double thrust punch, one fist aimed at Ward's head, the other at his midsection. Ward's hands shot forward as well, and as with the shotaxe's haft, the big man's hands were able to catch the onrushing cyborg's arms and hold them. However, rather than simply stop the machine there, Ward spun, using his inhuman strength and the cyborg's momentum to spin it around. As they turned, Ward released the cyborg's wrists, and it went flying, right over the edge of the cliff.  
  
Ward then fell back, the damage from the shotgun shells and the cyborg's fists finally taking its toll. The big man fell on his rear, and then dropped to the side.  
  
Kiros leaped back, tearing free of the axe. His left hand fell to his side, dropping its katal to stem the flow of blood from the wound. He glared at the cyborg as it approached. The shotaxe was raised, and it charged. The axe began to dive, when Kiros rolled away, easily evading the axe head. The small man came back in just as quickly, his katal coming up and thrusting. The bpunching daggar lived up to its name, and Kiros drove the weapon through the cyborg's metallic skull, smashing electronics. The man-machine sparked once, and then fell limp.  
  
Kiros let out a gasp and fell as well, his blood still pouring from the wound in his side. He grabbed at a potion and downed the liqiud, staunching the bleeding.  
  
Laguna was caught in a clinch with the cyborg. The two glared at each other, Laguna's eyes staring into the emotionless blue bug eyes of the cyborg. Their muscles strained, the human's sinews battling the cyborg's mechanized gears. Time seemed to stand stil for a moment, and then, impossibly, the rifle edged forward, its barrel turning in line with the cyborg's chest. The cyborg fought back, but with each passing second, the rifle edged another inch closer. Laguna set his teeth and pushed, very hard. Just a little more . . . .  
  
The human let out a growl of both victory and hope, and pushed even harder. With a final surge, the rifle jabbed forward, and stuck into the cyborg's chest. Laguna pulled the trigger, and held it down. The metal slugs punched into the cyborg's chest, tearing through armor and electronics. Round after round dove in, and within seconds, the machine no longer stood. It fell, very much dead, to the ground.  
  
Laguna didn't pause to celebrate. He spun, checking his friends. For an instant, he thought they were dead, or nearly so, but a quick check showed both Kiros and Ward were alive, if badly injured. Laguna then scanned the area for enemies, but saw none. However, Laguna did spot something beyond the edge of the cliff. He looked out over that edge and laughed.  
  
Down below, on the sea, were a group of Galbadian vessels. The small craft were likely patrol ships, but nonetheless, they were a guaranteed ticket out of there. Moving quickly, the soldier rushed to his comrades, hooking an arm under each man's arm, and pulling them to the cliff's face.  
  
"Look, guys," he told them. "The ocean. We're saved!"  
  
"One would say," Kiros gasped. "That we've been run down. Its not like we can go anywhere, and there's more right behind us . . . ."  
  
"Don't say that," Laguna admonished. "It might come true. Didn't your grandmother ever tell you that?"  
  
"If you say something bad . . . ." Kiros said with a slight nod. "It might come true . . . yeah, I think she said something like that."  
  
Beside them, Ward growled something. Laguna turned to the big man, wincing at the wounds on his friend.  
  
"What did you say?" Laguna asked, bending down next to Ward.  
  
"I . . ." Kiros tried talking. He paused for a second,a nd continued. "I think . . . his throat . . . was injured. Lost his . . . voice . . . ."  
  
"It . . . was . . . fu . . . you . . . ." Ward tried saying, his voice coming out slowly and almost unintelligibly.  
  
"Say what?" Laguna asked, bending closer.  
  
"It . . . was . . . fun . . . you . . . guys . . . ." Ward finished. " Lag . . . una . . . Kir . . . os . . . It was . . . fun . . . ." He said nothing more, having passed out.  
  
Laguna shook his head at Ward's negative words. He couldn't just give up like that!  
  
"Ward, man, that's way uncool," Laguna said. "Don't say things like that! Just for that, I'm giving you the Cuchi-Cuchi treatment!" Laguna the grabbed one of Ward's arms and raised it, and then proceeded to tickle the huge man, apparently not realizing Ward was unconscious.  
  
"There!" Laguna said with finality, having dealt with Ward. "How'd you like that?" he then paused, realizing Ward was unconscious. "Hmph. Well, when you come to, you're getting it even worse! Anyway, check it out!" Laguna turned to Kiros and pointed over the edge of the cliff. "There're boats down there! We're going back to Galbadia! Only problem is, its a long way down." Laguna shrugged as he bent over and hoisted Kiros by an arm. He half-walked and half-dragged his comrade to the edge, and then tried to help him down.  
  
Unfortunately, Kiros, at that moment, had passed out, and even if he was conscious, it was doubtful he could have been able to make it even halfway down the cliff before falling.  
  
Laguna was helping Ward up when Kiros splashed into the water four hundred feet below.  
  
The big man met a similar fate as Laguna tried to get him to the ledge. Laguna let out a whistle as he saw Ward splash into the waters. Already, the boats had turned and closed with the two soldiers. Kiros was being hauled on board, and Ward was about to be dragged on too.  
  
"Man, you guys sure have guts," Laguna commented as he began his descent. "You know how high this cliff is? I sure wouldn't jump off it!"  
  
Laguna made it down a few feet before his hands slipped on the rocks. His grip vanished, and the soldier fell.  
  
"Oh, shi-!" Laguna began to shout, before a jutting section of the cliff broke him off mid-sentence, and incidentally broke his right arm as well.  
  
"No way," he muttered as he plummetted. Another section of the cliff jutted out, and Laguna took this one full across his chest, his ribs and left arm pulverized by the impact.  
  
"AHHHHHH!" Laguna screamed (justifiably so) as he bounced, smashed, and plummeted the remaining three hundred feet into the sea below.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------  
  
Oh, how I love abusing Laguna. evil smile ....what?  
  
And you may notice how I handled the different characters and their weapons. Kiros was very agile and quick with his katals, while Ward ended up using the ring end of his harpoon as much as the spear tip. When you think about it, Ward's harpoon is a very versitale weapon. Laguna is also an expert at gun fu, fighting with his rifle in melee.  
  
On a completely different note, I've recently been playing Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes. Guess what? I drew so many similarities between Solid Snake and Squall it was ridiculous. I even went back through The Gunblade Saga and went through some chapters with Squall, and imagined Squall speaking with David Hayter's Solid Snake voice, and it seemed to fit perfectly. Afetr some more musing, I began to draw more similarities between Seifer and Liquid Snake, and also Seifer and Gray Fox/Ninja. It got scary. I even imagined Cam Clarke's Liquid Snake (complete with british accent) replacing Seifer's voice, and it fit beautifully. 


	23. Galbadia Garden

Chapter 19: Galbadia Garden  
  
The first sounds Squall heard as he ascended from the darkness were the chirping of birds, the buzz of forest insects, and Zell's pacing feet crushing leaves and twigs in his path. The SeeD opened his eyes, and pushed himself up, looking around as he shook the unnatural weariness away. Several dead leaves still clung to his hair as he surveyed the area.  
  
Rinoa was standing off to the side, over Selphie, who lay asleep in a patch of grass. Nearby, Quistis had unceremoniously fallen asleep beside a tree. Zell was pacing up and down the path ahead, but stopped as soon as he saw Squall awakening. Moments later, Quistis and Selphie stirred as well, each of them recovering from the strange sleep.  
  
"Was it Laguna again?" Zell asked as Squall rose to his feet. Squall nodded as he knocked the leaves out of his hair. Quistis and Selphie finished awakening and rose as well, Squall offering Quistis a hand while Rinoa helped Selphie to her feet.  
  
"Sir Laguna's in big trouble!" Selphie exclaimed, raising one of Squall's eyebrows. She had given the goofy soldier a title?  
  
"Doesn't seem like the first time for you all," Quistis commented, shaking her head. She was still disoriented by the odd dream that she apparently had shared with her comrades. "What is this? Has this happened before?"  
  
Squall looked back and forth between Zell, Selphie, and Quistis. They had all experienced the dream now. If it was just him, he could have passed it off as some mental problem or hallucination, perhaps.  
  
"Yes," Squall said, nodding to Quistis' question. "Its happened before, on the way to Timber."  
  
"But what is it?" Zell asked, confused. He didn't enjoy mysteries; the martial artist preferred his answers clear-cut and laid out in front of him. Squall had no answers, however.  
  
"We'll just be wasting our time trying to figure it out," Squall stated. Their first and primary objective was to get to safe territory. Out here in the wilderness, it would only be a matter of time before Galbadian troops located them.  
  
"We need to keep moving," Squall said. "We have to get to Galbadia Garden." The rest of the group nodded in agreement, and the SeeDs began to move out. Rinoa, Angelo beside her, hesitated, and Squall paused to regard her. She turned to face him, and for a second, he met her gaze. Her demeanor had changed noticably since he was unconscious; instead of being angry, Rinoa had calmed down and seemed almost . . . apologetic?  
  
"Squall, umm," she began to say, before pausing. She looked down, and dug her toes into the ground, as if unsure of what to say.  
  
"I think I may have said too much," she finally told him. "I'm sorry."  
  
Squall shrugged and waved a hand, as if it didn't matter, which in reality, it didn't. The argument had been rather petty, considering the situation. He didn't really care if Rinoa had a problem, and they had much more important things to do, like get her to safe harbor.  
  
"Don't worry," he replied. "Just forget about it."  
  
-------------------  
  
They broke through the forest later that day and found themselves on an open, arid, and very flat landscape. The Monteresau Plateau was a dry, flat region, with signifigant mineral deposits. The region had often been warred over, first between the natives and the rising power of Galbadia, then between Galbadia and the rising empire of Dollet when that nation was established eighty years ago. Dollet had managed to seize control for a few decades, until another war with Galbadia had lost the nation that region and much of its territory.  
  
Now, the Plateau was officially in Galbadian hands, but one section of the plateau was reserved for a nuetral power. Namely, Garden. A vast stretch of southern territory, less rich in ore and resources than the eastern or western ends, was occupied by the largest and wealthiest of the three Gardens.  
  
Squall led his group across the flat terrain, into a slightly more hilly region. At this point, Quistis took the lead.  
  
"Remember, I've been here several times," she informed them. "I know this terrain better than you. We should be within Galbadia Garden's sphere of influence now."  
  
"Are we safe?" Squall asked, to which Quistis shrugged.  
  
"We're safer," she replied. "Headmaster Martine has an arrangement with Galbadia's military to defend this region, but the Galbadian command doesn't neccassarily trust him to keep his word." Quistis chuckled lightly. "They're probably suspicious of him because he's so like them."  
  
"Can we trust him?" Squall asked, suddenly hesitant to lead Rinoa to the Garden. He wanted to know more about Martine before he continued.  
  
"He is trustworthy," Quistis confirmed with a nod. "But he's also a bit slippery. He's both the Master and Headmaster of the Garden, but to the core, he's pretty much all politician. He's interested in profit and himself, not the whole organization."  
  
"I already don't like this guy," Zell muttered from the rear. "I thought you said we could trust him."  
  
"We can," Quistis replied. "He's subordinate to NORG and Balamb Garden, after all. And more importantly, it would not be in his interests to betray us. Martine may be the Garden's Master, but if the students and SeeDs find out he handed over fellow SeeDs to Galbadia, he'll be thrown out of his office at the very least."  
  
"Hmph," Zell said, scowling. "Fine, but I'll be keeping an eye on him!"  
  
"Same here," Squall added. If this Martine had something up his sleeve, Squall was certianly going to be ready for it. Neither he nor anyone else in their group had any love for politicians like Galbadia Garden's head apparently seemed to be.  
  
The hills passed the group as they trudged on. After another hour's walking, they thought they heard the distant thrumming sounds of laboring engines. Squall glanced at Quistis curiously, but she simply moved faster.  
  
"We're close," she said, waving them on. "I think just past this hill we should come into sight of the Garden. Those engines belong to Garden's hoverfoils."  
  
Squall nodded, recognizing the name of the device. Hoverfoils were simple exoframes designed to carry single persons in the air. The devices were intended for military and civilian applications, and had revolutionized the way workers built structures and operated in difficult terrain. The devices themselves consisted of a hover engine mounted behind a simple exoframe, where the pilot stood. The pilot's feet rested on pads, and he was strapped into the frame to secure his position. Simple controls in the exoframe's arms allowed for easy flight. Just below the engine there was mounted an equipment module, where one could attach any type of equipment needed.  
  
Exoframe training was a requisite course in Galbadia Garden, with its emphasis on technology. As the group mounted the final hill, they spotted dozens of the hoverfoils flying through the air, many in formations, others performing manuvers. One group was even engaged in a mock dogfight with another formation of hoverfoils. Then, as the SeeDs and their client crested the hill, Galbadia Garden rolled out below. Rinoa and Selphie gasped, and even Squall and Zell, so used to the granduer of Balamb Garden, were amazed by the structure below.  
  
What immediately caught their attention was the sheer size of the place. Galbadia Garden's grounds stretched from maybe a quarter of a mile away to the base of the distant cliffs, a distance that covered over half a mile.  
  
Bisecting the vast outer grounds was a tall cliff, nearly a hundred feet higher than the lower section of the grounds. Sweeping out from the cliffs were two massive golden semicircles, one inside the other, that reached out to encompass half of the lower grounds underneath their shadows. In the middle of the cliffs, as if set there by a cosmic gemworker, was a massive ring of blood-red metal construction, the central complex of the Garden. Black markings adorned the crimson surface, marked by hundreds of shining lights and windows. A massive, cobra's head-like protrusion, doubtless the administration wing, loomed over the entrance, making the Garden almost seem as a coiled snake, ready to strike. A glowing blue and black halo, like the one over Balamb Garden, towered over this Garden as well, though this one was held aloft by pillars, not by the unknown forces that supported Balamb's ring.  
  
"Wow," Selphie said, awed. Her words echoed the sentiments of the rest of the group, except Quistis, who had known what to expect. Still, she too was entranced by the sight of the beuitiful and vast structure. After several moments of gazing at the splendor of Galbadia Garden, Squall reminded the group that they still had actually get inside the grounds. They quickly descended the hill and approached the Garden.  
  
A small patrol of one Galbadia Garden SeeD and three cadets met them at the edge of the grounds, but upon showing their SeeD identification, the guards were more than happy to wave them on.  
  
"The cadets here go on patrols?" Zell asked as they passed numerous plazas, small buildings, and open expanses of woods and grasses. He wasn't familiar with that practice. Quistis nodded.  
  
"Galbadia Garden trains soldiers as well as mercanaries," she explained. "That's why they have such a huge size and budget. Galbadia pays a hefty sum to have officers trained here, and the Garden is run like a strict military academy. Part of the training here involves actual patrols of the grounds and scouting into the surrounding landscapes."  
  
The distant thunder of a gunshot could be heard from the north end of the grounds. The SeeDs were startled, except Quistis, who calmed them with a raised hand.  
  
"Sharpshooter training," she quickly explained. "Galbadia Garden makes use of more firearms than Balamb or Trabia. They use the monsters around here for target practice." Quistis paused, straining her eyes as she scanned to the north. Suddenly, she stopped, focused on one spot, and nodded. Squall followed her gaze to a distant tower on the northern edge of the grounds. Squall spotted the sniper's rifle as he or she fired again, and then a third time. The SeeD imagined he could see some kind of a hat on the sharpshooter's head, but the distance was too great to be certian.  
  
Some time and another patrol later, the SeeDs and their client advanced down the central walkway leading to the entrance of the Garden. They passed a submerged parking garage and neared the front gates, the vast cobra's head leering down at them. The path ahead split around a shining statue with golden lights set into its form, and met again at the entrance. As the SeeDs passed into the structure itself, one thing stood out immediately: the Garden was draped in a hush, despite the obviously large populace of teenage students.  
  
"Wow," Selphie commented as they passed the attendant at the entrance. Unlike Balamb, which had a cranky, elderly man running the entrance, this Garden had a pair of uniformed and armed SeeDs standing guard. They were waved through into the inside of the Garden.  
  
"Completely different," Selphie added, to which Zell nodded.  
  
"Sure is quiet," he commented, a bit put off by such a calm structure. Balamb Garden was full of life and vitality; Galbadia Garden was silent and reverent, almost like a hushed library or vault. Somehow, the solitude and calm of the building appealed to Squall's sensibilities.  
  
"I like it," he said, which really didn't surprise his comrades at all. Rinoa actually giggled faintly, though she herself thought the peace and calm were a welcome change of pace from the hurried travels and escape from Timber. It was good to be someplace safe, for once.  
  
As they slowly walked through the muted entrance, taking in their surroundings, Quistis stepped forward. She paused and looked back.  
  
"Let me handle this," she said, to which Squall nodded. "I know Martine pretty well. I'll explain the situation to him. In the meantime, you should feel free to wander around. Just don't cause any disturbances. The rules here are much stricter than those at Balamb, but as we're from another Garden, most of them won't apply to us."  
  
Squall again nodded, and Quistis set out into the Garden, while the remainder of the group continued to take in the structure.  
  
-------------------  
  
Selphie and Zell had wandered off, but Squall opted to stay with Rinoa and Angelo as they explored the Garden. As team leader, he'd explained, it was his obligation to keep Rinoa safe until their own safety here was confirmed.  
  
The first place Rinoa went to was the central courtyard inside the ring of the main structure. The place was mostly empty, with only a few cadets and SeeDs moving about purposefully. Classes must have been in session.  
  
The courtyard had a few plants and standing trees, but was dominated by a massive shaft of light that was created through lamps in the ring above. The light from these lamps was focused down into the middle of the area. A raised platform caught the light, which illuminated the Galbadia Garden symbol. Rinoa wandered around here for a bit before she turned to Squall.  
  
"So, are you going to teach me some tricks on junctioning?" she asked, to which he shrugged. Now was as good a time as any. He paused, closing his eyes, and focused on the distant, alien thoughts in his head. he touched Quetzocotl and indicated his intentions to the Guardian Force. The spirit seemed a bit annoyed but yeilded to its master's commands, and its power formed into a shining yellow gemstone in Squall's palm, seeming to form out of the leather of his gloves.  
  
"This," he explained, "is a Guardian Force stone. Its the secret to their power and junctioning. You know how to stock spells, right?" Squall remembered that Rinoa had mentioned she'd trained in magic under a former magic specialist in Dollet. Rinoa nodded in response.  
  
"Use your mind and willpower to draw the magic into your body," she said, reciting the basic tenet to magic utilization. "Once you have the energy inside you, you simply focus on it and will it to be released."  
  
Squall nodded. Good, Rinoa wouldn't need too much instruction, at least with the actual act of junctioning the Guardian Forces.  
  
"Okay, here, hold my stone," he said, placing the yellow gem into her hands. He cupped his hands beneath hers. "You've got bare skin contacting the stone, which is good. With some experience you can do this with gloves or other heavy clothing on, but the bare skin will help. I want you to focus on the stone. You can feel the energy inside it, right?"  
  
It was an academic question; merely touching a Guardian Force stone caused a person to feel the tingles of the entity's power. Squall recalled his first time he'd held Quetzocotl's stone, and he knew what Rinoa was feeling as she clutched the gem of power. Her nod confirmed that she was feeling the power.  
  
"You should feel a throbbing sensation, with some tingling, like when your foot or arm falls asleep, right?" he asked, to which Rinoa nodded again. The sensation was odd, considering it came from a cold stone rather than within one's own body, and was a bit disconcerting to the inexperienced.  
  
"Focus on those sensations, just like the energy in a spell," Squall explained. "Draw them in, just like a spell. It works the exact same way, but be ready."  
  
"Why?" she asked, confused and a bit nervous all of a sudden.  
  
"This will feel . . . " he paused, searching for the right word. "A little strange. Draw it in."  
  
Rinoa nodded and closed her eyes, focusing on the stone. As Squall watched, the yellow stone shimmered and then began to melt into Rinoa's skin. Within moments, the stone was gone, absorbed wholly by her will alone. As if on cue, the moment the stone vanished Rinoa gasped. She pulled her hands away from Squall's and touched her head, blinking her eyes in confusion.  
  
Squall nodded, knowing everything was fine. Rinoa was dealing with the first effects of junctioning a living, thinking entity unto herself. The presence of another mind, however distant and alien, was disconcerting to someone whose thoughts and inner mind were their own private place.  
  
"Quetzocotl must be talking to you," he said, to which Rinoa nodded quickly. "I warned you it would feel strange. Don't worry, though, you'll get used to them if you junction them long enough."  
  
"It feels like its taking part of my brain," Rinoa said, shaking her head. She wasn't in pain or anything of that sort; it was just confusing.  
  
"They tend to do that," Squall responded with a shrug. "GFs require a part of their host's brain as a place to reside while junctioned. Effectively, you two share the same brain while junctioned."  
  
"You said there wasn't any long-term damage?" Rinoa asked, her brow furrowing as she felt the sensations in her mind. The Guardian Force was still getting accustomed to Rinoa's mind, like a dog that turned circles before laying down. Squall nodded at her question.  
  
"Garden hasn't discovered any type of long-term damage resulting from junctions," Squall explained. "Neither Balamb Garden research nor experiments conducted by Doctor Odine in Esthar revealed any real disadvantage to using GFs. It just takes time." Squall paused, and decided that the short lesson was enough for today.  
  
"If you want, I can take Quetzocotl back," he offered, to which Rinoa shook her head quickly.  
  
"No, no," she said, holding up a hand. "I'd prefer it if he stayed. I want to get used to this." She smiled faintly. "Don't want to be a burden on you guys. If I can junction like you, I can protect myself." Squall shrugged and nodded at her descision, which in truth he really preffered himself. Rinoa was going to need to become accustomed to a Guardian Force's presence if she wanted to learn how to junction and keep up with the SeeDs.  
  
"I'll explain junctioning magic later," Squall said, then paused as he spotted a man approach. The man was heavily muscled, with a stern expression. He wore a black and white uniform with a black cap and a dangling silver whistle around his neck. Squall didn't need to see the Garden emblem on his sleeves to understand that this man was one of Galbadia Garden's instructors.  
  
"Are you two with the SeeD party from Balamb Garden?" the man asked gruffly, to which Squall and Rinoa nodded. "Good. Follow me." He turned wthout another word and led them to the northern end of the courtyard. Squall and Rinoa followed, Angelo close behind, as the man entered a corridor. After traveling for several minutes down a long, stark white and gray hallway marked periodically by classrom doors, the man stopped next to a stairwell.  
  
"There's a waiting room at the top of the stairs," he expalined. "Second floor, two doors down. The rest of your group is there." Without another word, the instructor turned and strode off.  
  
"Such friendly people around here," Rinoa deadpanned as they ascended the staircase. Squall said nothing in response. Galbadia Garden was a militaristic facility, after all. It was understandable that the staff would be more like drill instructors than teachers.  
  
The two found the reception room easily enough, and entered. Sqaull had been expecting rows of hard plastic chairs, but was surprised to find a richly appointed chamber that featured couches, a coffee table, and even a small refridgerator. Zell and Selphie were already in the room when Squall and Rinoa entered, the martial artist lounging on a couch impatiently while Selphie stood at a massive window that overlooked the outdoor running track. Zell nodded as the pair entered, but said nothing.  
  
Squall took a seat while Rinoa still stood. She walked to the fridge and opened it, then frowned and shut it. Squall sent her a quizzical look, and she shook her head.  
  
"Nothing but tuna sandwiches," she muttered, making a face, and sat down as well. Squall then got up, checking the fridge himself. He took out one of the sandwiches, which was indeed tuna, and removed it from its plastic wrap. Rinoa made another face as he took a bite.  
  
"You like that stuff?" she asked incerdulously. Squall shook his head.  
  
"No," he replied, sitting down beside her. "But I have to eat."  
  
The group waited another twenty minutes, until Zell finally lost his patience. He growled something about the staff taking too much time, when the door slid open and Quistis entered.  
  
"How'd it go?" Squall asked her immediately, tossing the plastic wrapper in a garbage can as he stood up. Zell and Rinoa rose as well.  
  
"They understand our situation," Quistis assured them. "We're safe here for now." Quistis then turned to Zell. "And Balamb Garden is safe. The attack on the President in Timber was classified as an independant action. The rebels attempted to cover their own actions by blaming Garden. Or at least, that's what the government is saying. There was an official notice from the Galbadian government saying that Balamb Garden is not being held responsible and that 'the government of Galbadia will not be provoked to foolish actions by such childish trickery.'"  
  
Zell visibly slumped in relief at the news, then sat back up as another thought hit him.  
  
"So, is Seifer taking all the blame?" he asked. Quistis hesitated, and turned away for a moment. She glanced at Rinoa, who was watching intently.  
  
"Galbadia's known for its speedy judicial system," Quistis said quietly. "The trial's already been completed, and the . . . the sentence was carried out."  
  
The words struck like a bomb, stunning everyone in the room. Zell jerked as if a bottle was smashed over his head, while Selphie's mouth dropped open. Rinoa's legs suddenly seemed weak, and she sunk down to the floor, hit hard by the news. Squall was the only one to not show any outward emotion, though he too was shocked, even if the outcome was one he'd been expecting all along.  
  
On the tail end of the shock came anger. Squall and Seifer may have been at each others throats since they could last remember, but both men had respect for each other. They had been rivals, but in a strange way, they were also comrades.  
  
"He was executed?" Rinoa asked quietly, to which Quistis nodded.  
  
"Of course he was," Rinoa then whispered, almost too quietly to hear. "He attacked the President. He . . . he sacrificed himself for us. For me." As she said, this, Rinoa stood, and looked away, out the window.  
  
"You're part of a resistance group," Quistis said. "You were prepared for this eventuality, right? I'm sure Seifer was too, if he was as dedicated to the cause as I saw in him." Quistis put a hand on Rinoa's shoulder, like a big sister. "He knew what he was doing. Don't think of him as sacrificing himself for you."  
  
Everyone was silent, Rinoa in particular. After several moments, Quistis spoke again.  
  
"I'm sorry," she said. "I guess that wasn't much consolation."  
  
As Quistis was attempting to comfort Rinoa, Selphie turned to Zell, who was visibly shaking in anger.  
  
"Zell, I thought you hated Seifer?" she asked, confused by Zell's response. The martial artist clenched his fist and looked down at it, before turning back to Selphie.  
  
"Yeah, I didn't like him," Zell growled. "He was a complete asshole, but still, he was one of us." He glanced at Squall, who nodded his sentiments. "If I can, I want to get revenge."  
  
"Same here," Squall said quietly. Zell nodded as well. Galbadia, Deling, and his Sorceress were going to pay.  
  
"I don't have any good memories of him," Quistis commented, turning back to the SeeDs. "I've seen some troubled children, but he was beyond troubled. It was like he didn't even belong in Garden. He lived only to fight, for a cause, any cause, even if it was just for battle's own sake. But even so, he wasn't really a bad person, just . . . different."  
  
The room was shrouded in a hushed silence for several moments as each person ran back over their memories of the cadet. Finally, the silence was broken.  
  
"I," Rinoa almost whispered. "I really liked him. He was always so full of confidence, smart . . . ." She sighed. "Just by talking with him, I felt like I could take on the world."  
  
"Your boyfriend?" Selphie asked. Rinoa shook her head, and turned to face the small SeeD.  
  
"I don't really know," Rinoa answered, stepping to the couch. She sat down. "I . . . I think I was in love. I wonder how he felt?"  
  
"Do you still like him?" Selphie asked.  
  
"If I didn't, I wouldn't be talking about him," Rinoa responded. She pulled her knees up, hugging them. "It was last summer. I was sixteen. Lots of fond memories . . . ." Rinoa trailed off, looking away into the past.  
  
As Rinoa looked away, the door to the reception room slid open. The SeeDs turned to see another instructor, who scanned the room.  
  
"Leonhart?" the man asked, to which Squall nodded. The instructor waved for him to follow, and Squall nodded.  
  
"I'll see what it's about," he told his comrades, and followed the instructor outside. The man led him down the hallway to the top of the stairwell, where Squall was surprised to see a familiar huge, burly form, beside a petite woman.  
  
"Yo, Squall," Raijin boomed as he approached. Squall blinked in surpise at the cadets' presence in Galbadia Garden.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Squall asked.  
  
"Looking for you," Raijin replied. "We're running a message from Cid, ya know? New orders. The HD cables are down again, so we had to deliver it personally, ya know."  
  
"What kind of order?" Squall asked, curious. "And why us?"  
  
"I dunno," Raijin repleid, shrugging. "I gave it to that Marty guy who's head honcho here. Just did what Cid wanted, ya know?"  
  
Squall was still confused, and his expression told them that.  
  
"EXPLAIN," Fujin ordered her brother, who nodded.  
  
"We were supposed'ta go to Timber, since ya'll were there on the secret hush-hush mission," Raijin said. "But we didn't find you in Timber. You probably left before we could find you, ya know? Anyway, the trains were down, so we rented a car and drove north, since if you weren't in Timber then you'd probably be headed here, ya know? Kinda relieved to see you guys here."  
  
Squall nodded, then noticed Fujin was scanning the area.  
  
"SEIFER?" she asked, to which Raijin nodded.  
  
"Oh, yeah, wasn't Seifer with you?" the big man asked. "We knew he was headed for Timber to help you guys out after he escaped." Squall shook his head.  
  
"Seifer is dead," he explained, to which both Fujin and Raijin's jaws dropped. "He was captured, then tried in Galbadia and executed." To Squall's surprise, Raijin barked out a laugh.  
  
"LIES!" Fujin hissed.  
  
"Yeah, that's a lie," Raijin added. "Seifer'd never put up with a trial, ya know! Or an execution, for that matter! That's just not Seifer, ya know!"  
  
"FIND!" Fujin stated definatively.  
  
"Right! We'll find him!" Raijin proclaimed with a hefty nod. "See ya later, Squall!" With that, the two cadets turned and left, bounding down the stairs. Squall also turned to leave, but the same instructor who'd led him there stopped him.  
  
"Headmaster Martine wants you and your group to meet him at the gates concerning the orders he recieved," the man explained, to which Squall nodded.  
  
"The Headmaster knows we're currently on a mission?" Squall asked, to which the instructor nodded.  
  
"The orders Headmaster Martine have recieved supercede your current assignment," the instructor explained. "This mission has priority over all other orders." Without waiting for a reply, the instructor turned and left. Squall watched him leave, curious. He then turned to return to the reception room to gather his group for this new mission.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------  
  
Nothing really special to say about this chapter. I got bogged down for a bit before I was able to finish it, which is why it took so long despite its short length. if you're wondering why I cut it short, its because I wanted the next chapter to have two important introductions: Deling City and Irvine. The upcoming events are important enough to warrant their own chapter, I believe.  
  
You may have noticed that I didn't cover Squall's exclamation about becoming a memory and such in the waiting room. That came out of nowhere, and was never followed up on. Furthermore, the statement and Squall's actions seemed somewhat out of character. Overall, I didn't like it at all, and it seemed like it somehow didn't belong. Therefore, I disposed of it.  
  
Also, you may notice how much extra stuff I put in here, particularly Squall's explanation of junctioning, the bit of history, and Quistis' explanation on Martine's character. Again, this is intended to convey an expanded sense of a whole, cohesive world. In my opinion, FFVIII has one of the best and most realistic worlds in an RPG, and I want to maintain and expand on this.  
  
If you notice, there were also some suble alterations to the dialogue. 


	24. Irvine Kinneas

Chapter 20: Irvine Kinneas  
  
The SeeDs and their client assembled outside the front entrance of the Garden. Classes were apparently still in session, as there were almost no students or SeeDs out, excepting the occasional patrol, and the exoframes in the sky above. Squall did notice that the sharpshooter at the northern end of the complex was apparently done practicing, as the wind no longer carried thundering shots across the grounds. The outside of Galbadia Garden was as quiet as its interior.  
  
As the SeeDs and Rinoa lounged around, waiting for Martine to arrive and give out their orders, Squall became aware of a problem. Namely, Rinoa. Not being a SeeD, her presence may complicate the situation. He did not want to have to leave her behind, but at the same time, Martine may object to them bringing along a civilian.  
  
"Rinoa," Squall said, stepping over to her. Their client sat on a stone railing seperating the main path leading to the entrance from a large garden. She looked up as he approached.  
  
"There may be a problem," he said. Rinoa quickly nodded, understanding the situation before Squall said anything further.  
  
"Pretend I'm another SeeD," she said quickly. "Best to avoid complications, after all." Squall nodded, realizing that the less Martine knew about Rinoa's status as a civilian, the better. He then quickly stood at attention, bringing his right hand up in front of his face, palm inward.  
  
"This is the SeeD salute," he told her. Rinoa nodded and mimiced it fairly well. "You'll need to salute Martine when he arrives and when he dismisses us." Rinoa nodded, and then a flicker of motion caught their attention, coming from the direction of the Garden complex. Squall and Rinoa turned to see a car approaching, emblazoned with the Garden symbol.  
  
"I think that's him," Rinoa whispered, to which Squall nodded. He signaled the rest of his group, and they formed up into a quick line as the Garden vehicle approached. Rinoa fell into place beside Squall, after telling Angelo to move somewhere out of sight. The dog obeyed and scurried away. Moments later, the Garden vehicle pulled up in front of the group.  
  
The passenger door swung open, and out stepped a tall man, moving with a fluid, yet regal, pace. He wore a long blue coat with gold trim, fashioned in an old style, like that of Dollet's officers from several decades ago. The coat was fastened across the man's chest by a trio of archiac cloth fasteners, and a bandoleer ran from the middle of his right waist down to his lower left waist.  
  
Headmaster Martine Cayes squinted his eyes as he looked over the SeeD party. His face was heavily wrinkled, and an almost imperceptible white scar traced itself across the left side of his face, down to his neck. He wore his graying blonde hair long, fastened into a ponytal at the back of his head. As he scrutinized the group, Matrine clasped his hands behind his back and stood tall. In response, the SeeDs quickly stood at attention, and saluted as one, Rinoa a split second behind them.  
  
"Good day," he told them with a nod, after several long seconds. His voice was cultured, almost aristocratic, that of a man from Dollet. he looked over the Seeds again,a nd then began pacing back and forth, looking down at the pavement.  
  
"I have official orders from Headmaster Cid addressed to you," he began. "As per regulations, considering you are temporarily stationed in my Garden, I have reviewed these orders. After considering the options and information that we ourselves have been gathering concerning this operation, we have opted to fully assist Headmaster Kramer in this mission." Martine paused, and turned back to the SeeDs.  
  
"To tell the truth, we ourselves were planning something similar for quite some time now," Martien continued. Squall and his group waited patiently through the Headmaster's explanation, curious as to what the man was leading up to. "In order to stress to you the importance of this mission, I must first brief you on the current situation." Then, almost as an afterthought, Matrine spoke again. "At ease."  
  
The SeeDs and Rinoa relaxed and waited for Martine to continue.  
  
"You were in Timber recently," Matrine said. It was a statement, not a question. "And you observed the announcement by Vinzer Deling concerning the Sorceress being appointed as ambassador. We have been tasked recently with gathering intelligence concerning this Sorceress." Martine paused at a questioning blink from Zell. "Yes, we were aware that a Sorceress had resurfaced. We had thought the only active Sorceress was the one in Esthar, Adel, but this one we had discovered recently. She has been acting in concert with Vinzer Deling over the last year, but to what end we do not know. Until now.  
  
"The Sorceress has been appointed as ambassador, but in reality, this ambassador thing is just a lie," Martine continued. "There will be no talks or negotiations with other nations, merely threats and force. The Sorceress creates fear and awe. As an emmissary, she could cow any other nation's leader by her mere presence, not to mention the magical powers at her disposal, including abilities such as the power to read minds and subvert victims with her willpower. In such a state, peace talks are meaningless.  
  
"Galbadia is planning to put the Sorceress' power to use in conjunction with the Galbadian military to completely dominate the western world," Martine said, waving a hand emphatically. "No nation will be able to resist this combination of the innate fear of the Sorceress and a military juggernaut backing any claims and threats Galbadia makes. Deling's ultimate goal is nothing short of world domination. Garden is no exception; in fact, Garden is one of the first targets on their hit list."  
  
That bit of news hit the gathered group. Garden, which had always been neutral in most struggles, had often been the thorn in the side of many military powers and rougue groups. However, none had ever attacked or even threatened Garden before, mostly due to the fact that they could just as easily hire Garden to turn its sizeable military power against the enemies they had been backing just days before. In the words of one SeeD, Garden could save a government one day then overthrow it the next. By being useful Garden was immune.  
  
Was Deling changing the rules now? And what of the declaration that Garden was not being held responsible for the attack in Timber? If Galbadia was targeting Garden, why had Garden been exonerated from a perfect excuse to attack?  
  
"The Galbadian military is preparing even now for war," Martine informed the group. "The Sorceress intends to turn Galbadia Garden into her base of operations, and to seize any other Gardens she can. The statement issued earlier today was merely a reassurance intended to make us drop our guard. In reality, if we allow Deling and his Sorceress to remain, war will be inevitable. We have very few options available to us that will prevent this war." Martine paused again, then met Squall's eyes.  
  
"As the single best SeeD to have come out of Garden, Leonhart, we have no one better to entrust this mission to," Matrine told him. He reached into his pocket and drew out a set of folded papers.  
  
"Official orders," Martine stated. "All details of the operation are enclosed here. Destroy these papers when you have read them. Good luck."  
  
The SeeDs snapped off a set of quick salutes, and Martine handed the papers off to Squall. He quickly ran over them once, and then paused as he read the mission description. he scanned it a few more times, and then frowned.  
  
"It says 'by means of a sniper,'" Squall said, looking up at Martine. "We don't have anyone qualified to use a sniper rifle." It was true. Squall and his group had cross-trained with firearms, but none of them were certified Garden sharpshooters. The Headmaster nodded.  
  
"Don't worry," Martine assured him. "As part of our cooperation with Headmaster Kramer, we are going to attach one of our own SeeDs to your group. Let me introduce you to the best sharpshooter in Galbadia Garden." Martine turned to face away from the group, towards the west side of the grounds.  
  
"Kinneas! Irvine Kinneas!" he called. In response, a brown-clad figure laying back on a nearby hilltop moved.  
  
As the group watched, he reached up with a black fingerless glove and pretended to shoot a butterfly out of the air. Then, the figure sat up quickly, and the SeeDs noticed the black hat he wore on his head, a wide- brimmed hat made famous by countless movies about Galbadian frontiersmen. He also wore long brown hair, loose around the front of his face and worn into a long ponytail at the back. As he rose, a large, weathered brown trenchcoat could be made out, matching the brown and equally weathered pants. He turned to face the group, and one could see the sleeveless, dark blue denim vest he wore beneath the coat. He grinned at them with a boyish smile and large blue eyes, and casually shouldered a powerful, solid- looking double-barreled rifle.  
  
"This," Martine stated as the man, a SeeD probably barely any older than the rest of them, calmly swaggered down the hill towards them, "is Irvine Kinneas. He is your sniper. A certified expert on firearms of all types." Martine turned back to the group.  
  
"You may leave whenever you are ready," he added. "Failure is not an option, for both Garden and the world." With that, Martine returned to his vehicle and climbed in through the passenger door. The vehicle then pulled back and drove away swiftly, just as Irvine reached the bottom of the hill. He glanced over to the dissappearing car, and with his free hand pretended to fire a pistol at it, even adding sound effects. He then "twirled" his mock pistol and slid it into an imaginary holster, before turning back to the rest of the group.  
  
"So, I'm with you rubes from Balamb, eh?" Irvine asked with a smile. He looked over the group, and seemed to consider them for a moment longer than a simple examination would warrant. He then bent into a short bow, tipping his black hat in the direction of Rinoa, Quistis, and Selphie. "Greetings. Always nice to work with ladies." He turned back to Squall and Zell. "You two don't look like slouches either," he added, smiling. Zell scowled, and Squall took a note of it. The hot-headed martial artist always overreacted, especially around people like Irvine. Somehow, the sharpshooter reminded Squall of Seifer at that moment, and not in a good way. It might not be good idea to put Zell together with Irvine.  
  
Irvine noticed Zell's scowl, and perked up an inquisitive eyebrow.  
  
"You cool with me helping you?" the sharpshooter asked.  
  
"That depends on your attitude," Squall replied with a shrug.  
  
"I may say things that would get a rise out of some people," Irvine explained. "Its just a joke, so don't let it bother you and we'll get along fine." Squall nodded.  
  
"I'll remember that," he said. "I'm the team leader, Squall Leonhart."  
  
"Irvine Kinneas," the sharpshooter replied with another tip of the hat. "Though I'm sure King Turd of Shit Mountain over there already told you. That guy really needs to take the oak tree out of his ass . . . ." Irvine then shrugged. "Not that it really matters. So, the old man briefed you on the job?"  
  
Squall nodded again and held up the orders.  
  
"What's it say?" Selphee asked. Squall glanced down at the paper and began to read the relevant parts out loud.  
  
"The SeeD team assigned for this operation is under orders from both Balamb and Galbadia Gardens, and has one primary objective: Nuetralization of the Sorceress employed by Galbadia as ambassador," he said blankly. Squall glanced up at his team, reading their expressions. There was some surprise, but for the most part his team understood what Martine had been leading up to in his explanation.  
  
"Kinneas is to perform the assassination," Squall said, nodding to the sharpshooter. "He will snipe the Sorceress from a distanced, concealed position. Should the sniper fail, we are to eliminate her ourselves." Irvine smiled and fingered his rifle again.  
  
"Thanks for the support," he replied, "but I never miss my target."  
  
"We are to head for the Galbadian capital, Deling City," Squall continued, and held up a set of papers, the majority of the content in the folded set he had recieved from Martine. "These will get us inside the city. They've been forged by our contact we are supposed to meet."  
  
"Who's the contact?" Zell asked, looking over the identification.  
  
"General Hirbrom Caraway," Squall replied, looking at the name. "He's head of defense around the captial and the Great Plains of Galbadia."  
  
"Caraway?" Rinoa asked suddenly, her voice uncertian. Squall turned to her and nodded.  
  
"Something wrong?" he asked, to which Rinoa shook her head quickly. Too quickly.  
  
"Rinoa, are you hiding something?" Squall asked, to which she shook her head, more emphatically.  
  
"No, I've just heard his name mentioned before," she replied, looking away, her eyes not meeting his. Squall watched her for a second, then turned back to his team.  
  
"General Caraway knows the details of this operation," Squall continued. "It says that we need to meet him soon, by tommorow. We'll need to get moving."  
  
"Well, then," Irvine said, smiling. "We'll need to split up into teams. I'm sure we'll be operating as a cohesive force, but until we get to know each other better, I'd suggest we form smaller groups of, perhaps three each?" He raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Perhaps you two," he said, placing his hands on Rinoa's and Selphie's shoulders. "would be good teammates with me?"  
  
"No," Squall stated flatly, shaking his head. "Rinoa stays with me," he added, his tone leaving no room for argument. Irvine arched his eyebrows again, and looked back and forth between them.  
  
"He's a bit protective," Irvine commented. He gave Rinoa a questioning look. "Boyfriend?"  
  
Rinoa had a good laugh at that, and Squall snorted. He crossed his arms and glared at Irvine.  
  
"Rinoa isn't a SeeD," Quistis explained. "She's a civilian, and the client for Squall's team. And as team leader, he is her bodyguard, along with Zell and Selphie." Zell and Selphie nodded in accord, while Irvine simply shrugged, conceding defeat.  
  
"And furthermore," Squall added, "We aren't splitting up into seperate teams. There's more safety in numbers." Again, Irvine, with no real choice, had to concede to Squall's descision. The group's commander then nodded toward Irvine's rifle.  
  
"How good are you with that?" he asked, to which Irvine laughed. He quickly spun, raising the rifle and leveling it at an unseen target.  
  
"I've been training with guns like this since I came here," Irvine replied. "For me, guns aren't weapons, they're extensions of the body, and part of my very soul." He lowered the rifle and turned to face the SeeDs and their client.  
  
"This," he said, holding the double-barreled rifle out for inspection, "is the Galbadian Special ME-22 Valiant Multipurpose Assault Weapon, possibly one of the best rifles in the world. It can hit a target at one thousand feet within a diameter of two inches using standard ammunition, and features recoil compensators in the stock and grip to reduce the shock of firing." Irvine then flicked a lever on the rifle, and opened a pair of revolver-style rotating chambers behind the barrels.  
  
"This weapon can accommadate over a dozen different types of shells and rounds," he explained. "It uses standard fifty caliber Action Express rounds, the kind you only see in heavy revolvers and rifles, but it can be fitted with special shotgun, high explosive, grenade, or flame rounds. The Valiant can even be set to fire on fully automatic setting as well, if you have magazines for the bullets. All of which I have in plentiful supply." Irvine opened his coat to show pockets filled with shells and rounds, as well as several large magazines of ammunition. With the coat opened, one could also see a pair of revolvers in holsters beneath Irvine's arms, well- hidden from view.  
  
"Those are my backups," Irvine added as he noticed Squall looking at the revolvers. "Six-shooters with .357's. More than enough to kill anything that moves." He flashed the group a smile, and everyone's respect for the sharpshooter went up a bit. At least he wasn't all bluster.  
  
"Good," Squall stated after Irvine's explanation was finished. "We need to leave, now," he added, gesturing to the southwest end of the grounds, where there was a train station for commuters to and from the heart of Galbadia. No one disagreed, and they headed off.  
  
As the group crossed the grounds, Irvine expressed some curiosity for those he was going to be working with. He knew Squall was a gunblade specialist simply by his weapon, but he was uncertian about the rest of his new team.  
  
"Selphie Tilmitt is a specialist in magic and is an expert in demolitions and vehicles," Squall explained, gesturing to Selphie. Irvine smiled and nodded, though Squall thought he caught something extra in the sharpshooter's expression. Whatever it was was gone to quickly to identify.  
  
"Pleased to meet," Irvine said with another tip of his hat.  
  
"Zell Dincht is a martial arts specialist," Squall stated, gesturing to Zell. The martial artist nodded quickly, which was matched by a similar nod from Irvine. Again, Squall caught the odd look.  
  
"Quistis Trepe is a former Instructor," Squall continued, gesturing to Quistis. She nodded, and Irvine tipped his hat as well.  
  
"So, you're the blue magic specialist I heard about," Irvine commented, his words catching the attention of the rest of the group. Squall glanced back at Quistis, curious. He knew that Quistis was skilled at monster magic, though he had never seen it in action.  
  
Blue mages operated by learning how to manipulate the energies of monsters and other nonstandard magic techniques. They were most common in Trabia, either in the Garden or operating in the wilderness, studying the animals and monsters.There were few enough in Balamb, and almost unheard of in Galbadia, which explained why Irvine knew about Quistis.  
  
"Yes," Quistis replied with a slightly embarassed nod. "The only blue mage to have ever attended Galbadia Garden."  
  
"I heard blue magic wasn't easy to learn," Zell commented, to which Quistis nodded.  
  
"The skill is hard to learn unless you're born with the knack. Something having to do with genetics," she said with a shrug. "I have a knack for learning how monsters use magic. Its that simple." Irvine nodded in understanding, glad to have Quistis along now that he knew of the unusual power she had. He finally turned back to Rinoa, who had spoken little.  
  
"You're a civilian?" he asked her, catching her attention, Rinoa quickly nodded after she registered his question.  
  
"My group hired SeeD," she explained. "To support us in Timber."  
  
"Timber resistance?" Irvine asked, then nodded in answer to his own question. "Ah, don't worry. I may be from Galbadia, but I'm with those that don't like the fact that we're occupying Timber. You're secret's safe with me." Rinoa nodded, reassured by the shapshooter's words. Despite his somewhat obnoxious nature, Kinneas was undoubtably honorable.  
  
-------------------  
  
Twenty minutes later, the team had arrived at the train station at the southwest end of the complex. Squall recieved the ticket, billing the charge to Garden's expense account, and led his group onto the train. Not waiting around, he immediately used his ticket in the reader beside the security door, which beeped and slid open. Beside him, Selphie giggled, understanding why Squall had made sure to do that first.  
  
"You've caught on!" she exclaimed, and then burst through the door. "Thanks!" she called over her shoulder as the door closed behind her. The rest of the team followed her, though none of them stayed in the outside hallway, instead crowding into the private SeeD room. Irvine detached from the group and hovered near the door, a thoughtful look on his face, while Zell and Rinoa immediately lounged on the couches. Quistis and Squall remained standing for a moment.  
  
The train suddenly lurched, and was accompanied by an announcement over the intercom about the train's departure for Deling City, capital of Galbadia.  
  
"This is the only train headed for Deling anyway," Rinoa commented, getting a giggle out of Quistis and Zell. Squall didn't respond, and Irvine seemed too caught up in thought to notice. Squall glanced at him as the sharpshooter let out a thoughtful "hm."  
  
"I wonder if it's fate?" he asked himself quietly, and stepped out of the cabin and into the hallway with Selphie. Squall watched him leave, along with the others, whose expressions ranged from curious to slightly concerned.  
  
"He kind of just . . . walked off," Quistis commented after several moments. Squall nodded, recalling Irvine's general attitude. He was acting a little too friendly towards the women, particularly Selphie and Rinoa . . . .  
  
Squall finally decided he should go and at least check. He poked his head out the door, then stepped into the hallway. Sure enough, Irvine was standing beside Selphie at the windows lining the hallway, watching the brown landscape flit past. Immediately, from their body language, Squall could tell that Irvine had made Selphie uncomfortable, somehow.  
  
"Selphie, come on," he said quietly to her, leaning over the much smaller SeeD. "We're destined to be together!" He spoke the words dramatically, almost like a parady of an epic romance movie. Selphie stuttered for a second before replying.  
  
"Yeah, right," Selphie responded quietly, her words carrying a slightly sarcastic tone.  
  
"Words of love?" he asked playfully, to which Selphie quickly shook her head.  
  
"N-No," she replied firmly. Irvine then shrugged, and then glanced at Squall, as if sensing the other SeeD's presence. The sharpshooter turned to the small woman again, smiled and tipped his hat, and then turned back.  
  
"Pardon me," he said quietly but politely as he stepped back into the guest room. Squall watched him leave, and then shook his head. They had met less than an hour ago and already the guy was hitting on one of his teammates.  
  
"You okay?" he asked her, to which she nodded. The small SeeD put a hand to her chest, and looked a bit flushed from her encounter.  
  
"My heart's pounding," she said. Squall nodded, understanding that Irvine's not-so-subtle advances had probably startled her.  
  
"You handled him pretty well," he commented. "Part of its probably also pre-mission jitters. Get used to handling pressure when you can." Selphie nodded, understanding the double meaning behind Squall's words. Pressure took on different forms, after all.  
  
Squall stayed out in the hallway for a bit, watching the landscape scroll by along with his teammate, before turning back to the cabin. He opened the door, and was surprised - though he really shouldn't have been - to see Irvine standing beside a flushed Rinoa, who was glaring at him. Irvine had an apologetic look on his face, and it didn't take Squall long to figure out that Irvine had gone after Rinoa too. But if Selphie had rejected his approach, then it seemed that Rinoa had practically shot Irvine out of the sky.  
  
"Irvine Kinneas!" Quistis scolded the sharpshooter in her "instructor" tone, before Zell could hop in with something louder and likely more violent. Irvine turned to face her, and then looked down at the floor, away from the rest of the group. Squall recognized the posture, and knew what was coming.  
  
"No one understands me," Irvine muttered. Squall would have laughed if he had felt like it. Deflection. Irvine was deflecting the issue with a tirade about his personal problems. How very Seifer-like.  
  
"Sharpshooters," he whispered. "We're loners by nature. We hone our instincts and bodies, pouring our entire essence into a single bullet. Waiting for that one moment, that final second, before we take the shot. We put everything into that one bullet . . . ." Irvine trailed off, and moved out of the way.  
  
"The pressure of that instant, that one moment,' he said. "I have to face that alone. Its not easy . . . ." Irvine said no more, instead walking out of the door. Squall poked his head outside again, confirming that Irvine was headed up front in the train, not toward Selphie. Once the sharpshooter was gone, Squall returned.  
  
"What was that all about?" Rinoa asked, to which Squall shrugged.  
  
"Deflection," he explained simply. "Trying to get our attention away from the facts."  
  
"What fact?" Rinoa asked, though she likely knew the answer.  
  
"That Irvine thinks he's Hyne's gift to women," Quistis commented.  
  
"Idiot," Zell growled, punching the floor in frustration at Irvine's bold antics. His junction-enhanced fist hammered the train's deck, and sent a shudder through the entire structure. The lights flickered, and after a moment there was quick announcement over the intercom concerning the "slight vibration," telling the passengers to remain calm in spite of the shudder and that there was no damage.  
  
Rinoa couldn't supress another giggle at Zell's expense.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------  
  
Huh. That one was short, but fun. Irvine is one of my fave characters from FFVIII, behind Seifer and Squall.  
  
Well, obviously, this chapter had quite a bit of original dialogue. I wanted to try and link some of the character's lines together, and such. I may be handing Irvine some more sympathy than he might deserve, but then again, maybe not. shrug Also, I made sure to make some references to the future events in the game as well. If you read closely, you may pick them up. 


	25. The Test

Chapter 21: The Test  
  
"Focus," Squall calmly explained to Rinoa. "The magical energy you'd normally cast while focusing on it has to be concentrated on a particular part of your body. The Guardian Force you junctioned should understand what it is that you want."  
  
Rinoa nodded, sitting on the couch in the private SeeD cabin. She quietly did as Squall instructed, focusing her magic. Beside her, Angelo watched quietly, the dog observing the exchange between her master and her bodyguard.  
  
"Your magic can be focused on particular aspects of your physical body," Squall explained. "Strength, reflexes, durability, even your ability to focus magical energy. You need to will the energy to enhance that part of your body."  
  
Squall then took an apple from the bowl of fruit that had been in the cabin's refrigerator, and handed it to Rinoa.  
  
"Focus on your physical power, and your ability to manipulate your surroundings with pure strength," he told her. "Can you feel the magic?" Rinoa furrowed her brow in concentration, then suddenly relaxed and nodded quickly.  
  
"Now, center it on your physical power," Squall told her. Rinoa concentrated once more.  
  
"I can feel it," she whispered. "I can feel it in my calves and biceps, all over."  
  
"Good," he told her. "Now squeeze the apple gently." Squall looked down at the apple, watching intently. Rinoa's muscles flexed in her fingers-  
  
-and the apple was crushed inward, almost effortlessly.  
  
Zell, sitting nearby, was unable to surpress a whistle. Angelo, who had been watching her mistress intently, jerked back at the display.  
  
"You're one quick learner, Rinoa!" he commented as Rinoa opened her eyes, surprised at her strength.  
  
"I . . . I guess so," Rinoa replied quietly, surprised at how easily she'd crushed the apple.  
  
"Those are the fundamentals of junctioning," Squall explained to Rinoa, impressed with her performance with the fruit. "By focusing your magic and centering it on any other attribute, you should be able to enhance yourself. But, you have to remember that particular types of magic have different effects. Healing and protection magic are better for defense, and offensive magic is better for enhancing your strength or reflexes."  
  
Rinoa nodded in understanding, but then paused as an announcement came in over the intercom, informing the passengers that the train was getting close to Deling City.  
  
"We can save the other lessons for later," Squall told her, reaching for his gunblade and pack.  
  
A few minutes later, the train passed into a tunnel, where it rapidly began decelerating, until it came to a complete stop. The SeeDs and their client were already moving when the predictable announcement asking them to leave sounded.  
  
Squall hopped off the train into a large, loud and noisy hub, Deling City's train station. Passengers, conductors, and station personnel were moving around the area, lit by muted yellow lamps and neon signs. Squall checked to see that the rest of his team was following, and led the group off their platform and towards the main door.  
  
It turned out that Deling's train network and station were underground, the rail lines running into the base of the hill the city sat upon. The SeeDs and their client approached a huge, wide, and long escalator, the automated staircase running up to the surface, and stepped on.  
  
After a couple of minutes riding the device up to the top, the group saw Deling City unfold before them, beyond the huge archway of the station's main entrance.  
  
The night sky of Deling City shimmered with the illumination of dozens of spotlights reflecting off the clouds. Directly ahead, down a wide avenue, there was Deling City's central landmark, a massive archway, covering in statues of heroes and monsters, and brass statues of ancient Galbadian soldiers, surrounding a huge clock set above the arch. The city streets bustled with activity, as cars, trucks, and huge red double-decker busses blazed past. Citizens and the occasional military police officer moved about purposefully along the sidewalks, congregating at bus stops.  
  
Deling City, the city known as the Shining Night, was as alive at night, or even more so, than it was in the daytime.  
  
Zell and Selphie seemed slightly bewildered at the bustle of the city, which was no surprise, considering they came from relatively quiet communities. Irvine, Quistis, and Rinoa seemed much more at ease, Irvine in particular. However, while Rinoa seemed familiar with her surroundings, she still seemed anxious.  
  
"Irvine, do you know where Caraway's home is?" Squall asked, to which he shrugged.  
  
"Its not too far," Rinoa piped in, a bit hesitantly. "We just need to take the 08 bus. There nearest stop is right outside the station."  
  
"You know a lot about Deling?" Quistis asked, to which Rinoa nodded.  
  
"I've been with the Forest Owls for years," she explained quietly, "but I was born and raised here in Galbadia. In this city, actually."  
  
Squall nodded, understanding why Rinoa was so familiar with such a large city. He indicated she should lead the way, and as the group followed Rinoa out of the station, a random thought hit the SeeD.  
  
Was Laguna here?  
  
That question bothered him throughout the wait for a bus and the subsequent ride on board one of the double-deckers. Was Laguna in Deling City now? And if he was, what did that mean? And most importantly, what would happen if the SeeDs encountered the soldier? It seemed an unlikely possibility, even if Laguna was present, but fate had a way of arranging meetings . . . .  
  
Squall banished the thought as the bus rose a hill, and a series of massive mansions came into view on their left. He had a mission right now, and should consider it and it alone.  
  
The bus came to a stop, the driver announcing their arrival in Deling City's upper-class district. Rinoa quickly rose and led the team off. It was only a few minutes until they approached one of the mansions, and average sized-one, if the huge homes could be considered average-sized at all.  
  
"This is it," Rinoa said quietly, gesturing to the home of General Hibrom Caraway. Squall nodded and took the lead, walking toward the gate. As he did so, he shifted his musings to the general himself. One of the higher-ups in the Galbadian army . . . could this whole operation simply be a coup d'etat?  
  
Squall quashed that notion quickly enough. The reputation of the general said that he was an honorable man, not a power-monger. Hell, he was supposed to have had a family at some point. The general's wife had died twelve years ago, and he did have a child. The man was a family man, devoted to the good of Galbadia. If he was behind a military overthrow of Deling, then it must be for the good of the country.  
  
Squall approached the gate, and was almost immediately accosted by a large patrol of very heavily armed Galbadians. The leader of the group, wearing the insignia of a lieutenant, held up a hand as the SeeDs approached the gate.  
  
"Excuse me," he asked. "Do you have some business with the general? He is a busy man."  
  
"We came from Galbadia Garden," Squall said truthfully, "We're here to meet the general. I think he's been informed of our arrival."  
  
"Garden?" the lieutenant asked, almost to himself, but then nodded. "Yes, indeed. Caraway's mansion is through this gate, but . . . I can't let you pass. Yet."  
  
Squall frowned, but held back from saying anything. That last bit in particular kept him from protesting.  
  
"Yet?" Squall asked, realizing that there were likely conditions that would have to be met first. Perhaps they would need to prove who they were?  
  
"I ordered not to let you through until your skills have been tested," the soldier explained.  
  
What was this bullshit? Testing skills? Did the general think they were some kind of knights who needed to prove themselves before their lord and master?  
  
"Test our skills?" Squall growled, holding back on his anger, but still letting it slip through a bit. He wanted the guard to know how he felt concerning this bit of silliness, and hopefully relay that back to Caraway. "What does he want us to do?"  
  
"The Tomb of the Unknown King is to the northeast of the city, on the Gotland Peninsula, near the coast," the soldier explained. "A rather boastful Galbadia Garden student went there some time ago, investigating the rumors of monsters. He has never been seen again, but he did leave his identification number behind along with his weapon. Find them and return."  
  
The soldier reached into a pocket in his uniform and pulled out a rolled parchment.  
  
"This is a map of the tomb," he explained. "Once you find the weapon and his identification number, return. Simple." Squall scowled but nodded, taking the map.  
  
"Good luck," the soldier bid, and then turned around and led his patrol away. Squall kept his scowl and looked back at his group, then at the parchment. The tomb they were supposed to visit was best described as a series of criss-crossing corridors and intersections. It looked easy enough for the SeeDs to navigate.  
  
"The Tomb of the Unknown King?" Irvine commented as Squall scanned the map. "That old place? It's about sixty to seventy miles away. Too far to walk."  
  
"You know anything about it?" Squall asked, to which Irvine scratched his chin.  
  
"Monsters, treasure, and I even heard there's an earth spirit there," Irvine said after a few moments. "Mostly made-up stuff, but one legend says that a pair of cow-men lives there." Irvine chuckled at the notion.  
  
"Sixty miles?" Quistis said with a shake of her head. "We can't walk that far."  
  
"Hey!" Selphie suddenly exclaimed, jumping up and down. "Why don't we rent a car?"  
  
"We have the money for that?" Squall asked, dubiously. He also wondered how mcuh Selphie's suggestion was based in the actual practical use of a car, and how much was in her obvious love for vehicles.  
  
"We could bill it to Garden, like with our train fares," Quistis replied. "It is a travel expense." Squall shrugged and nodded.  
  
"There should be one in the shopping district," Selphie pointed out. Squall nodded again, and when the next bus arrived, they quickly boarded and rode it to the shopping district. En route, Squall noticed Zell was scowling angrily in his seat. The SeeD gave the martial artist a questioning look, which Zell caught.  
  
"What?" he asked.  
  
"Something wrong?" Squall questioned, to which Zell's frown deepened and he shook his fist.  
"Who the hell does this Caraway guy think he is?" Zell replied, shaking his head in fury. "Sending us on some kind of test of courage? How lame is that?"  
  
"Well, it does seem silly," Quistis commented, "but we've got no choice. The sooner we get done the better."  
  
"Yeah, suck it up, Zell," Selphie added. She pumped a fist excitedly. "Be a man about it. You're a SeeD! It's not a job, its an adventure!"  
  
-------------------  
  
The ride did not take as long as expected, as Selphie was driving the vehicle they had rented. The heavy-duty sport utility vehicle lumbered across the rolling plains northeast of the city, passing farms and suburbs until it reached open ground. Selphie found a vehicle trail running northeast, toward the distant peninsula where the Tomb of the Unknown King rested, and steered onto it.  
  
It took the better part of an hour and a half to reach the Tomb, though Selphie set good time, driving the SUV at speeds well in excess of sixty miles per hour. Zell, predictably, did not enjoy the trip at all.  
  
Despite his constant protestations of Selphie's insane driving, the SUV, loaded with the five SeeDs and their client, arrived safely at the ancient tomb. She brought the vehicle to a stop outside a crumbling wall of stone, near an opening in the wall where a gate had likely stood. Apparently they weren't the only ones there; another car was parked near the entrance.  
  
Once they passed through the wall, they found a heavily overgrown ruin, green grasses and bushes interspersed among grayish-blue stone paths and columns. About a hundred feet beyond the outer wall was a massive stone structure, as heavily overgrown as the outer grounds and covered with runes, images, and reliefs. A river cut between the stone structure and the outer section, with a stone bridge traversing the gap. Just beyond the bridge was the entrance into the tomb, a yawning black portal into the depths of the grave of the ancient, nameless king.  
  
Squall led the group across the bridge toward the open hole, and looked back at his team. Zell and Rinoa seemed a bit apprehensive, but aside from that the group seemed ready to delve into the tomb.  
  
"We stay together," he told them, to which the others nodded. "We don't know what to expect in here, but I don't want to take any risks." Zell nodded and slapped a fist into a palm.  
  
"Let's hurry up and get this over with!" the martial artist said. Squall turned back to the entrance and drew his gunblade. He almost thought to fashion a makeshift torch, but just beyond the entrance, Squall could see a faint glowing light. Some type of luminous lichen, perhaps? Cautiously, he waved his group forward.  
  
As soon as they entered the chamber, they were struck by a faint odor. Not the musty smell one would expect from a forgotten tomb, but a scent of the earth, of life. Despite the fact that this place was one of death and eternal sleep, the Tomb of the Unknown King seemed to possess a sort of strange life. The walls were covered in more designs and embellishments, and a pair of trenches running between the walls and the floors,funneled water throughout the tomb from an unknown location.  
  
As the group advanced, Squall found the source of the illumination: shafts of light shot down from the ceiling, through holes in the roof cut by the builders. Where the light shone, small grasses grew out of the stone floor.  
  
The group approached an intersection, the first one on the map, and suddenly had to leap back as a pair of Galbadia Garden cadets, females, ran around the right corner and past them to the exit. They were scrambling as fast as they could, with expressions of sheer terror on their faces. The cadets were gone before anyone could even speak, but the glances the SeeDs and Rinoa traded as the cadets fled were enough. Something was very wrong here. Angelo seemed to sense it, and hugged close to Rinoa's side as they moved into the intersection.  
  
"Which way?" Rinoa asked. Squall looked down each of the corridors, but was unsure.  
  
"We definitely shouldn't go that way," Quistis commented, pointing down the right tunnel, from where the cadets had come. Squall nodded, and consulted his map. The corridor straight ahead would lead to a dead end beyond another intersection, while the one to the left led to a corner in the tunnel, and turned right before leading to another intersection. The route to the right mimicked the one to the left.  
  
"Left," Squall said with a shrug, then reached into the bandoleer on his right leg and pulled out one of his gunblade shells. He dropped it in the middle of the intersection, as a marker, and then the group moved to the left.  
  
They traced the outer perimeter of the tomb's tunnels, for the most part simply following the corridors that turned, until they found a side chamber. A quick check, however, showed that the side chamber was blocked by a large stone slab. Squall frowned, but then led his team back. He doubted the Galbadia Garden cadet could have moved that slab there.  
  
Squall continued to lead his team around the outer tunnels, not wanting to go deeper in until they'd confirmed that the cadet's equipment hadn't been left out here where it was easier to navigate. They found another side chamber some time later, but this too was blocked by a slab. Undaunted, they continued on, though now by Squall's reckoning, they would be headed into the region those Galbadia Garden cadets had been fleeing from. Now Squall moved more cautiously, and the rest of the team caught on to his movements, and moved slowly as well.  
  
Nothing reared up to threaten them, however, as they skirted the outer tunnels in this region. Something wasn't right, however, and whatever it was put everyone on edge. Angelo became a bit more skittish, while Zell's level of nervous energy rose considerably. The others weren't quite so visible with their anxiousness: a lower lip being bit, or a slightly quicker than average sweep of the head to check the surroundings were the most one could see. But everyone was on alert now.  
  
Squall found another side chamber in this region, and (to little surprise) this one wasn't blocked by a slab of stone. Squall cautiously led them down the corridor, noting that the chamber beyond had no overhead lighting, just a faint bluish-white glow with no apparent source. When they entered the chamber, they saw what the glow was centered on, if not its source: a huge statue of a Minotaur, a great beast that looked like a cross between a man and a bull. This statue was set on a pedestal, and was remarkably life-like, its skin painted grayish-blue with red horns and shield, white tusks, a thick brown chestplate, black cloven feet, and a spiked iron mace in its hands. The statue's face seemed more like a vicious dog than a human, and it scowled at those who entered the chamber.  
  
The six humans looked around the chamber, but aside from the statue, there was little beyond the bas relief images on the walls that was remarkable about this room.  
  
Dead end," Squall said, shrugging, then he began to turn to leave. Irvine, quisits, zell, and Rinoa began to follow, but Selphie paused to regard the statue. She walked up to the Minataur statue and looked it in the cold eyes.  
  
"Sure is ugly," she commented. "Who would want to make a statue of something this stupid-looking?"  
  
At that, the statue blinked.  
  
Squall whipped around at the thunderous sound of a spiked mace smashing into the floor erupted behind him. What he saw shocked him: the lifeless statue was now very lifelike, its mace smashed into the ground here Selphie had stood only a second before. A quick backflip was all that kept her from being crushed beneath the iron spikes.  
  
The Minotaur raised its mace again, but at that moment Irvine snapped up his rifle and fired. Both barrels flashed simultaniously, the heavy round blasting into the creature's face. It stepped back, almost off the pedestal, and then roared a thunderous reply. Squall saw the gaping wounds on the creature's face, which looked more like miniature craters in rock instead of real wounds. Even as Squall watched, the small craters reformed, regenerating the damage.  
  
"Guardian Force!" Squall shouted as he moved forward, Zell beside him. Irvine fell back to the side, where he could get another clear shot at the GF, while Selphie moved back and away from the spirit's wrath, stopping beside Rinoa, who was already casting a spell. Quistis moved forward, behind and beside the two front-line fighters, ready to use her whip's longer range to strike at the Minotaur.  
  
The Guardian Force thundered a challenge, and Squall and Zell answered it. They split, Squall going left, Zell right. Squall sent a quick upwards chop into the GF's mace hand, which the spirit deftly dodged, pulling its hand back. Zell, meanwhile struck hard with a crushing kick aimed for the GF's knee. The foot smashed into the Minotaur's leg, and the creature howled. Its counter, a swinging shield bash, caught Zell on the left shoulder and hurled him back against the wall. Zell smashed into the wall hard, cracking the stone where he hit. Thanks to his junctions, he was stiil alive, although hurting.  
  
Squall ducked below the Guardian Force's second counter, a swift swing of its mace that took a chunk out the wall above Squall's head. At the same moment, a powerful Fira and equally powerful Thundara spell blasted into the Guardian Force's face, courtesy of Selphie and Rinoa. At the same time, another resounding twin blast from Irvine's rifle hit the GF in the upper neck. Quistis' rante cut in a second later, the blade gouging a deep cut in the side of the GF's head.  
  
The Minoataur roared in fury and pain, hopping down from its pedestal and rushing Rinoa and Selphie. It didn't make it far, as Squall leaped after it, burying his gunblade into the GF's right thigh and firing a blast. The Revolver's concussive blast shocked the Guardian Force, knocking it off balance until Irvine could shoot it again, the rounds burying deep craters in the spirit's side.  
  
Squall ducked low, the GF's mace flying overhead, one of the spikes actually passing through Squall's hair, the tip slicing a cut along the top of his head. The SeeD countered, burying the Revolver into the GF's armored stomach and firing three blasts in rapid succession. The spirit shuddered and fell back. Fire and explosive ice erupted on the GF's back as Rinoa and Selphie struck again, their spells chased by Quistis' whip. Irvine shot the Minotaur again as Zell rose and prepared to dive back into the fray.  
  
The Minotaur didn't even know where to begin with so many opponents, and simply opted to flee. It turned, leaped clear over Selphie and Rinoa's heads, and dashed out the chamber. Over its shoulder, it sent a roaring threat.  
  
"BASTARDS!" it called. "THIS AIN'T OVER!" Squall quickly scanned his group, checking each member. The only person who had even really been hurt was Zell, and even that was more of an annoyance than an injury. The SeeD looked more than ready to continue fighting.  
  
"We gonna chase him?" Zell asked, angry that he couldn't have gotten any deeper into the quick battle. Squall shook his head.  
  
"We're on a mission," he replied. "Our objective is to find that identification number and the cadet's weapon, not to defeat Guardian Forces." Squall didn't like having to say that, himself. From what they had seen, they could easily defeat the Guardian Force as a team and earn its service, but hey just didn't have the time to be chasing it through the tomb. Reluctantly, he led his team out of the chamber, and resumed the search for the cadet's gear.  
  
However, if they met the Minotaur again, Squall intended to finish the game.  
  
-------------------  
  
"Mr. President?" the aide said, jogging up to Vinzer Deling as he walked down a hallway, flanked by advisors. The President was speaking to one of them, but paused as the aide approached.  
  
"Yes?" Deling asked, rubbing a hand across his neck, where that blonde kid's gunblade had been pressed.  
  
"The Sorceress would like to speak with you, sir," the aide said quickly. Deling frowned, and then nodded.  
  
"I'm sorry Heris," Deling said to the advisor he had been speaking to before. "We'll cover the economic problems in Tollane later." With that, he dismissed his advisors and headed for the fourth floor of the Presidential Palace.  
  
The fourth level as actually the highest level in the Palace, with the vast majority of the structure underground. It was designed that way back in the Sorceress War with Esthar, as a defense against their powerful aircraft and advanced energy weaponry. The upper level was often a place where the important media and social functions were held. One of the chambers for this kind of activity was recently taken over by Deling's new . . . ally.  
  
Deling stepped through the white, transparent curtains she had draped over the main entrance and entered the Sorceress' chamber. Before he'd even seen her, Deling sensed the Sorceress' power, radiating out from the diminutive woman. It was an incredible, alluring power, but one that frightened Deling as well. Vinzer Deling was a dangerous man, but even he had to tremble before the power of this weapon he had joined with, always watching him like a half-tamed animal.  
  
Deling wondered, not for the first time, the wisdom of his decision to ally with the same kind of person that had started the Sorceress War all those years ago, ravaging both Galbadia and Esthar . . . .  
  
The woman was seated directly across from the entrance, facing away, out an open double door that lead onto a balcony overlooking the streets below. She still wore her black dress that gradually shifted to purple at her feet, with the beak-like mask resting upon her face like a shadow of doom. Cautiously, Deling approached.  
  
"You requested my presence," he stated grudgingly, reminding himself that they were allies, and that he was not subservient to the Sorceress. Still, the events from earlier that day rang fresh in his mind, and weakened Deling's beliefs of his superiority.  
  
"Indeed," the woman said quietly, not looking back at the dictator. "I have a question I must tell you personally."  
  
"And that is?" Deling replied, although he suspected the nature of the question the Sorceress would ask.  
  
"Have you found her yet?" the Sorceress asked.  
  
"No," Deling replied. "My intelligence networks are working feverishly to locate her. You must understand, it takes time, especially to search for one woman."  
  
"I know how challenging it is to find a particular person," the Sorceress replied, an edge to her voice. "Believe me, I do know."  
  
"Then why do you keep asking me?" Deling replied, not allowing her to gain the upper hand. "What is so important about a single person?"  
  
"In time, you will see," the Sorceress responded.  
  
"That won't do," Deling responded, growling. "If we are allies, then I have to know. Why are we committing so many resources to one person? What could she matter to our war efforts? I need to have my men analyzing information and projecting possible responses from Garden, Esthar, the Global Mineral Association, and any number of other groups that would respond to our plans. I can't have them wasting time with this unless I have a damned good reason to!"  
  
The Sorceress looked up, and turned her head to face Deling. The dictator, who had been gaining confidence with his tirade, began to shrink back beneath her invisible glare.  
  
"Faith," she said to Deling. "Hold faith. Tonight, at the commencement ceremony, all will be revealed."  
  
"I have no time for dramatics!" Deling fumed through clenched teeth. "Tell me! How important is she?"  
  
"More important than you can imagine," the Sorceress responded quietly, her voice like steel lined in velvet - soft yet powerful. "One woman could bring us to the height of imaginable power, my President. Would you revoke such an opportunity?"  
  
"You speak in riddles," Deling growled again. "I know she is important, but why?"  
  
The Sorceress was silent.  
  
"I tire of this," Deling hissed. He turned and began to leave the room. "You had best tell what you intend at the ceremony," he added. Deling paused as he reached the door, but did not look back at the Sorceress. "Or else."  
  
The door slammed shut as Deling left. The Sorceress chuckled quietly to herself, at the amusement of such simple-minded men. Deling was so petty. World domination? Why aim for that low a mark, when vastly greater power was in one's grasp?  
  
"Tonight, little man," the Sorceress whispered. "Tonight you will see . . . ." Beneath her mask, she smiled. Nearby, in the curtains, invisible to the sight of Deling, another figure shifted. He, too, smiled.  
  
Soon.  
  
-------------------  
  
Thus far, their search had turned up fruitless. The SeeDs and Rinoa found no trace of the missing cadet's gear, even after they began searching the tomb's maze-like inner corridors. An hour of prowling the tomb later, the SeeDs came to the conclusion that the cadet's gear was not in the tunnels. Furthermore, they'd had run-ins with other unpleasantness, a type of gel-like monster that had repeatedly poped up along the way. Killing the things had gotten tiresome. Squall was almost considering searching the blocked side chambers when he noticed a section that they had not searched: the very center of the tomb, a singular stone structure that, according to the map, was surrounded by water. The chamber itself was supposed to be the actual tomb of the ancient king, but that was not the only reason Squall was apprehensive towards that part of the complex. In the hour they had been searching, the Minotaur had not resurfaced. Guardian Forces always remained in their lairs, which meant that the GF was still around. If it wasn't in the tunnels, then the Minotaur was most likely in the tomb itself.  
  
Still, they had no choice but to continue their search of the tomb. Squall led his group around, to a spot where the map indicated a bridge that led across the water. They found the bridge easily enough, spanning a wide, flowing lake and leading to a huge and tall stone structure in the middle of the body of water. The overgrown structure did not seem particularly ominous, but the SeeDs were at the ready despite the peaceful surroundings.  
  
They entered the open chamber of the king's tomb. The room was bright and filled with plants lining the walls and floors, with a huge metal coffin in the center of the chamber. A shaft of light shot down on the tomb of the king. Near the king's coffin lay a sword, beside the tatters of a Galbadia Garden cadet's uniform, doubtless that of the one they had been seeking the whole time.  
  
However, all the details of the room were subordinated to the figure standing atop the tomb itself. The Minotaur glowered at its pursuers, clutching its mace tightly. It looked back and forth at the SeeDs and Rinoa, who was telling Angelo to get back. The dog may have been loyal, but in this situation, dealing with a Guardian Force of tremendous power, Angelo could be of little help.  
  
"YOU, YOU'RE BACK AGAIN?" the Minotaur thundered, its eyes going wide. Like Ifrit, the spirit's mouth did not move in accordance with its words. "I TOOK IT EASY ON YOU LAST TIME, BUT NOT NOW!" The spirit jabbed a finger at the SeeDs, in a vain and boisterous attempt to make its words threatening. The group remained undeterred however, in light of the battle they had just fought an hour ago. Apparently the Guardian Force had forgotten how easily the humans had won that confrontation. Squall had never believed a stupid Guardian Force existed, but apparently they did. The GF reminded Squall of Raijin in a way.  
  
"T-THIS TIME, M-MY BIG BRO IS WITH ME!" the spirit shouted at its enemies. "N-NOW'S YOU'RE CHANCE TO RUN AWAY, MAN!"  
  
Zell, in response, openly laughed at the Minotaur. The Guardian Force roared in anger, and then looked up.  
  
"BRO!" it blasted, its voice reverberating off the walls. A flash of light filled the room, momentarily blinding the SeeDs, until the glow shrank. From the light there emerged an almost perfect replica of the Minotaur, except that it had yellow horns and shield.  
  
That, and it was barely four feet tall.  
  
"Yeah, bro?" the Guardian Force asked in a very quiet, calm tone, appraising the intruders.  
  
"Y-YO, BRO, SACRED, THESE GUYS CRASHED THE TOMB!" the Minotaur whined to his "older" brother. "P-PLUS, THEY ATTACKED ME!" The tiny Guardian Force chuckled to himself, but looked on the SeeDs with new respect.  
  
"Oh, really?" Sacred said, almost casually. "They defeated you? Not bad . . . for humans."  
  
"Psh," Zell muttered, surprised by the absurd events. "The puny one's the elder brother? And the younger one's a moron!"  
  
"BRO, THEY'RE MAKING FUN OF US!" the Minotaur shouted, and Sacred nodded, scowling at the intruders. Slowly, the tiny GF readied his mace.  
  
"Foolish little humans," he said as the Minotaur hopped down off the coffin to stand beside his brother. "I'll show you not to judge a book by its cover."  
  
"I got the little one," Zell muttered, moving into line with Sacred. The GF turned to face him and sneered.  
  
"Alright," Squall agreed. "Keep him busy." He turned to face the rest of his team. "Everyone else, focus on the Minotaur, and take him out quickly." Rinoa, Quistis, Irvine, and Selphie nodded.  
  
"LET'S ROCK!" the Minotaur roared, and the brothers charged. Squall met the Minotaur's charge, ducking below a wide wing of his mace, while Zell charged Sacred, leading with a flying kick. Sacred ducked below the kick, and his shield arm rose, catching the SeeD by is foot. Zell tried to yank his foot away, but Sacred held fast. Then, almost casually, he spun, lifting Zell with his shield arm and flung him across the room as if he were a rag doll. Zell crashed into the wall beyond the coffin, out of the fight with one throw.  
  
Squall backed away as the Minotaur reduced the stone beneath his feet to dust with an overhead mace smash. The SeeD countered with a measured strike, and then dove aside. The Minotaur turned to pursue but was then almost hurled off his feet as twin .50 AE rounds tore into his chest, and magic from three different casters exploded across his body. Burned, shocked, and frozen, a second pair of bullets blasted the GF back. Squall came in even harder, a cleaving strike across as a high-caliber concussive- force shell blasted the chest of the Guardian Force. The Minotaur fell back, and would have fallen quickly if Squall had not immediately needed to defend himself from Sacred's attack, a swift mace stroke that the SeeD deflected with a deft parry.  
  
Sacred smiled and swung its mace over. Squall, his gunblade clashing against the mace, followed it with his weapon, forcing the mace into an arc overhead and down into the floor. As the mace hit the floor, Sacred spun and stepped forward, bringing his shield arm around. Squall, his gunblade engaged with the mace, couldn't deflect the shield aimed for his knees, so he simply went over it, hopping into a sideways flip over the arm and landing on his feet. The SeeD then raised his gunblade and brought it down in an overhead chop. Sacred swung both his shield and mace up, catching the powerful cleave, grunting with the effort of stopping it.  
  
"Strong, for a human," the GF commented off-handedly.  
  
The Minotaur, no longer pressed by Squall, recovered quickly. His wounds immediately began regenerating, for Guardian Force avatars were more or less indestructible. He raised his mace as the cuts, burns, and craters vanished, and charged at the humans. The GF bulled through a series of spells from Rinoa, Selphie, and Quistis, and aimed for the blonde SeeD. She evaded his mace stroke easily enough, but the Minotaur showed his ingenuity by using his brother's trick with the shield arm. The arm came across as Quistis dodged the mace, and struck her hard, knocking her off her feet.  
  
The Minotaur did not follow up on the attack, as Irvine chose that moment to plug another pair of bullets into the GF's face. The Guardian Force spun, enraged, and charged at Irvine. The sharpshooter quickly drew a pair of explosive shells from inside his coat and loaded them into his rifle, backing away from the Minotaur. The GF approached swiftly, raising his mace as he towered over Irvine. The mace began to fall as Irvine slid the last shell home, cocked the rifle, and fired.  
  
The first shell exploded into the Minotaur's chest, tossing him back. Undaunted, it raised its mace again, and took another shell, directly on the GF's nose, accompanied by a pair of magical blasts by Selphie and Rinoa. The Thundara and Fira spells, combined with the explosives, staggered the Guardian Force, and Quistis, recovering from the hit, spun her rante at the Minotaur's legs. The chain wrapped around one of the GF's trunk-like limbs, and Quistis pulled with all her GF-enhanced strength. The Minotaur toppled. Irvine, wasting no time, slid a pair of shotgun shells into his rifle and leaped on top of the GF's chest. The Minotaur was about to rise again when Irvine fired point-blank into his face. The sharpshooter then pumped his rifle again, leveling it at the Minotaur's head, but the Guardian Force croaked out something. Irvine held back for a moment, until the Minotaur's face could regenerate enough for him to speak.  
  
"Give," he said weakly. "Sorry, bro. I lost . . . ."  
  
Sacred snapped his mace low, using his shield to hold Squall's gunblade up enough to keep him from parrying it. Squall hopped backward, evading the mace stroke. Sacred growled and began to advance, but then movement from beyond the coffin caught his attention.  
  
Zell rose from his spot on the floor, amidst rocks and loose stone from the blasted wall. Fury stamped itself across the SeeD's face as he clenched his fists.  
  
"Don't judge a book by its cover," Zell growled as glowing light began to form around him. "And don't piss off a SeeD!"  
  
The shimmering light reached a crescendo around the martial artist, and he leaped across the coffin at Sacred, impossibly fast. Sacred began to raise his weapons in a semblance of defense, but took a foot across the face before he could deflect the hit. Zell alternated his feet, snapping a kick with his other leg before delivering a powerful uppercut that actually lifted the GF off its feet. A blindingly fast spin-kick caught the GF in mid-air, smashing him across and down into the ground. Zell was on Sacred in an instant, his fists striking in a rapid series of alternating jabs and hooks to the Guardian Force's face and chest. Sacred back away, trying to recover from the dizzying routine, but Zell chased him, going into a low sweep that dropped the GF onto his back. Before Sacred could recover, Zell smashed him with an axe kick, the heel of his foot rising nearly 180 degrees and slamming down into the prone Guardian Force's chest.  
  
Sacred didn't even let out a wheeze of pain before Zell soccer-kicked him, hurling him across the room into a wall. The stone spider-webbed around the impact, and Sacred began to fall. Zell didn't let him reach the floor, already moving up in front of the GF. Before he'd even completely fallen out of the hole in the wall, Zell grabbed the GF with one arm and hammered Sacred repeatedly with his other fist. After five or six smashing punches, Zell headbutted the GF once, and then a second time for good measure, before spinning and spiking Sacred. Sacred smashed into the floor, bounced up a couple of feet, then rolled away.  
  
Zell then slumped slightly, falling back against the wall as Sacred rolled over weakly on the floor.  
  
"The brothers . . ." he said, both quietly and weakly, barely audible. "Defeated?" Sacred looked at Zell, then at Squall, and then at the remainder of the group, standing over the Minotaur. Sacred's brother began to rise, his wounds almost completely regenerated. After a moment, Sacred rose, recovered from his wounds as well.  
  
"Mighty ones . . ." Sacred said to the victorious group. "May we join you? The ancient rules dictate that we must serve the victors of our battles." Sacred looked at his younger brother, who looked back at his older "bro." Both nodded, and, as one, tossed a pair of gray stones at Squall, leader of the victors. Squall caught the stones, and nodded. The brothers replied their nods, as stone began to rise up around the two. The stone quickly encased the Guardian Forces, and then receded back into the floor, taking them with it.  
  
The test of the Tomb of the Unknown King was over.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------  
  
Yar. Done, finally. Anyway, on to me notesies.  
  
There's an Under Siege quote in there. Try to find it. XD  
  
Yes, that two paragraph beat-down Zell unleashed was Duel. I'll go into it next chapter. Also, I said Irvine would be using his special ammo outside of Limits, and I meant it.  
  
Hardest problem with doing the battle with the Brothers was bringing the six heroes together against a single target. There will be very few moments in the course of this writing where the whole group will be foused on one opponent, primarily among them the Abadon, Mobile Type 8, and of course our ultimate foe. Usually, when all six heroes are together it will be for really serious and massive battles, like the Garden war.  
  
The placement of certian things was altered to make the story flow better. The sword was supposed to be in the entrance, but I placed it in the tomb to give the heroes reason to go there and fight the Brothers. Also, the Brothers are being taken as two seperate Guardian Forces. I doubt that they will be summoned because, well, their summon was just plain silly.  
  
Also, made some foreshadowing to the future here. I especially enjoyed doing the Deling/Sorceress scene.  
  
Also, after I get done with the first disc, I will go back and upload edited chapters, thanks to the critical input of Aaron, my editor. (gives Aaron a harem for his troubles)  
  
Also, I wanted to make this announcement: After reviewing Foreshadow once more, I'll be bringing it back sometime in the future. The story is intense and epic, and even moreso now that I've reenvisioned it! 


	26. Ascension

Chapter 22: Ascension  
  
"Was that your Limit?" Selphie asked Zell as the group drove back to Deling City. Zell, who was clutching the side of his seat tightly, nodded. A grove of trees whipped past, too quickly, and the passengers jumped slightly as Selphie hit a bump at very unsafe speeds, but Zell did not openly complain, instead spitting out a quiet curse.  
  
"Its called Duel," he explained through gritted teeth. "Really cool, sorta. I start moving really fast while everything slows down. I start feeling really strong too, like my angeri s powering me up, right?" Selphie nodded, then veered past a much slower-moving car.  
  
"And then, bam, bam, bam!" Zell added annunciating each "bam" with a punch in the air. "I hit 'em, really hard. I just named it Duel because I had a hard time coming up with a good name that wasn't chees- whoa, watch it!"  
  
In the second row of seats, Squall and Rinoa sat together, Squall- seemingly unfazed from the wild ride- was inspecting the sword and remaining gear of the Galbadia Garden cadet, while Rinoa nuzzled Angelo, who lay in her lap.  
  
"Is that what d- umm, the general wanted us to find?" she asked him, who nodded.  
  
"It has to be," Squall replied, inspecting the sword. It was a nice one, though the number of cadets using melee weapons in Galbadia Garden was few. Without the advantage GFs conferred, melee weapons partially lost their effectiveness. Perhaps that was what killed this student? Did he try challenging a GF, not realizing their power? The two brothers were not like Ifrit, who existed as a challenge. Not all Guardian Forces were merciful when angered.  
  
"His ID was one fifty-two?" Rinoa asked, looking at the numbers on what remained of the dead cadet's collar. Squall nodded.  
  
"A sword and an ID of one fifty-two?" Irvine asked, from the back seat. "That must have been Tatal."  
  
"Tatal?" Squall asked.  
  
"Tatal Giverns," Irvine replied, shaking his head. "Bit of a blowhard, and arrogant as hell. He was around when I first joined . . . not surprised he's dead. That was the kind of guy who'd walk up something nasty like a Wendigo or Blood Soul and try to kill it bare-handed. Probably pissed of those Guardian Forces and got what he deserved for being such an ass."  
  
Well, at least they had a name to go with the gear now, Squall thought, stowing the equipment. Selphie jolted the car once more.  
  
"I take it you didn't like Tatal?" Quistis asked, seated beside Irvine in the rear set of seats. The sharpshooter shrugged.  
  
"He was one of those total freak patriots," Irvine explained. "The kind who hated anyone who wasn't Galbadian."  
  
"I knew those kinds," Quistis replied. "When I was attending classes at Galbadia Garden, I met too many of them. They didn't like me in particular, because I was from Balamb Garden and because I was a blue magic specialist."  
  
"Heh," Irvine said, chuckling. "You're still talked about there, you know. The only blue magic specialist to have attended Gabadia Garden." Irvine paused, then looked at Quistis curiously. "How do you guys work?"  
  
"Blue magic?" Quistis asked.  
  
"Yeah," Irvine replied. "You said it was inborn." Quistis nodded.  
  
"Not entirely," she explained. "You know how magic is held in different types of objects?" Irvine nodded. "Well, part of the magic in these objects is usable magic, the kind that can be easily refined and used by humans. But part of the magic is difficult to use without proper training and the appropriate knack. Especially in magical objects or parts that you can take from monsters."  
  
"And blue mages can use this magic?" Irvine asked, to which Quistis nodded.  
  
"Blue magic is difficult," she explained. "But some people, like me, we can understand the odd magic better than others and cast it more effectively. Once we've learned how to use the magic, casting it becomes second nature to us."  
  
As Quistis finished her explanation, Selphie hit a major hump. The SUV went airborne for a brief second before returning to the ground, jolting all of the occupants. For the first time since the wild ride had begun, Squall seemed to notice Selphie's antics, but said nothing. Zell, on the other hand, felt the need to become more vocal with his complaints.  
  
"You crazy?" Zell screamed.  
  
"Then you drive!" Selphie retorted, silencing Zell. The martial artist just opted to grit his teeth and hold on.  
  
---------------------  
  
Squall handed the sword and uniform to the lieutenant at Caraway's gate a couple of hours later, and the man was happy to let them in. Beyond the outer gate, Squall could make out part of the mansion around the foliage of the heavily wooded grounds, bushes flanking the entry walkway. After a few moments of walking down the stone path, Squall could more clearly see the huge mansion beyond the plants. The structure looked like far more than the home of a mere general, unless Galbadia paid its higher- up officers a lot more than they paid the regulars . . . .  
  
That made Squall wonder as to why Galbadia and Balamb Gardens were working with Caraway. If Galbadia supported its officers well, then certainly Caraway would have nothing to gain from overthrowing Deling. Not Squall believed that Caraway was in this for profit in the first place. The man was devoted to Galbadia's well-being, according to his reputation. But why would he align with Garden? He had more than enough clout among the regulars to stage an overthrow. Something didn't make sense.  
  
Perhaps he feared rebellion among the regular soldiers? Deling made it a policy to maintain a large army; if he was overthrown, then the future of many of the Galbadian army's soldiers would be thrown into question. No, Caraway couldn't rely on his army for this operation. He would need outside intervention.  
  
Squall nodded to himself at that explanation as he approached the doors, and then banished any further questions about the origins of this mission. He had to focus on the objective.  
  
"Squall?" Rinoa asked quietly from behind. He turned to face her, wondering what she wanted. The rest of the team paused, but Rinoa seemed a bit uncomfortable with them listening, so Squall just waved them on. As they entered the mansion, Squall turned back to Rinoa.  
  
"Umm," she said uncertainly. "Is . . . is my contract still in effect?" Squall nodded. Despite the fact that the assassination mission superceded Rinoa's mission in priority, her contract was still in effect and they would still have to go to whatever means necessary to keep her safe.  
  
"Whatever you do, don't leave me in this house, okay?" she asked. Squall blinked in surprise at the odd request, but nodded. After a moment's consideration, it seemed to make sense. Rinoa was the head of a rebel organization opposed to Galbadian rule, and this was the home of one of Galbadia's higher-ups. They'd already seen soldiers roaming the grounds, so it would obviously be a risk for Rinoa to be here for too long.  
  
"Do you want me to explain why?" she asked, but Squall shook his head. He already knew, so he wouldn't need the explanation.  
  
"You should know by now," he said. "Just tell us what to do and we'll do it." Rinoa nodded, though Squall understood her hesitance to give the SeeDs orders. After their argument in Timber, she probably felt guilty giving orders to people who, to some degree, did not feel secure with their client.  
  
"Okay, then," she said quietly, indicating Squall should lead the way. "Thanks."  
  
The inside of Carway's mansion was almost ridiculous in how finely appointed it was. The house was old but beautiful, with paneled wooden walls, rich carpets, finely carved and polished statues, and marble floors. The entry hallway featured a huge chandelier and a massive staircase leading up to the second level of the mansion. A Galbadian soldier met Squall and Rinoa as they entered and directed them to a guest's waiting room on the second floor, telling them that Caraway would meet with his guests shortly. Rinoa then led Squall to the room, with, he noted, an unusual familiarity with the layout of the mansion. They spotted more soldiers on the way, doubtless Caraway's bodyguards.  
  
Rinoa led him down a hallway and opened a door on the south side, leading into the guestroom. Quistis was already sitting at an expensive wooden table with equally expensive wooden chairs. Selphie stood at one of the room's huge windows, looking out over the grounds of Caraway's mansion and the busy streets beyond. Zell paced anxiously, while Irvine lounged behind a desk at the far end of the room, feet resting casually atop it, next to his rifle.  
  
Squall and Rinoa wordlessly sat down at the table, waiting for Caraway to arrive, while Angelo curled up at Rinoa's feet.  
  
The group sat, stood, or paced for what seemed like an eternity. After nearly half an hour, Squall began to lose his patience. This mission was important; what the hell was taking the general so long?  
  
"Hmph!" Rinoa finally muttered, standing up. "He always does this, making people wait. I'll go see what's taking so long." She turned toward the door, Angelo following. Squall began to follow, but Rinoa stopped him with a raised hand.  
  
"Don't worry, I'm alright," she said, smiling. "Just stay here. I know this house pretty well." She paused for a moment, blushing slightly. "It is mine, after all." Before anyone could respond, Rinoa left the room. However, the shocked look on Zell's face spoke for the entire room. Squall frowned, and replayed the brief conversation he'd had with Rinoa outside, her words taking on a new meaning.  
  
If this was her home, then the obvious conclusion was that General Hibrom Caraway must be Rinoa's father. He did have a child who was supposed to be in their late teens, and judging by what she said about not leaving her there, the SeeD suspected something wasn't right between Rinoa and Caraway. He hoped that whatever this father/daughter quarrel was, it wouldn't lead to trouble.  
  
It was only a matter of minutes before the door reopened, and a man stepped in. He wasn't very large; in fact, he was shorter than Squall. He had black, graying hair, with one strand dropping across his face, which was shot through with wrinkles and a couple of scars. He wore a buttoned black trenchcoat, military style, with the left breast studded with rank markers and campaign embroidery. He also featured several multicolored bars, used by the Galbadian military in lieu of medals, which were only worn during public ceremonies.  
  
"Greetings," Hibrom Caraway said to the SeeDs. "I'm sorry to have delayed you."  
  
"Where's Rinoa?" Squall asked quickly, already suspecting something was amiss.  
  
"She has not received the training you all have," Caraway explained, almost casually. "She may become an unnecessary burden on you during this mission. Burdens result in screw-ups. Screw-ups get people killed." Squall nodded in understanding, but Caraway still hadn't answered the question.  
  
"It is best that she stay out of this operation," Caraway continued. "She should remain here until the mission is completed." Squall nodded again, but quiet alarm bells were ringing. Rinoa had specifically said she didn't want to be left here. If she didn't want to remain, she wasn't.  
  
"So, are you Rinoa's father?" Selphie asked, turning to face Caraway. The general turned to look at her, a somewhat saddened look on his face.  
  
"I can't remember the last time she called me that," he replied quietly.  
  
"So, the father's a high-ranking general, and the daughter's the head of a rebel faction?" Zell said, not believing the irony. "Man . . . this is bad! Really bad!"  
  
"Yes, I know," Caraway replied, walking to one of the windows. "But its not your problem. It's ours."  
  
That wasn't the case, though, Squall thought. If Caraway thought Rinoa's problems were not their concern, he was sadly mistaken.  
  
"Besides," Caraway added. "We have far more important things to worry about."  
  
Squall shook his head. Garden's directive and Rinoa's contract mattered equally to the SeeDs.  
  
"Once this mission's over, we're working for Rinoa again," Squall explained. Best if he laid things out right now. "I don't know what the situation between you two is, but when the time comes, don't interfere."  
  
"And if I do?" Caraway asked, turning back to face Squall. Squall scowled, and let his eyes do all the explaining. Nonetheless, Squall added an extra comment.  
  
"We're all SeeDs here," he stated, his voice edged with dangerous tones. "We'll act accordingly." Quistis, Zell, and Selphie nodded in agreement. Caraway looked between them, started to scowl, but then simply let out a sigh of defeat.  
  
"Hey, hey, hey!" Irvine shouted from is spot at the desk. This far, the sharpshooter had been quiet during the discussion, intent on only watching.  
  
"We're here to waste and paste us a Sorceress, right?" Irvine said. With a single smooth motion he pushed himself up out of the chair and over the desk, then sat back against it. He then took out one of his .357 revolvers, twirling it absently. "So let's get down to business."  
  
"Alright," Caraway said. He turned and stepped toward the door. "I have a briefing room set up downstairs. Come, I'll explain the plan."  
  
--------------------  
  
The briefing room was darkened and quiet, with a long table surrounded by chairs, along with a television projector and large screen. Caraway bid them to sit down, but Squall paused.  
  
"Is this room clean?" he asked, to which Caraway nodded.  
  
"It's the reason why I was late. I performed the sweep myself," he replied. "There are no listening devices anywhere in the room, and I locked it before I came to meet you. We won't be overheard." Squall nodded and gestured for his team to sit down. They all took their seats, Zell twitching anxiously, while Squall, Selphie, and Quistis sat down more sedately, though their anticipation toward the upcoming mission was visible. Irvine sat down -conspicuously close to Selphie -and propped his feet up on the table.  
  
Caraway turned on the projector, and then spun to face the SeeDs. The screen was a blank, dark blue, casting the light across the room.  
  
"I'm sure you are all aware of the alliance Deling has struck with the Sorceress Edea, correct?" The group nodded, and Squall made note of the name. Edea . . . somehow, it seemed familiar. But how? He glanced over at the rest of his group, noting the same general expressions on Zell, Selphie, and Quistis. It seemed they, too, were distantly familiar with the name. Irvine's expression was different, that of a furrowed brow, as if somehow confused.  
  
"There will be a ceremony tonight to commemorate the event of her ascension," Caraway continued. "It will be held at the Presidential Palace." Caraway held up a remote and clicked a button. The projection screen changed from a uniform blue to showing the avenue outside the Presidential Palace. A wide, semi-circular paved section of road sat directly in front of the gates. The major avenues around the city met at the eastern and western end of the huge semi-circle, and the street bisecting the city ran off the top of its southern arc, leading directly through the huge archway in the center of the city.  
  
"During the ceremony, you will be split into two teams, the sniper team and the gate team," Caraway continued. "Each is equally important. The gate team will enter the central arch and move to the second floor. The sniper team will wait outside the Presidential Palace during the ceremony." Caraway directed a laser pointer at a spot along the sidewalk of the area outside the Palace, at an inconspicuous location across the street. "There. That is where the sniper team will be positioned. Once the ceremony ends a parade will begin and the outer gates will open. That is when the sniper team will enter. Do not cause any commotion before the parade begins. Security is tight, and the parade may be canceled if there is a disturbance.  
  
"Once the parade begins, it will attract the attention of the crowds and guards," Caraway continued. "If you're quick, you can slip into the gates unnoticed. The sniper team will then have to find a way onto the roof. Once there, you should find a corridor that has a hatch which will lead you into a concealed clock tower. Inside the tower is a carousel clock, where you will find a sniper rifle. The sniper team is to stand by until exactly 20:00 hours."  
  
Caraway directed his laser pointer back onto the screen, at the gates of the Palace.  
  
"The parade will begin at the gate, and the Sorceress will be riding a large parade vehicle. After it leaves the gate, it will turn left." Caraway indicated down the left street from the Palace gates. "It will then circle around the city along the outer road before turning right at the road in front of the train station. Then, it will travel down the central avenue back to the Palace, where it is supposed to turn left and do the same down the right avenue."  
  
Caraway pointed up that road.  
  
"On the way back it will pass through the gate. This is where the gate team comes into play. They will enter through a door inside the arch prior to the parade and move to the second floor. At exactly 20:00 hours, the vehicle will pass beneath this gate. At that moment, the gate team is to operate a mechanism that will drop the gates, trapping the Sorceress. At that same moment, the carousel clock will rise out of the clock tower, due to an arrangement we have made with the computers controlling it. The sniper team will be in perfect firing position. Take the shot, and kill her."  
  
The briefing finished, Caraway looked over the group.  
  
"That is all. You will need to form teams for this mission. The sniper and the mission leader will form the sniper team. The leader's role is vital: if the mission should somehow fail, or if the sniper should miss- " Irvine snorted at that "-then the leader must carry out a direct assault on the Sorceress. The mission was designed very carefully, and was intended as a covert operation. However, our objective is the elimination of the Sorceress at all costs. Even if they should discover our identities."  
  
Squall nodded, understanding. He glanced around at his team, who mimicked his nod.  
  
"I'll lead the operation," Squall stated quickly. No one argued; of all of them, Squall was the most proficient warrior. If any of them could stand toe-to-toe with the Sorceress, it was him. And almost as important, his combat skill and capabilities meant that he was the most likely to be able to escape from the Galbadian response if he did have to fight the Sorceress himself.  
  
"Very well then," Caraway said. "I'll leave the rest to you. Good luck." He nodded to the SeeDs and left the room.  
  
"The sniper team is decided," Squall said, turning to look at the remainder of his group. "Then that means the gate team will be-"  
  
"Whoo-hoo!" Selphie cut him off with a cheer.  
  
"Let's do it!" Zell said with a thumbs up and pumping fist.  
  
"Roger," Quistis added with a nod.  
  
"We'll need a leader for the gate team," Selphie added. "Who will it be?"  
  
Squall looked over the group, and he understood immediately. Zell looked more than eager to take the job, pumping his fists in the air in excitement. However, Quistis had the most experience of everyone present, even moreso than Squall. Zell and Selphie were too green, and neither were real types for command; Both were too impulsive, and Squall felt neither would work as a good leader for this operation. Not when compared with Quistis.  
  
"Instructor Trepe . . . Quistis, you're in charge," he told her. She blinked in surprise, then quickly saluted. Behind her, Zell's shoulders slumped in defeat, before he turned around and threw a few practice punches at a shadow. Even if Garden didn't trust Quistis' leadership skills, Squall did.  
  
"All right!" she responded with a genuine smile. "Leave it to me."  
  
"Let's do this," Squall stated, and stood.  
  
---------------------  
  
The two teams returned to the guest room to pick up their gear and prepare for the upcoming mission. Outside, the crowds had already begun to gather in the streets, so Squall and Irvine left early to ensure they would be in position. Quistis finished clipping her rante to her belt and, confirming that her team was prepared, turned to leave out the door.  
  
But at that moment, the door swung open and someone slammed into Quistis, almost knocking her off her feet. The SeeD recovered quickly and shook her head, then looked up to see Rinoa standing in the doorway, an embarrassed smile on her face, Angelo right behind her.  
  
"Hey!" she said, looking around the room. "Finally got out of there! The soldiers and staff kept bothering me about how long I was away. Anyway, did that man finally show up?"  
  
Quistis frowned, and recalled Caraway's words. The conflict between father and daughter must have been intense if she refused to even call him her father. And the way Rinoa had spoken, calling Caraway "that man" so casually and without any difficulty or hesitation, meant that she had been referring to him as that for a long time. How deep did this quarrel go?  
  
"Nah, we didn't really get to meet with him," Zell told her, making an oddly prudent decision to keep the details about the mission under wraps. Rinoa nodded, then looked around the room again, as if searching for something.  
  
"Hey, where's Squall?" she asked. Quistis glanced out the window and shook her head. The crowds were growing every second in anticipation for the ceremony. They had to go, now.  
  
"I'm sorry, Rinoa, but we have to get going," she explained, stepping toward the door. Rinoa quickly held up a hand, stopping Quistis.  
  
"Hold on a second," she said, reaching into a pocket. A moment later, Rinoa produced an ornate gold bracelet, complete with a shimmering blue gemstone that seemed to glow from its own inner light.  
  
"Take a look at this! It's an Odine Bangle, made in Esthar," Rinoa explained. "I found it in that man's room."  
  
"Odine?" Zell said, surprised. The legendary Odine brand products were rare and expensive, specially designed to enhance or weaken magic. It wasn't surprising to find that an Odine product was inside the home of one of Galbadia's generals; the devices were long sought after by military forces.  
  
"Whatcha going to do with it?" Selphie asked, enchanted by the device's strange glow.  
  
"It's supposed to suppress the Sorceress' powers," Rinoa explained, pacing the room, tossing the bangle back and forth between her hands. "But the exact effects are unknown. They said that this was picked up off the black market, what with Esthar's borders being closed, and they don't trust the dealer's claims yet. So they probably weren't going to use it for this mission."  
  
"If its Odine, then it should be pretty effective," Zell said. "They're top-notch when it comes to magical goods!" He paused as Quistis put a hand on his shoulder. Zell glanced at the team leader to see her shake her head.  
  
"Don't encourage her," Quistis whispered, before turning to Rinoa. "What are you going to do with it?" Quistis' tone made it clear that she wasn't asking this as an honest question, but instead to make a point. "Are you planning to have the Sorceress put it on? Who? How? When? Can it even fit in with the mission we've already planned? Could it compromise Squall or Irvine's safety?"  
  
"That's what we're going to discuss!" Rinoa replied, but Quistis shook her head.  
  
"We don't have time for that!" Quistis replied forcefully, loud enough to make Zell and Selphie flinch. "Squall and Irvine are already standing by. We have to get into position. You understand don't you?" Quistis looked Rinoa dead in the eyes.  
  
"This isn't some family quarrel," she continued, gesturing emphatically. "This is real life. Lives are at stake, and the future of this country could be decided! This isn't a game!" Quistis shook her head, and then spun toward the door. Rinoa, her mouth open at the berating she'd received, looked down at the floor as Quistis left. A moment later, Zell and Selphie wordlessly turned and exit the room as well.  
  
Left alone in her house, Rinoa's features tightened. She looked back up at the door Quistis had exited through, and then back down at the carpet. The SeeD's refusal to even consider her proposal hurt deeply, almost as deeply as the pain of the conflict with her own father so long ago. One of her hands drifted up to the ring on her necklace. Her mother's death, and the circumstances surrounding it, still hurt to this very day.  
  
"I know this isn't a game," Rinoa hissed, sinking to the floor. "I know what's at stake. It's not like I don't have a plan . . . ." She hugged her knees close to her chest, almost in a fetal position. Beside her, Angelo nuzzled her hand. Rinoa absently petted her loyal guardian.  
  
--------------------  
  
"I'll make the charge if we launch a direct assault," Squall explained as he and Irvine filtered through the crowds. "I should be abe to make it off the top of the carosel clock easily enough with my junctions."  
  
"That won't be necessary," Irvine replied with a smile. "I'll get the job done."  
  
Squall shrugged and turned, moving through the park across the street from Caraway's mansion. The crowds were getting thick, and squads of Galbadian soldiers with riot shields and batons were herding the crowds around the palace. They'd need to find a way in soon. The park should provide a good shortcut.  
  
"So, isn't it true SeeDs aren't supposed to question their mission?" Irvine asked. Squall blinked and shrugged, not looking back at Irvine.  
  
"You should know, aren't you one?" Squall asked as they stepped onto a stone path running across the park. Irvine simply shrugged as well.  
  
"Just curious. Trying to get a different view from someone from another Garden," Irvine replied. "So, how does Balamb Garden's SeeD think about the mission?"  
  
Squall didn't immediately answer. To tell the truth, mercenaries really shouldn't have to question the morality of their missions, but somehow Headmaster Cid had always guided his cadets and SeeDs in the direction of morally judging their decisions and orders. He didn't subscribe to the notion that his mercenaries were nothing more than weapons- for-hire. Nor were they like Seifer had been; mere flailing fighters. It was like Cid was hoping for more from his troops than money.  
  
"What do you care?" Squall asked Irvine.  
  
"Just curious," Irvine responded. "I mean, do you ever wonder about right and wrong? Like if you knew your enemy was pure evil, would you get more psyched up to fight them?"  
  
"Pure evil?" Squall asked, shaking his head. "There's rarely pure evil. Right and wrong don't separate SeeDs from our enemies. We're just two sides with opposing viewpoints. It's our different standpoints, our views that make us enemies. Both sides blame one another. There's no good or evil, just opposing viewpoints." Irvine shrugged again in response and let the matter drop. Besides, they were almost through the park and near their location.  
  
--------------------  
  
At that moment, Quistis' team had already neared the gate at the center of the city. They found the door easily enough and the ladder inside that led to the second level. At the top of the ladder they found a small room, more of a guardroom than anything else, even featuring a narrow medieval-style window for looking out over the roads running through the gate to the north and south.  
  
"Wow, great view!" Selphie commented as she looked out the north window. While the window itself was small, the view it provided was commanding, showing clear to the Presidential Palace so far away. She turned back to the rest of the team. Zell leaned against the wall, foot tapping impatiently.  
  
"Not really fair," he said, "trapping the Sorceress and all. Can't be helped, though." He glanced over at the lever that they would need to throw. It was just a small switch set into the wall, not even really conspicuous. Quistis stood beside the lever, but rather than inspecting it she simply stared off into space.  
  
"Hey, Instructor," Zell caled, still used to referring to her by her old title. "What's up?" He gave her a questioning look, curious as to whatever Quistis was thinking about. She glanced back to the ladder, and then started toward it.  
  
"I think I was a little too hard on Rinoa," Quistis said quietly.  
  
"What?" Selphie asked. "You're going to apologize?"  
  
"We can't leave our station!" Zell protested as Quistis started down the ladder.  
  
"We've still got plenty of time before the parade begins," she responded. "You two wait here, I'll be back soon."  
  
"No way!" Selphie replied, following Quistis down the ladder.  
  
"Wait up!" Zell added, running over to stand by the ladder as well. Quistis almost wanted to order them to stay, but said nothing. She'd actually prefer it if they joined her. After all, there were still a couple of hours before the ceremony and parade. And Quistis wanted to talk to Rinoa while she'd still have the chance.  
  
-------------------------  
  
Rinoa was still hugging her knees and fuming over Quistis' refusal to accept her proposal when the door to the guestroom opened. She glanced up, saw a pair of booted feet and a long trenchcoat, and knew who it was.  
  
"It'll be chaos out there soon," Caraway said. "You'll be safe here, Rinoa."  
  
Rinoa didn't reply, only wished he would leave. She was still so angry with him. Caraway didn't move away however, and in fact stepped closer. He bent down and set a hand on his daughter's shoulder.  
  
"You still haven't forgiven me," he whispered. "And I don't blame you. I wake up every morning and look in the mirror, and I still see the coward I was. I loved your mother too." Caraway stood and turned to the door, and moved to leave.  
  
"I'm sorry about what I did so long ago," he whispered as he left. "I shouldn't have insisted on driving that night. I shouldn't have covered it up." He paused and looked back at Rinoa. "I shouldn't have lied to you about it . . . ." He shook his head and walked down the hallway outside to the security room.  
  
"Your mother died from my irresponsibility," Caraway said as he opened the door to the security room. "I won't let you suffer the same fate." He entered his password into the computer terminal and opened the electronic lock controls.  
  
Rinoa had long known about the door lock system in her home, and just as well understood the faint clicking noises she heard in the walls around the door.  
  
"He's going to lock me in!" Rinoa exclaimed, and scrambled for the door. The locks would shut the door five seconds after the order was entered. She quickly got outside and hurried around a corner. Caraway would come to check the lock soon; she had to hurry before he arrived. Thinking quickly, she scanned the hallway and spotted a window. Not hesitating, she opened it and began to climb out. Almost as an afterthought, Rinoa looked behind her, to see Angelo there.  
  
"Stay here, Angelo," she commanded. The dog whined quietly, but sat. She watched as Rinoa made her way out the window. "I'll be back, don't worry," Rinoa added.  
  
"I . . . I can do this," she whispered to herself, checking the Odine bangle in her pocket as she began climbing down the side of the house. She had a plan.  
  
--------------------  
  
If Rinoa hadn't been in such a hurry to leave, and Quistis wasn't in a hurry to get back and apologize, the SeeD would have caught Rinoa as she entered Caraway's mansion. She bounded up the stairs to the second floor and ran down the hall leading to the guestroom. The door was open - Quistis didn't know it, but Rinoa had left just seconds before.  
  
Quistis rushed into the room, Zell and Selphie behind her. They were already in the room and an apology was fumbling out of Quistis' mouth before they even realized Rinoa wasn't there anymore.  
  
Behind them, the door slammed shut, accompanied by a click of the electronic lock activating.  
  
In the span of a heartbeat, they were trapped, and the gate position was still unmanned.  
  
--------------------  
  
Security at the Presidential Palace was tight, but there were ways of bypassing the ordinarily impenatrable net around Deling's home. Caraway had a pair of special access cards that were given to members of Deling's senior staff, which would allow free access to the entire compound. Caraway would have given one of his cards to the sniper team, but doing so would easily implicate him if the team was caught. Caraway didn't realize it, but while he had been briefing the SeeDs, Rinoa had taken the opportunity to obtain one of these cards, along with the Odine Bangle.  
  
Rinoa had been able to get through an unguarded maintainence door at the rear of the compound, but prudently opted to avoid using one of the doors into the main Palace. The place would be swarming with guards, and access card or not she wouldn't be able to get past all of them. Instead, she found a heavily loaded military truck near the east side of the compound, the back filled with crates high enough to reach the lowest rooftop of the Palace. More crates lay scattered on the ground, giving Rinoa an impromptu staircase she could use to scale to the roof.  
  
"I'm not a SeeD," she thought to herself as she began scaling the crates. She quickly rose to the military truck's bed and hoisted herself up onto the cold steel of the vehicle's frame.  
  
"But I can do this. I have to do this . . . ." Rinoa scrambled up another pair of crates, reaching the same height as the rooftop, and then hopped from the top of the crates to the roof.  
  
"This isn't some kind of game," she muttered as her feet landed lightly on the roof. She quickly glanced around. She was on the lowest rooftop of the Palace, with a second roof far above this one. Up ahead, she spotted a ladder leading to the top of the upper roof, and quickly scaled it. Once at the top, Rinoa hoisted herself once more over a slight elevation in the roof, beyond which was a door leading into the Palace. This one was, thankfully, unguarded.  
  
From there it took only a couple of minutes to locate the chamber where the sorceress waited. Rinoa paused outside her door, biting her lower lip. Even from here, outside her chamber, Rinoa felt the sheer power of the woman. The girl steeled herself, clenched the Odine Bangle tightly, and slipped into the room.  
  
The Sorceress sat with her back to Rinoa, wearing her beak-like mask and long purple-black dress. Her long black hair seemed to float as if caught in a draft, but there was no wind in the chamber. the air was cool, too cool for comfort. The low temperature was accented by numerous transparent white curtains scattered around the chamber.  
  
"Um, excuse me," Rinoa began to say hesitantly, clasping her hands behind her back. "I'm the aughter of, um, the Galbadian army's . . . um, General Caraway." The words fumbled out of her mouth as Rinoa's resolve began to waver. Outside the chamber, the Sorceress' power was tangible. Inside it was overwhelming.  
  
"I thought I'd come to pay my respects, 'cause of my father and all," Rinoa continued, stepping forward toward the awe-inspiring woman. "So, I brought you a small gift . . . ."  
  
A blinding flash of white light erupted, searing Rinoa's eyes. She felt a shocking blast of force hurl her off her feet, throwing her across the room. She hit the floor hard, her mind reeling from the sheer power behind the eruption. Rinoa's eyes began to recover, the white drapes coming into focus, when her right hand, the one holding the Odine Bangle, began to move of its own accord, a tight pressure wrapping around her wrist. Rinoa looked down at it in horror as it began to rise, trembling in the Sorceress' telekinetic grip.  
  
Rinoa grabbed at her hand, trying to hold it back, but was only successful for a moment. her right hand shot up into the air, bringing Rinoa along with it, to hover several feet above the floor. She gasped in pain as she felt the grip on her hand tighten. A second later, Rinoa was hammered by another shock of force, directly into her skull. Her head jerked back, and then she blacked out as the Sorceress released her mental hold, dropping the girl to the floor.  
  
The tips of the Sorceress' hair began to glow, as if enflamed, and the long black strands shortened, receding into the mask that covered her head. At the same moment, the beak-like mask glowed with a similar heat and receded, revealing a pale, beautiful face, with a small nose and purple- painted lips and eyeshadow. She inhaled slightly, free of her confining mask, and opened her yellow eyes, gleaming with power.  
  
The Sorceress Edea stood calmly, and behind her, Rinoa began to rise as well, her eyes blank and head lolling to the side as if in a trance. The girl followed the Sorceress as she began to step forward, then paused. Edea stretched her arms up and then out to the sides in a sweeping gesture, and from nowhere an edged semi-circle of golden spikes unfolded from an unseen location in the back of her dress, fanning out behind her head and shoulders. Another mysterious gust of wind blew in the chamber, fanning out a pair of long white stips of fabric, like a pale train, appeared from nowhere, anchored to the base of the golden spikes.  
  
Edea raised her hands into the air once again, feeling the ecstasy of her raw power, and then lowered them. Her new thrall following behind her, Edea stepped ahead, touching the closed doors and transforming them into a fluid substance through which she and Rinoa passed easily, before they reverted to their normal state. They stepped out onto the roof of the Presidential Palace. There, standing beside the podium normally reserved for Presidential speeches, was Vinzer Deling. He had been speaking moments before, but it had merely been an announcement of Edea's pending arrival, and as the Sorceress approached, he joined in the clapping as the crowds below began to applaud. Below, clogging every street as far as the eye could see, were Galbadian citizens, cheering, waving banners, and celebrating their new, mighty ambassador.  
  
Edea approached the podium, waited for the thunderous applause to die down, and spoke.  
  
-------------------  
  
"Here she comes," Irvine commented, to which Squall nodded. They had had to sit through Deling's usual introductory speech, but now the real meat of the ceremony had begun. He looked up at the Sorceress, taking in her features, even from this distance. Once more, the odd feeling of familiarity struck Squall. He knew Edea from somewhere, but where?  
  
Even as Squall was wondering this, he noticed something beyond Edea, a slender girl clad in blue-  
  
Rinoa! Squall's adrenaline spiked as a thousand questions flew through his mind. What was Rinoa doing there? How had she gotten inside? Was this part of the operation?  
  
The microphones on the podium reverberated as the people below cheered even louder. Squall frowned as he felt a wave of power sweep outward from the podium, whipping the crowd into an even greater frenzy. The legends said that Sorceresses had the power to influence peoples' minds. Was that what she was doing?  
  
"Lowlifes," Edea began, her voice reverberating across the city as she addressed the people. "Shameless, filthy wretches." The people did not even respond to her insults, continuing their cheers.  
  
"How you celebrate my ascension with such joy," she continued, her words dripping with both sarcasm and venom. Beside her, Deling looked surprised at her words. "Hailing the one you have condemned for generations. Have you no shame? What happened to the evil, ruthless Sorceress from your fantasies? From your nightmares? The cold-blooded tyrant who slaughtered countless men and destroyed numerous nations? Where is she now?" Edea raised her hands, and then laughed.  
  
"She stands before your very eyes now, to become your new ruler!" Deling spun at Edea's proclamation, a look of both shock and fear on his face. "A new era has just begun," Edea added with a smile. Deling stepped to her side hesitantly.  
  
"Edea?" he began quietly, realizing something was very, very wrong. One of his hands went to the revolver in his coat pocket.  
  
"This is reality," Edea stated coldly, and with shocking speed, jabbed one of her hands into Deling's chest, the fingers cutting in like knives. The President's eyes widened in shock, and his mouth opened in a silent scream as purple fire shot through his body, burning away his insides and erupting from the dictator's open mouth. Below, the people streamed forward, pressing against the riot guards in a frenzy of elation, bloodlust, and awe, all enhanced by Edea's power.  
  
"No one can save you," Edea stated, hurling Deling's burning body away with ease that belied her small frame. He hit the roof twenty feet away, smoke and steam rising as the flames continued to consume his insides. Before he'd even landed, the dictator was dead.  
  
"Stand back and enjoy the show," she told her new subjects. "Rest assured, you fools. Your time will come. This is only the begining."  
  
Edea raised her hands to the sky, clutching with her fingers as if to pull the very heavens down.  
  
"Let us begin a new reign of terror!" she shouted. "I will let you live a fantasy beyond your imagination." Edea spun swiftly, and departed, leaving behind the scorched corpse of the former President of Galbadia and the still-enthralled girl standing on the rooftop. Without pausing, she returned to the rooftop entrance of her chambers. As the cheers of the crowd died down behind her, muffled by the intervening walls, Edea stopped.  
  
"Let us end this ceremony with a sacrifice," she whispered, arcane power rippling out from her body.  
  
--------------------  
  
The sculptor who had added the statues of the legendary Iguion beasts to the top of the Galbadian arch in the center of Deling City had much to be proud of, for his statues had matched the monsters perfectly. Huge, ten feet long, with the head, eyes, and forelegs of a dragon, and the hindlegs, rear, and tail of a lion, the Iguion was a beast of legend that had not been seen in generations.  
  
That night, however, it was seen again, as the statues became more than mere statues. The stone turned to flesh, and an animating spirit buried itself inside the two Iguion statues that adorned the arch. The creatures opened their eyes, looked upon the world, and then sensed the will of their creator, the Sorceress whose power had made them exist in the first place.  
  
They dropped off the arch, landed nimbly upon the street below, and sprang forward with shocking speed. Within moments they had closed with the edges of the massive crowd and leaped, their magically empowered muscles lifting the creatures into the night sky toward the Presidential Palace.  
  
Edea sensed the approach of her new pets, their hunger for the one she willed them to kill, and smiled. As the creatures came in, and Edea descended to her parade float, she dismissed the mental domination she had held over Rinoa. The Sorceress smiled as she imagined the terrified look on the foolish girl's face as the Iguions descended upon her.  
  
--------------------  
  
"Shit!" Squall hissed as the half-lizard, half-lion beasts landed precisely on the Palace rooftop. Squall almost imagined he heard Rinoa scream over the din of the crowd, and for an instant he wanted to burst forward and leap over the Palace walls. But to do that now would be suicide with all the guards, not to mention that the mission would be comprimised. But he couldn't just leave Rinoa to die . . . .  
  
Squall's internal debate ended in an instant as the Palace gates swung open, heralded by the flasing of fireworks and the renewed cheers of the crowd. Riot guards pushed the crowd back as a troupe of performers, male and female, began dancing in front of the gates with precise coordination. The dancers were clad in fanciful silver and black oufits and wore masks over their faces as they gyrated and leaped about, dancing in front of the extravagant parade vehicle that rolled out from the gates. Neon lights covered the front end of the vehicle, and bright, leaping flames burst from torches along the vehicle's sides. Edea herself sat on a throne atop the vehicle, framed by another pair of torches, watching over her gleeful subjects enthralled by her power.  
  
However, as Squall scanned the vehicle, he saw something that made his blood freeze, an impossibility that was nonetheless real. Squall saw a man that, by all rights, should have been dead.  
  
Standing tall at the front of the parade vehicle, Hyperion by his side, white coat gleaming in the torchlight, was Seifer Almasy.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------  
  
Oy. That was fun. Anyway, notesies.....  
  
Yes, the briefing was inside Caraway's mansion. I put it there because, well, him giving the briefing in the middle of the city, running around in circles and laying out the operation to everyone within sight just screams a failure in operational security.  
  
Quistis, Selphie, and Zell's adventures in the muck of Deling City's sewers will be covered next chapter!  
  
Hmm, not much else to say here.... 


	27. Scars of Circumstance

Chapter 23: Scars of Circumstance  
  
The flashing of fireworks outside alerted Quistis and her team of the parade's start. She, Selphie, and Zell rushed to a window on the east side of the guestroom to see Edea's float begin to move out of the gates.  
  
"It's started!" Selphie exclaimed.  
  
"We have to hurry," Quistis ordered quickly, assuming control of the situation. "There has to be a way out of this room. Caraway wouldn't rig an electrical lock if he didn't have a way to get out in case of an accident." Selphie and Zell nodded.  
  
"Let me give the window a shot while you two are checking things out," Zell suggested, moving to the window. He bent down to inspect it for a lock of some sort, while Selphie ducked under the table in the middle of the room, looking for a secret button or switch.  
  
Quistis, on the other hand, paused to scan the room, looking for any obvious hiding places for a secret exit or switch. The wall to the left of the door was stocked with books, hundreds of them. Quistis continued turning to the left, to see the far wall of the room, also covered in books. In front of the wall sat the desk Irvine had been sitting in, beside it a large, antique globe. Above the desk, on the wall to the left of the furniture, was a painting of a woman sipping something from a cup. Beside the painting were the curtained windows on the east side, the nearest of which Zell was checking.  
  
Quistis continued turning, back toward the door. She paused as a statue came into view in the corner, located in an alcove. The statue was of a beautiful woman whose hands were held out as if holding something. Oddly enough, the hands were empty. Beside the alcove were a set of fine, fragile wine glasses.  
  
As she ended her search, Quistis' attention was stolen by Zell slamming the glass of the window with his fist. The martial artist jerked his hand back immediately, cursing and shaking his hand as a jolt of elecricity shot through the glass, likely from some security mechanism. She didn't need to ask him whether the window was locked or not.  
  
Selphie came out from underneath the table, shaking her head.  
  
"Check the desk," Quistis offered, nodding to the desk along the far wall. As Selphie moved to the furniture, Quistis glanced back at the staue. Something was odd about it . . . .  
  
Zell, meanwhile, was inspecting the glass and the areaa round the window, seeing if he could find a lock or some mechanism to turn off the electricity. So far, he'd had no luck.  
  
"Hey, Quistis," Selphie called. Quistis turned to the diminuative SeeD to see her staring at the painting she had noticed earlier. "Something's fishy about this painting." Quistis stepped over to Selphie to see what she was talking about. Another of Zell's kicks slammed the glass, doing little damage.  
  
Quistis viewed the painting with more detail now that Selphie had pointed it out to her. The features of the woman in the painting seemed oddly familiar. Then, with a sudden flash of insight, Quistis spun toward the statue in the corner. Yes, the woman in the painting and the statue looked very similar. Quistis glanced back to the painting, and her eyes trailed down to the cup the woman held. It was a wine glass.  
  
Quistis turned her head to check the shelves beside the statue, and nodded as she realized that the wine glasses there were the exact same as the one held in the woman's hand in the painting.  
  
Quistis crossed the room, picked up one of the small cups, and put it in the statue's open hands. As soon as her fingers left the cup, the statue's arms rotated downward several degrees, and with starling swiftness the statue receded into the wall and rotated, revealing a secret passage. Beyond was a murky black tunnel lit by electrical lights.  
  
"No way!" Zell shouted as the secret passage was revealed. Selphie made a comment of how sneaky Caraway was as Quistis stepped into the corridor beyond.  
  
"Hey, we don't know where this leads!" Selphie protested as Quistis moved deeper into the corridor.  
  
"No use stayin' here," Zell replied, moving after Quistis. Not wanting to be left alone, Selphie scrambled after him.  
  
Quistis found a stairway leading down at the end of the short corridor, and led her small team down into the gloom. They descended a pair of flights before finding a ladder leading further down. Not pausing, Quistis led them down the ladder. After about a couple of seconds of descending, the sound of running water greeted the SeeDs. A couple of seconds later, they found themselves descending into the sewers beneath Deling City. Quistis expected the place to be rank and disgusting, but she was surprised to see relatively clean running water moving through a central trough in the middle of the long tunnel they dropped into.  
  
Quistis scanned the area. They had dropped into a T-shaped intersection, with long tunnels running to the left and right and another tunnel branching off in front of them. As she searched the area, the SeeD spotted something on the wall: an embossed metal map set into the wall, obviously designed to to show workers or other unfortunate souls lost in the sewers where to go. As Zell and Selphie arrived, Quistis studied the map thouroughly. She was suprised to see that the sewers even ran directly underneath the main archway in the center of the city. She checked the route, then double checked it.  
  
"Too bad we can't take this with us," Quistis commented as she reviewed the route once more. It was relatively simple; they'd be able to reach the city center with a few minutes to spare, judging by the distance, as long as they didn't get lost-  
  
Zell suddenly stepped between Quistis and the metallic map. Before she could protest, however, Zell grabbed the map by its edges and pulled hard. The tunnel stone, worn by long years of condensation and moss, cracked. With single heave, Zell tore the map free.  
  
"That solves that problem," Selphie said. Quistis blinked, but then nodded.  
  
"Let's hurry," she ordered, and led them down the branching corridor beyond. The map indicated they would have to move north first.  
  
A rumbling above caught the SeeDs' attention. They looked up as something rolled past overhead, followed by many stamping feet.  
  
"The Sorceress," Quistis explained, realizing the only thing that could be causing that noise. "We have to hurry!"  
  
-------------------------  
  
Squall was frozen as the specter of Seifer Almasy stood truimphantly atop Edea's float. He watched as hundreds of flashing fireworks shot off, launched from the crowd or beyond. Streamers, high-pitched shrieks of launched rockets, thunderous explosions, and the ever present cheer of the crowd filled the night air, but Squall paid it no mind, instead fixed on Seifer.  
  
Squall's self-styled rival punched a fist into the air, holding Hyperion triumphantly, a smile painted across his face as if he was immersed in a dream he never wanted to wake from. Squall watched him, then froze as Seifer's eyes tracked down, sweeping the crowd. They passed over Squall, who quickly ducked down, hiding himself behind a rather fat man. Seifer turned his eyes and looked further, not showing any indication he had seen Squall among the crowd.  
  
"What are you waiting for!" Irvine suddenly shouted in Squall's ears. "Rinoa might die!" Squall nodded, reaffirming his objectives. Seifer and his unexpected survival would have to wait until later. He had to save Rinoa.  
  
As the parade float rolled past, and the crowd tracked it, Squall and Irvine made their way through undetected. They watched as the guards moved to follow, forming a protective perimeter around the float, but not the area behind it. As the crowd shifted to follow the float, no one noticed the two teenagers slip past. They rushed toward the gate, whose guards were watching the float, instead of the streets in front of the Palace. They started to turn back to check the roads below as the float rolled away.  
  
Thinking fast, Squall punched a random person in the crowd near the gate. In the heightened emotional state the crowd was in, spurred on by bloodlust and passion, the man who Squall had hit reacted predictably: he punched the nearest person in the direction he'd been hit from. The fist didn't hit Squall, who was already a safe distance away, but instead struck another man, who also reacted predictably. This quickly escalated into a melee, with dozens engaged in a fistfight right in front of the gates. The gate guards, along with a collection of nearby riot guards, rushed forward, brandishing batons and raising riot shields, trying to quell the small war below.  
  
In the confusion, Squall and Irvine slipped through the gate undetected.  
  
Squall and Irvine entered the Palace grounds, and Squall immediately spotted a route up to the rooftop. He pointed at the parked cargo truck nearby, and Irvine nodded. The sharpshooter ran for it, and began scrambling up the boxes along its side. Squall opted for a much faster route. With a single bound, he leaped on top of the truck's high cab, then higher, from the cab onto the roof. Irvine, who was barely even halfway up the truck, gaped at the feat for an instant before resuming his climb.  
  
"Hurry!" Squall shouted, but did not wait for Irvine to follow, instead rushing along the rooftop to the same ladder Rinoa had used mere minutes before. Squall reached the base of the ladder, and bent his legs. With a single effortless leap, Squall shot up the ladder, his enhanced muscles propelling him to the top. His right arm caught the top rung, and Squall set his legs against the ladder. With another kick, Squall went out and up, his arm acting as a pivot to flip the SeeD up and over the top of the ladder and onto the roof. Another pair of bounds took him to the highest rooftop.  
  
Squall passed the still smoking corpse of Deling and scanned the area. Nothing. Niether Rinoa nor the monsters were in sight. Squall's scan then located the door on the rooftop leading to the upper levels. Even as Irvine was just reaching the ladder below, Squall ran inside. He charged through a hallway into a white-curtained commencement hall, where he spotted the monsters.  
  
One of the half-lion, half-lizard creatures circled the chamber, while the second pinned Rinoa's limp form to the floor. She was bleeding from several nasty cuts along her body, and the creature that pinned her opened its mouth, showing fangs tinged with Rinoa's blood.  
  
Squall's fingers tightened around the Revolver's handle, and his subsequent charge was one of red fury. He didn't know whether Rinoa was still alive, but if these beasts had killed her, he'd tear them to shreds!  
  
The Revolver rose over Squall's head, and the circling Iguion hissed a warning. The other one was just begining to turn as the Revolver descended in a brutal two-handed cleaving strike. The gunblade smashed down into the monster, and Squall pulled the trigger, the blast shuddering the beast. Blood exploded from the monster's wound, splattering across Squall's face, jacket, and chest.  
  
The second Iguion dove at Squall, trying to bury him where he stood, but the SeeD ducked and shot his left hand out, impacting with the bast's chest. The GF-enhanced straight arm stopped the monster in mid-air, and Squall swung the Revolver across one-handed, the gunblade's flat side batting the monster away.  
  
The wounded Iguion spun on Squall and pounced at the SeeD, who sprang aside. He glanced down at Rinoa, and saw her chest rise - she was still alive, thank Hyne. He then turned on the pouncing Iguion as it landed and began to turn, and leaped himself, landing on the beast's back. Before the Iguion could respond, Squall flipped the Revolver over and stabbed it down with two hands, straight into the monster's back. More blood flew from the wounds, and the creature shook itself furiously. Squall flew off the beast's back and landed on his rear a few feet away.  
  
He rolled to his right as the beast dove for him, then back to his left as the second Iguion leapt at the SeeD as well. It landed beside him, and spun to bite at Squall. It had a perfect shot at Squall's face, but then its backside simply exploded. The Iguion was propelled across the room by the blast, and Squall scrambled to his feet.  
  
Irvine slid another grenade shell into his rifle, and took aim from the doorway. Another grenade took the Igiuon, this time in the face and throwing it back further.  
  
The other Iguion spun on Squall again, and charged. The SeeD readied for the charge, and then leaped into the air as the monster pounced once more. As the creature passed below, Squall slashed downward, scoring another hit along its wounded back.  
  
The monster roared and spun on Squall, lashing out with its head. The SeeD fell back and shot up an arm to block the monster's bite, and the creature's teeth closed over squall's arm. It tugged furiously, tearing Squall's jacket and skin. He cried out in pain, gritted his teeth, and yanked his arm back. At the same moment, the butt of the Revolver slammed down on the beast, right between its eyes. The creature roared in pain and released Squall's arm.  
  
Irvine slid another grenade shell into his rifle, pointed it at the other Iguion, and fired. The shell blasted into the beast's chest, throwing it back. Irvine calmly put another shell in place and fired once more. This time, the grenade finished the Iguion, blasting its head apart.  
  
Squall stumbled back from the Iguion that had bit him, and looked down at his arm. It was bleeding badly, but he could still fight with it. He glanced back up at the monster, to see his own blood dripping from the thing's fangs, intermixed with Rinoa's. Squall glanced at Rinoa's limp body, and clenched his teeth once more as the fury returned. This time, however, he focused it.  
  
Red light surrounded the SeeD as glowing energy formed around Squall's gunblade. Time slowed, the Iguion's movements dropping to a crawl. Squall's motions, however, only sped up, and he leaped forward at the Iguion, a trail of white energy passing behind him and his weapon as Squall himself glowed a faint red, empowered by his unique Limit, Renzokuken.  
  
An arcing right slash tore into the Iguion's side. Squall squeezed the trigger as the Revolver connected, and the weapon blasted the monster's flank. Even as the Iguion began to flinch from the hit, Squall brought his gunblade back and thrust it out, into the monster's open mouth. Another shot went home, the blast blowing apart the inside of the beast's jaws. Squall's gunblade then swept down and arced up into a powerful cut that tore open one of the Iguion's front legs. Then, from its high position, Squall slashed the Revolver down into the monster's back, firing one more shot.  
  
Time returned to normal, and blood splurted from every cut and blasted hole Squall had inflicted. The beast fell back, but Squall, not finished with it, jumped forward. He twisted himself in midair while coiling his legs underneath him. Then, as he rotated in midair and was parallel to the floor, he kicked out with both legs. Squall's feet slammed the Iguion in the chest, hurling it across the room to smash into the wall.  
  
Squall landed on his side, then quickly stood. The Iguion yet lived, but was in terrible condition, especially with its mouth devastated. It started to rise, but Squall would have none of that. He cocked his gunblade over his shoulder and hurled it with all his strength across the room. The spinning weapon buried into the monster's side, the force of the impact throwing it to the floor. The beast writhed on the floor but did not stand.  
  
The monster dealt with, Squall spun toward Rinoa, whom Irvine was crouched next to. Squall hurried to her side and crouched beside her, producing a healing potion from one of his belt pouches. He opened her mouth, and poured the liquid down Rinoa's throat. As Squall watched, the fluid was absorbed into Rinoa's body, and her eyes fluttered open. She looked to Irvine, then to Squall, her eyes watering over.  
  
"Its over now," Squall told her with a firm, reassuring tone. He began to stand, as did Irvine, but Rinoa did not immediately move. Squall looked back down at her, and recalled his training when it came to civilians and stress. Rinoa had almost died. Hell, she'd likely lost consciousness with the realization that she probably would not wake up again. For untrained civilians, not used to danger and death like this, such events could be jarring.  
  
"I was scared," she whispered. Squall looked down at her, not moving, either away or toward her. He was unused to such situations; stress and helping people cope with it were not things he had practiced in during his training. Unsure what to do, Squall just stood and listened.  
  
"I was really scared," Rinoa repeated, sitting up, but keeping her gaze on the floor. "I . . . I couldn't fight them."  
  
"You've fought before, haven't you?" Squall asked. Rinoa nodded slightly, and then, surprising the SeeD, she reached up and grabbed him by his arm, as if needing the physical sensation of touching another human. Squall did not retreat as she held him with both of her hands.  
  
"I couldn't," she said, still looking down at the floor. She shook her head. "I couldn't fight them alone. It was so sudden, and I was by myself . . . ." Squall nodded, realizing that Rinoa's battles before had been fought alongside her allies and friends, people she could trust. She had likely never experienced a battle alone. She wasn't ready for such trials, not yet.  
  
He knelt down beside Rinoa, and put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at Squall, meeting his eyes.  
  
"Rinoa, I haven't forgotten your orders," he told her. "Just stay close to me. It'll be all right. As long as you stay by my side . . . ."  
  
Rinoa looked into his eyes for a long moment, then sniffled once and nodded. Without a word, he helped her to her feet. As they rose, Squall spotted Irvine standing at the doorway, looking outside. He glanced back at Squall, and the SeeD almost thought he caught a wink from the sharpshooter. Squall was momentarily confused, until he remembered Irvine's behavior around women. He frowned at the implied meanings in Irvine's gesture, and imagined how far off Irvine's gesture was from the mark. While the sharpshooter may have approved of the way Squall had comforted Rinoa, the act didn't mean Squall was interested in her, or that he expected to 'earn points' or whatever with her. If Irvine thought Squall's approach to women was anything like his own, he was sadly mistaken.  
  
"I found the hatch we needed to take up," Irvine began as Squall and Rinoa crossed the room. "Its-" The sharpshooter paused, glancing across the room. Squall followed his gaze to see the surviving Iguion trying to stand. Moving quickly, Squall rushed across the room. He stopped over the Iguion, and grasped the gunblade buried in its side. The creature jerked once, twice, then three times as Squall pulled the trigger, before laying still. He wrenched the gunblade free and wiped it off on the monster's hide, then looked down at himself for the first time since the battle had begun. He was covered in the drying blood of the monsters he had fought, with stains stretching across his pants, jacket and shirt. Squall definately wouldn't be blending into a crowd anytime soon, that was for sure.  
  
Squall spun back to face Rinoa and Irvine, sliding his gunblade into his sheath.  
  
"Like I was saying," Irvine resumed, "The hatch leading to the clock tower is over there, back in the hallway." Irvine pointed over his shoulder, and Squall gestured for him to lead the way.  
  
The sharpshooter led them to the hatch in question, and popped it open. The door was set in the floor, and revealed a ladder that descended into a darkened cylindrical chamber. Irvine led the way, sweeped the room with his rifle, and indicated it was clear. Rinoa followed, and Squall dropped down after her, closing the door behind him. He glanced around the room, seeing a half-dozen or so metal pedastals, featuring glass tops, refractive crystals, and light projectors. The pedastals, it seemed, were holographic projectors, set around a central clock. Squall also spotted something else in the corner: a sleek gunmetal barrel, that of a high quality sniper rifle. He scooped the weapon up, checking it quickly. While Squall didn't know the exact name, he recalled its nickname: the Galbadian Military Industries "Mega Sniper" sniper rifle, one of the most powerful in the world. Caraway had chosen well with his ordnance.  
  
Squall turned to Irvine, and held the rifle out to him.  
  
"Irvine Kinneas, its in your hands now," he stated. The sharpshooter nodded solemnly, and reached out slowly. His fingerless gloves wrapped around the rifle, and he took it from Squall's hands with the care a mother reserved for her newborn child. Irvine checked the weapon, then crossed the room to an isolated corner, where he sat down and closed his eyes. Squall considered how odd and sudden the change was, until he remembered Irvine's words on the train. Preparing for the shot.  
  
Making sure not to interfere with Irvine's meditation, Squall sat down on the base of one of the figures, resting his feet. Rinoa sat down opposite of Squall, and stared down at the floor. She had dried her tears, and no longer seemed as frightened or on the edge of a breakdown as she had moments ago. His words had definately had an impact on her state of mind.  
  
His thinking about Rinoa caused Squall to shift his thoughts back to the parade, and from there to Seifer. He was alive? But what did that mean? He should have been executed, but now he served the Sorceress. Had some deal been made? Or worse yet, was Seifer not himself? He had seen the power Edea had held over the crowds . . . had she done something similar to Seifer? Or had he chosen to serve her willingly?  
  
"Rinoa," Squall said, catching her attention. She looked up at him.  
  
"Rinoa, Seifer's alive," he told her bluntly. Her eyes opened wide at his anouncement. "He was in the parade with the Sorceress," Squall added, to which Rinoa's brow bunched in confusion.  
  
"He's serving the Sorceress?" Rinoa asked, confused, and for good reason. Squall nodded.  
  
"Knowing him, he'll let me know why he's turned if I have to face him myself," Squall added. "If Irvine fails, I'll have to go through him to reach Edea."  
  
"Are you . . . prepared?" Rinoa asked, to which Squall nodded.  
  
"If he is in league with Edea, it makes him my enemy," Squall replied, recalling his talk with Irvine before. Enemies were formed by circumstance and fate, not by idealogy or morality. "I may end up killing him."  
  
"You kill so easily," Rinoa whispered, looking down at the floor. "How did you get this way? Did they train you to kill?"  
  
"Garden trained me to react, fight, and win," Squall answered truthfully. "The ability to kill only comes from experience. Everyone has their first kill. The difference between me and most other SeeDs is that I made my first kill at a younger age."  
  
"When?" Rinoa asked, curious.  
  
"Thirteen," Squall replied. "It was me and Seifer together. We bloodied our hands on the same day . . . ." Squall stopped and shook his head.  
  
"Now's not the time to talk about it," he added. "But whether I have to fight Seifer or not depends on Irvine. Its all in his hands now . . . ." Squall stood and walked across the room to where Irvine was meditating. As he got closer, something struck Squall. The sharpshooter wasn't sitting still in a calm trance.  
  
He was shaking.  
  
"Something wrong?" Squall asked, suddenly worried. Irvine seemed to almost be . . . freaking out?  
  
"I," Irvine whispered, shaking his head. He looked up at Squall.  
  
"I . . . I can't do it."  
  
--------------------  
  
Quistis, undaunted, led her team through the sewers to the archway ladder. However, the sounds of the parade above only added to their sense of urgency. They quickly found their way through the branching paths of the sewers, turning along intersections as Quistis followed the map Zell had appropriated.  
  
Then, they found their way blocked as a set of bars crossed the tunnel, cutting that route off. Zell, however, not to be stopped by something minor like hard iron, grasped the bars and twisted them, using all his strength to turn the metal aside into a hole wide enough to let the team through. They hurried on, barely slowed by the metal barrier.  
  
Another set of bars and several intersections later, the group rushed down a tunnel barely a hundred feet from the archway. They still had a couple of minutes to spare when Quistis noticed something odd about this section of the tunnels. There was something fouler about this stretch of sewer - not to say the sewers were not foul themselves, no matter how clean, but still . . . .  
  
Zell and Selphie picked up on it too, and slowed down. Selphie's nunchaku came out, and Quistis uncoiled her whip as Zell's feet spread out into a balanced fighting stance. Selphie spotted the threat first, and spun to face a neabry grating as something dark and indefinite seemed to pour forward, like a shadow without a source. Cackling, evil laughter sounded from all around the SeeDs as more shadows emerged, taking on roughly humanoid shapes with long arms and clawlike fingers.  
  
One of the shadows made a gesture at Selphie, and a sudden shock of electricity struck the SeeD. She jerked, cried out in surprise, then retaliated with a swipe of her nunchaku. One of the metal bars smacked the shadow in its face, and the creature reeled, crying out in pain.  
  
"Creeps," Selphie said with a nod, recalling the monsters from her education at Trabia Garden. The others looked to her, not expecting her to have recognized the monsters.  
  
"They're shadows, pockets of evil," Selphie quickly explained. "Not very common except in dark places." Selphie fell into a spell, targeting the Creep she had smacked. "They may come in large numbers, but they're weak. We can take them!" To punctuate her words, a fireball blasted the creep Selphie was facing. The creature let out a wail of suffering and dropped to the ground, one arm stretching out into the air as if to grasp something. Then it simply vanished, dead.  
  
Zell grinned, and looked at a group edging toward him.  
  
"Glad to hear," the martial artist said. He raised a hand to the Creeps, making a "come on" gesture. They obliged, and seemd to glide forward. A couple gestured at Zell, launching more electrical attacks, but he shrugged them off. The nearest Creep reached out as if to grasp Zell when he planted a snap-kick into its head. The creature's head seemed to vanish, and the monster wailed in pain before vanishing. Zell paid it no mind, slamming his fist through another Creep's "chest." The others advanced, and Zell tore into them.  
  
Quistis snapped her rante out wide, driving those Creeps advancing on her away. Then she focused, touching the magic she knew. Not what she had stocked, but the spell power Quistis had learned herself. She selected a spell she had learned from the Glacial Eyes haunting Balamb's mountains, and called forth the energy.  
  
The nearest Creep began to advance, but was then impaled by a bolt of light, shooting from Quistis' eyes. She spun her head and blasted a second with the Laser Eye technique, dissolving the Creep in a flash. She then focused on a different spell as more Creeps advanced. The Caterchipillars in Balamb's forest were dangerous creatures, not just for their entangling webs but also for their power to manipulate sonic waves. That power was something else Quistis had learned in her training, and waves of sound rippled out as she gestured powerfully at the advancing Creeps. The monsters reeled from her power, stunned by Quistis' Blue Magic.  
  
Only a pair of Creeps attacked Selphie, who batted them back with her nunchaku. The monsters flinched in pain but came on, eager for more. She obliged, blasting one with a weak but effective Blizzard spell, the shattering ice sending the monster to join its comrades. The other closed with Selphie, who whacked it once more, then unexpectedly leaped forward. Grasping the long bars of her nunchaku like a pair of clubs, she beat them repeatedly against the Creep, knocking it down until the creature vanished with a wail of pain.  
  
Quistis' whip snapped out, the blade slicing another Creep. The creatures fell back, regrouped, and advanced again, reaching out with greedy clawed hands. The sonic shocks of Quistis' Blue Magic threw them back again, and Quistis impaled another with her Laser Eye spell. Such use of her Blue Magic was far more efficient than regular spells, but continiuous use of these spells drained her. Fortunately, the Creeps gave up on their attack within moments. Those still intact fled before Quistis' fury, dissappearing into the tunnel gratings and to other dark places.  
  
Equally furious was Zell, whose punches, kicks, and the occasional headbutt speedily disposed of the Creeps. Only two managed to get clear of his assault, the rest falling and vanishing beneath his attack. As those Zell had faced fled, the tunnel became clear of threats.  
  
"Hurry!" Quistis shouted, realizing what precious time the Creeps had stolen. Not hesitating, the group rushed to the end of the sewers, and the archway. They didn't have much time left.  
  
--------------------  
  
Edea's float had completed its initial circuit and was returning through the main avenue. Edea reclined back in her chair, watching the crowds as she neared the archway at the center of the city. Even as she neared the great structure, she saw lights atop the Presidential Palace as the clock tower rose into the night sky, projecting the holographic images of dancers and clowns on Deling City's skyline. She leaned back and smiled. Had Deling planned that little bit, she wondered? A pity she'd needed to dispose of him, but he was really just a meddling fool.  
  
Edea turned to her knight, the blonde man standing proudly before her. He was no longer watching the crowd, instead looking into the night sky. She sensed his mounting anticipation.  
  
"You expect something," Edea said to him. Seifer glanced back to Edea, smiling.  
  
"I do," he replied. "I saw someone very special in the crowd. Someone I want to show my new power and glory." Seifer turned back to face the crowd, and laughed quietly. He clenched his gunblade tightly.  
  
"Do you see me, Squall?" he asked to the air. "Do you see what I've become? All I need is you, and my dream is complete . . . ."  
  
Ironically, Squall was looking at Seifer, or rather the float he was riding, while at the same time speaking to Irvine. Around the small group the shining holograms danced and spun, the light masking the assassination force.  
  
"Irvine!" he roared, shaking the sharpshooter's shoulder as the parade vehicle neared the archway. Squall could see its lights from the top of the carousel clock. If he couldn't shake Irvine out of this sudden bout of the jitters, the mission was over.  
  
"I can't," Irvine said, shaking his head, his voice quavering in both fear and shame. The sharpshooter's face was lit by the glowing yellow holograms surrounding the team. "I'm always like this. I get nervous when the stress hits." He shook his head again. "I joke, try to act cool, you know." He looked up at Squall.  
  
"But I can't handle the pressure," he whispered.  
  
"Forget that, Irvine," Squall replied. "Just shoot." Squall cursed his lack of training in diplomacy. The sniper was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and Squall didn't know what to say to get him to simply fire. It was so simple. He just had to shoot.  
  
"My bullet, the Sorceress," Irvine said, almost ignoring Squall. "I'll go down in history. Everything rides on this one shot. Its . . . its too much."  
  
He turned to face the archway, which was a slight improvement. Out of the corner of Squall's eye, he saw the gateway drop. The iron bars closed over the arch, trapping the Sorceress. Edea rose in fury, looking at the sudden trap with disbelief. Good, Quistis had fulfilled her part of the plan. Now, if only Squall could get his sniper to fire!  
  
"Enough! Just shoot!" Squall ordered.  
  
"I can't, dammit!" Irvine replied.  
  
"Irvine," Rinoa said quietly, from behind. The sharpshooter looked up at her, her voice such a different contrast from Squall's forceful tone.  
  
"Calm down," Rinoa said, crouching beside him. "You have to remember, everyone's waiting on you." Squall looked at her in suprise as Irvine did seem to relax. While Rinoa obviously didn't know the particulars of the mission, she understood enough about both it and Irvine to say the right things. It was that odd power to empathize with people again, the same one she'd used on Squall at the dance to open him up.  
  
"I don't care if you miss," Rinoa said. "None of us do. Whatever happens, leave the rest to Squall. Think of it as . . . as a signal. For everyone to move."  
  
"A signal?" Irvine whispered.  
  
"Yes," Rinoa replied. "Just a sign."  
  
"Just a sign," Irvine repeated, and nodded. The rifle came forward off his shoulder. Slowly, steadily, he raised the stock to his shoulder, setting the barrel against the edge of the roof. Edea slid into his sights. Whatever empathy trick Rinoa had pulled, it seemed to work. All thoughts of responsibility or repurcussions faded from Irvine's mind. It was just a signal.  
  
Irvine's breath stilled, and he fired.  
  
There was a flare of blue as Edea held out her hand, easily deflecting the bullet with a projection of her magic. She was fortunate she had anticipated the attack's direction - the bullet would have pierced her heart and killed her instantly. She smirked as she looked up to the clock tower. How clever of them . . . .  
  
Irvine slumped backward.  
  
"I failed," he whispered, shocked at something that had not happened since the earliest days of his training. He'd had a target in sight, dead to rights, and had not killed it.  
  
"Its not your fault," Squall responded, standing. He took a breath, knowing what he had to do. He glanced back at Rinoa, then to Irvine.  
  
"Take care of Rinoa," Squall ordered, then leaped off the edge of the clock tower. Squall landed lightly on the rooftop, then rushed forward with startling speed. He reached the podium where Edea had made her announcement, and in a single smooth motion drew the Revolver. Below, the small fistfight that he had instigated had transformed into a full-blown riot as Galbadian police fought with civilians, beating them with batons. There didn't look to be a safe place to jump down, as the riot had spilled over to inside the Palace walls.  
  
Squall didn't have much time, so, with a mental "the hell with it," he leaped clear off the balcony. As he flew, Squall spotted a Galbadian officer below, beating another rioting civilian, and raised his gunblade. The officer threw the man down, then spotted Squall's shadow as he descended. The man tracked the shadow up and saw the descending SeeD just in time to open his mouth in shock and throw his shield up.  
  
Squall's arms snapped down like a striking snake, his gunblade slamming into the shield as he hit the pavement in front of the officer in a crouch, the SeeD's enhanced muscles absorbing the fall. The force behind his fall and the magic in Squall's muscles smashed the man prone, fracturing the officer's arm and cleaving a deep fissure in the metal shield. Squall rose from his crouch as more officers rushed toward him, trying to get at the SeeD who had attacked their comrade. However, the rioting people were more than enough to keep the men off Squall for the few seconds he needed.  
  
The SeeD ducked through the confusion, bypassing fighting police and civilians, until he spotted a nearby convertible car. An officer was dragging the driver out of the vehicle and beating him with his baton, though how the driver had gotten his vehicle inside the Palace perimeter was anyone's guess. Squall rushed to the car, dodging a Galbadian officer who tried to tackle him, and leaped into the backseat. Before the officer beating the driver could act, Squall gunned the engine, thankful that the keys were still in the ignition.  
  
Moments later, the car leaped onto the streets outside the Palace. For an instant, Squall was worried he'd have to dodge civilians, but he found that the Galbadian police and military, despite the chaos inside the Palace gates, had maintained a degree of control outside. The main avenue through the city was clear, though Squall spotted dozens of police and military vehicles in the distance. As Squall drove, he spotted what looked to be vehicles blocking each other, and soldiers and police arguing. Caraway must have caused this, fouling up orders to the police and military to give him an opening. Squall silently thanked the general for the support and accelerated. He wouldn't have much time.  
  
By now the archway was only a hundred feet away. Squall slammed on the brake and spun, skidding the car toward the float. The vehicle slowed, the tires squealing as it slid in, then slammed into the iron portcullis. Squall leaped out, barely shaken by the impact, and jumped through the metal bars. A second bound took him up onto the float, where Edea stood calmly. If she wanted to, the Sorceress could have fled by the time Squall had arrived, but the woman stood, glaring at him, with absolute calm.  
  
She sneered and narrowed her eyes at Squall, and the SeeD noticed for the first time that her eyes were of an amber hue. The second thing Squall noticed was the figure beside her, kneeling like a loyal vassal, resting his right arm on his gunblade.  
  
Seifer shared Edea's sneer, though this one was one of anticipation, exhiliration and truimph all mixed together. With a flourish, Seifer rose, his immaculate white coat flying out wide as he stood. He raised his gunblade triumphantly, the silver edge of Hyperion glinting in the torchlight of Edea's float. Standing out pointedly between Seifer's eyes was the scar he had recieved from Squall, mirrored on his rival's face. He met Squall's eyes, Seifer's darker gray orbs connecting with Squall's blue. After several moments of the two rivals staring at each other, Seifer threw back his head and laughed. As with his sneer, elements of triumph, elation, and exhiliration composed the sound.  
  
"So, this is how it turned out," Seifer asked, looking at Squall once more. "Oh, I knew I'd see you soon, but when I spotted your face in the crowd, somehow I realized that we would meet again before the night ended." He held his left hand out, palm up, and closed it into a fist.  
  
"And now, here we stand, fated rivals," Seifer continued. "Ever since we met, I knew this day would come. I knew that sooner or later we would meet on the field of battle. What do you think, Squall?" Seifer held out his hands, indicating the large float within the archway.  
  
Squall didn't respond, instead drawing the Revolver. That alone was answer enough. Seifer watched the gunblade emerge, and laughed.  
  
"Yes!" Seifer shouted, pumping his free fist in approval. "Let's do this, as it was always meant to be!" Squall shrugged, and the gesture turned Seifer's smile into a frown and a scowl.  
  
"I'm surprised," Squall responded, shaking his head. "You've become the Sorceress' lapdog." Seifer responded with a contemptuous laugh.  
  
"I prefer the term 'knight,' Squall," Seifer replied. He leveled Hyperion at his foe. "Its in my grasp, now, don't you see? This is my dream, as it has always supposed to be! I am Edea's knight, and I will be remembered for all time!" Seifer ended his speech with a sudden jab of his left hand, and Squall twisted aside as a fireball flashed past. The Revolver rose instinctively, and it deflected Hyperion's first strike as Seifer closed in.  
  
Squall responded with his own left jab, this one a fist, as opposed to magic. Unlike Seifer's spell, Squall's balled fingers connected on Seifer's cheek, knocking his head back. A one-handed swipe with the Revolver sent Seifer retreating, but the knight came right back in with a spinning cut. Squall ducked below it, thrusting out with the Revolver at Seifer's stomach. Seifer sucked his belly in and smashed Hyperion down on Squall's blade, almost forcing it to the float's floor. Squall leaped back, the Revolver rising vertically to intercept an arcing left cut from Seifer, then snapping across to deflect a second cut as Seifer spun away to the right and came back in.  
  
Seifer hopped up as Squall jabbed his left leg down at his foe's knee. One of Seifer's own legs snapped forward at Squall's face in midair, but Squall caught it with his left forearm while countering with another one-handed cleave. Hyperion shot around and intercepted the Revolver, then jabbed at Squall's head. The SeeD twisted his head away, the tip of Hyperion slicing a small cut along his scalp. Squall's blocking left arm jabbed forward as he did so, hitting Seifer in the chest and knocking the airborne SeeD back a couple of feet. Seifer landed on his feet easily, then held up Hyperion for inspection. The tip was stained with dripping crimson.  
  
"First blood," Seifer commented. He snapped the blade down to his side. "Squall, you're mine!"  
  
Seifer charged, and Squall stepped forward as well. Hyperion rose as Seifer spun in a blindingly fast right cut. Squall deflected it easily enough, and anticipated Seifer's next attack. Seifer's left hand crossed over his sword and discharged another firey blast, but Squall was already beneath the spell, ducking low. The Revolver dropped and arced out wide in a low left slice at Seifer's right leg. Seifer twisted his leg up and over the cut, jumping back while jabbing down with Hyperion. The Revolver rose from the low slash, parrying Seifer's jab, and Squall dashed after Seifer, not letting him escape. Seifer landed slightly off-balance and had to quickly adjust his positioning as Squall's weapon cleaved in hard. Hyperion worked in a blur, defending Seifer from a half-dozen cuts as the knight set his feet.  
  
Squall thrust the Revolver, and pulled the weapon back even as Seifer moved to block it. The weapon arced up and over Squall's head in a brutal cleave aimed for Seifer's head. The knight spotted the feint quickly enough, and swung Hyperion over his head. The two gunblades met high in the air, sparks flying as they rang in the night air. As the gunblades met, Seifer's left hand shot forward, grabbing Squall by the front of his shirt. Seifer pulled hard, grinning sadistically as he jerked his head forward.  
  
Squall, surprisingly, reacted at the same moment, snapping his own head forward. Both fighters' foreheads connected in an explosion of pain, and the two broke away from one another, rubbing their injured heads. Squall recovered a second before Seifer did, and the knight found himself fighting on his heels once more, Hyperion working to deflect Squall's cleaves and thrusts. The initial barrage was parried by a series of brilliant parries and dodges, and when Seifer managed to regain his footing enough to force Squall back on his heels, all that the SeeD had to show for the assault was a tear in Seifer's coat and a shallow, bleeding wound on the knight's left flank.  
  
Squall fell back before Seifer's countercharge, and the knight took the upper hand in to conflict, Hyperion jabbing and cutting in a series of quick and precise motions. Squall, however, knew Seifer's own fighting style well, and easily parried the quick strikes, actually anticipating many of them before they'd even begun. The knight's grin turned to a scowl of frustration as every strike was met with an agile dodge or the ring of blade on blade. Squall set his own feet and began launching his own counters, parrying Seifer's strokes and jabbing his gunblade into the openings the knight left. Seifer's offensive soon became a stalemate as he found himself as often having to retreat and defend as much as he was attacking.  
  
Seifer then suddenly ducked low, jabbing at Squall's waist. The SeeD hopped back out of Seifer's reach, and raised his gunblade into a guard across his chest, not surprised when Seifer hurled another spell is way. The fireball exploded off Squall's guarding weapon, but unlike in the training battle, Squall's junctions hardened him and kept the SeeD on his feet. Squall blinked away the flash of light, and began to charge at Seifer, but immediately ducked as he saw Seifer was no longer in front of him.  
  
Hyperion sliced past Squall's head as Seifer struck from behind. The knight had used the distracting flash as cover to sneak up on Squall in plain view. Seifer retracted his gunblade and sliced down at the ducking SeeD. Squall blindly threw his weapon behind him, expecting the overhead cut, and was unsurprised as the Revolver rang with an impact. Even as he was parrying the rear assault, Squall spun, kicking out with his left leg. His foot smashed into Seifer's left knee, knocking the knight off balance long enough for Squall to regain even footing. The Revolver chopped and dove, and Seifer once more had to fight on his heels as he deflected Squall's assault.  
  
Any trace of Seifer's grin was gone. This battle had not progressed as he'd expected.  
  
"Not bad," he admitted, leaping back to the edge of the float. Squall said nothing in response to the compliment. Seifer was fighting well - brilliantly, better than most other SeeDs could have hoped - but to Squall, who had been fighting Seifer for as far back as he could remember, the knight was not at his fullest. It seemed as if Seifer was too confident in this battle, was too aggressive and was not anticipating his foe's counters, as if expecting every attack to end the fight then and there. It was a minor weakness, one that would not have mattered against a weaker foe, but against a foe as skilled as Squall it spelled defeat.  
  
Seifer growled and charged once again, leaping into the air, Hyperion rising in an arcing overhead cut. Squall watched him descend, and recalled a lesson from one of the combat trainers at Garden - when a foe was aware that he was losing, he would often attack with everything he had, but rarely in the direction one would expect.  
  
Seifer descended, and Squall did not raise his gunblade to knock the overhead stroke aside. When Seifer began to spin in midair, however, Squall was ready.  
  
Just before Seifer reached Squall he spun around in midair, Hyperion dropping low into an arcing uppercut that an overhead block never could have stopped. However, the Revolver was waiting for Hyperion as it rose. Sparks flew as the two gunblades rang in the night, and before Seifer could even realize he had been foiled, Squall's right leg smashed into Seifer's ribs. The knight, expecting the simple deception to have won the battle, fell back in surprise and confusion, trying desperately to realign his defenses.  
  
Squall did not give Seifer the oppurtunity, charging in close and batting aside Hyperion. Seifer began to back away and bring Hyperion to bear, but Squall followed him, staying close. While the SeeD could not bring the blade of the Revolver to bear, he did smash the butt of the weapon into the side of Seifer's head. The knight staggered under the Guardian Force-enhanced blow, and was laid out flat as Squall struck with the butt again, this strike hitting Seifer in the left temple. The knight was laid out flat, groaning in pain.  
  
"You're losing it, Seifer," Squall commented at his rival, shaking his head. Squall turned away from the knight, and faced Edea, pausing only to wipe the blood seeping down the side of his face.  
  
"A SeeD," Edea spat, looking down at Squall. She scowled and clenched her fists. "An accursed SeeD, planted in a run-down Garden . . . ."  
  
--------------------  
  
Galbadian soldiers and police were still engaged in arguments over their orders on some of the side streets, but for the most part they had begun to mobilize in response to the disturbance in the archway. They had recieved reports that someone was attacking Edea herself, and were responding.  
  
Or rather, they would if it hadn't been for the damn riot.  
  
It wasn't really the fault of the people who were rioting, even those who had been fighting around and inside the Palace. It was simply the result of Edea's magical influence being redirected. Whereas before, her magical power had directed the people to reverence and joy, the sudden dropping of the gates and the subsequent battle inside the archway had shifted Edea's emotions to those of anger and wrath. As an unintended side effect, this shift in emotions effected those under Edea's influence.  
  
What resulted was a mass riot as the people under Edea's influence were infected with feelings of fury. The police and military were partially influenced as well, and this resulted in harsh responses to the rioting. Several nasty melees were erupting across the city, and in the havoc, Galbadian troops were having a hard time getting to the archway to intervene. However, for the assassination team, this also had another inexpected benefit, in that Rinoa and Irvine were able to slip out of the Presidential Palace in the confusion. Now, however, as they slipped into the park Irvine and Squall had cut through earlier, Rinoa was looking toward the center of the city, at the distant archway.  
  
"We have to help him," she said to Irvine, who shook his head.  
  
"Squall's got it handled," he responded. "Besides, there's no way we can get to the gate with all this confusion."  
  
"But we can't just leave him!" Rinoa snapped. "What if the Sorceress is too powerful? What if the Galbadian army gets to the archway before he's finished? What if-"  
  
"There's nothing we can do!" Irvine responded, shaking his head. "There's an army of rioting people and soldiers between here and there, and one or two more people in there are not going to do any good. Plus, he's a Balamb SeeD, he's more than able to handle himself. We can't do anything!"  
  
"Coward!" Rinoa responded with a venomous glare. Irvine recoiled from the label as if he'd been hit with a brick. He opened his mouth to say something, but Rinoa spun away and began to run toward the gateway. Irvine shouted to Rinoa, but she didn't respond, instead continuing to run.  
  
She hadn't really meant to call Irvine a coward, but at the moment, she only cared about getting to Squall. Rinoa might not have been able to fight alone, but with Squall beside her, she felt like she could take on anybody. He had saved her from the Iguions, and even now he might need her help.  
  
Irvine may have been right, maybe she couldn't do anything, but she had to at least try.  
  
-------------------  
  
Squall's eyes met Edea's in a brief battle of wills. The Sorceress and the SeeD glared at one another, the seconds stretching past with neither of them moving. Squall buried his gaze into Edea's endless malevolence, and Edea percieved Squall's cool determination.  
  
Squall broke the spell first, charging with sudden ferocity, the Revolver rising to cleave into Edea. He kept his eyes open, watching Edea for any motion she would make, but the Sorceress did nothing as Squall crossed the short distance between them. Squall's gunblade descended, and then Edea snapped up her hand.  
  
A half-dome of blue energy formed beneath Squall's blade as it fell, and the gunblade rang as if it had hit stone. Not surprised, the SeeD retracted his weapon and struck a second time, a low cut. Edea's hand shot low, and easily deflected the chop. Squall cut again, and Edea blocked the attack once more.  
  
Behind her protective shield, Edea smiled, and her right hand rose toward Squall even as he swung a fourth time. Black cascading energy erupted down the length of Edea's arm and into the SeeD, past his defensive junctions, and hurling him across the float. Squall landed near the edge, smoke rising off his body as he stood. Pain exploded along his body, but Squall ignored the searing wounds and readied his weapon. Still, the ease with which Edea had brushed off his attack worried the SeeD.  
  
Edea's hand flicked toward Squall, and an arcing bolt of lightning shot toward him. Squall leaped aside, but even as the bolt reached the SeeD, it split wide into a dozen seperate bolts, three of which speared Squall. He groaned in pain as the electricity flared through his body, and landed hard on his side. The SeeD was on his feet in an instant, however, grimacing away the pain and focusing on his own spell power. He called forth one of the more powerful spells he had stocked, and cast it at Edea.  
  
The rising cold air of a Blizzara spell formed around Edea, but the Sorceress simply gestured out wide with her hands, and a ring of fire encircled her, canceling the spell out before it could even hit her. The cold dissapated, and Edea countered, gesturing forcefully at Squall. The ring of flames seemed to lift off of the ground, the fires rising into her palm and then launching themselves at the SeeD.  
  
Squall quickly cast another spell, a warding antimagic spell, Shell. A protective multilayered barrier formed around Squall, barely absorbing the magical fires as they hit. Squall then began casting another spell, calling up the power of a stocked Fira spell. The ground rippled with flames as a burst of fire shot through the ground, rising as it reached Edea. The Sorceress snapped a hand toward the flames and a wall of ice enveloped them. The fires hissed and a curtian of steam rose where the two spells met.  
  
Edea gestured again at Squall, and the SeeD suddenly felt an explosion of pain throughout his body as magic struck his insides. He then began to feel weakened as burning pain ran trough his veins. The SeeD began coughing, and realized he had been poisoned with a potent toxin. There were spells that could do that, among them one called Bio, but he did not have any available. The SeeD gritted his teeth through the pain and rolled aside as another spell tore through where he'd been standing, this one a column of fire that ignited that sectioon of the float.  
  
The SeeD grabbed a vial off his belt and downed the sweet and sour contents. It was an antitoxin vial, a multipurpose potion that could heal nearly any type of poison. The burning pain vanished as the potent concoction flowed through his blood, but Squall had to leap aside once more as a second pillar of fire tore through where he'd been standing. Squall landed, launching another spell Edea's way, this time a basic Thunder spell. Edea simply held up one hand as the spell hit, absorbing the bolt of lightning into her palm and redirecting it at Squall. The SeeD caught the bolt on his gunblade, wincing as electricity shot through his body, and charged once more.  
  
His only hope was to get close to Edea. Squall realized that in a battle of magic against magic, he was certianly no match for her. Yet Squall had already seen that melee was no better; she would just use her protective shield. He mentally ran through the list of spells he did have available, ignoring the directly offensive ones. Any of those she could simply brush off with her own defenses. He checked the energies of his supportive spells, looking for something useful. If only he'd been carrying a dispelling spell, he could cancel out Edea's magical defenses, then get a hit in.  
  
Squall chopped again, but as expected, his gunblade hit only the protective shield. Still, he had no other options, and kept striking as rapidly as he could. The Revolver sang a song on Edea's shield, but the Sorceress simply smiled an almost condescending grin, and jabbed her right hand at Squall. Squall went flying away, hurled by telekinetic force. He almost flew past the float and into the iron portcullis, but then stopped in midair, held by Edea's will. She widened her smile, and flicked a hand. The SeeD smashed into the wall of the gateway, the stone cracking under the force of the impact. Squall grunted in pain as he felt the stone give under the impact, but simply shook it off even as Edea ripped him out of the wall and sent him flying down. Squall's stomach met the corner of the top of the float, and he let out a much louder grunt, along with some coughed up blood, as the jabbing pain shot through his stomach. Then, he was in the air agian, and Edea slammed Squall down, this time directly into the float's floor. He hit hard, cracking his head against the vehicle, but grimaced the intense agony away. Stubbornly, Squall began to stand, all the while reaching back into his mind.  
  
Squall realized then that he could not defeat Edea, that the Sorceress was far too much for him to handle. However, Squall had other options. He, a human, might not be able to defeat Edea, but a Guardian Force was another story.  
  
The air burned as Ifrit answered Squall's summons. Out from the firey hole stepped the Guardian Force, roaring his unearthly cry. Fires rippled down the GF's length, and it gestured forcefully at Edea, gouts of flame blasting at her.  
  
As Ifrit appeared and unleashed his fury, Squall tried to stand, and then suddenly felt the pains diminish as waves of curative magic washed over him. He looked up, confused, and then saw Rinoa standing beside him on the float. A thousand questions filled his mind.  
  
"What?" he asked. "Rinoa, what are you doing! Its too dangerous here!" His warning was punctuated by a fireball from Ifrit directed at Edea.  
  
"Squall, you can't defeat her alone," Rinoa said as she grasped his arm, helping the SeeD to steady himself. "Let me help. I can fight if I'm with you."  
  
Squall wanted to tell her to get back, to run, but he said nothing. Rinoa was right in that Squall couldn't defeat Edea by himself. But Rinoa was no SeeD. How could she help him?  
  
"Do you have any dispelling magic?" he asked, realizing what he needed. Rinoa cosed her eyes for an instant, checking her magic, then nodded.  
  
"A few," she replied.  
  
"Stay back and support me," he told her as another flash came from Ifrit. "I'm going in, and I need you to cast it as I reach her." Rinoa nodded, and focused, preparing to cast the spell at the right moment.  
  
If Edea was in any way effected by Ifrit's fiery attacks, she didn't show it, except to raise a hand into the oncoming flames. They parted around her like water around stones, and as the flames dissipated, Edea countered with her own attack. A swirling mist of water surrounded Ifrit, and then froze into a million tiny shards of ice. A second gesture sent every shard burying into Ifrit's body. The Guardian Force roared in pain and fury as the ice dug deep, then his roar was multiplied tenfold as every shard exploded beneath the GF's skin. Steam erupted from Ifrit's skin, and the GF spasmed in agony, before being consumed by its own fires and returning to where it came.  
  
In Squall's mind, Ifrit's voice was silenced, not dead, but inaccessible.  
  
Edea turned to Squall, and scowled to see the SeeD standing, healed partially from the wounds she had inflicted. However, before she resumed the barrage, Edea paused, noting the building energy around Squall.  
  
Squall built all the pain he had taken from this battle, all of the pent up frustration as each spell had been countered, into a single focused point. The fury and desperation centered within Squall, building up the power, rising to its Limit. Once more, Squall's emotions were focused into his unique Limit, and time slowed.  
  
"Now, Rinoa!" he shouted, his words coming out slowly as he leaped forward at Edea, the white trail of energy following him through his Renzokuken Limit. Rinoa began casting the dispelling spell, the energies rippling out toward Edea. However, Squall reached her first, and struck hard, hoping to hit her before his Limit ran out and the intense emotions faded. He could only maintain the Renzokuken Limit for so long. Edea's shield flared as the gunblade hit it repeatedly. Edea seemed to move in slow motion as Squall struck, but somehow her shield held as the gunblade cut five, then six, then seven times, arcing and stabbing.  
  
Then, the dispelling magic from Rinoa, reaching through the slowed time, struck Edea as Squall retracted for one final hit before the Renzokuken ended. Edea's warding shield faded, and she twisted aside as Squall struck.  
  
The gunblade scratched past her, the razor-sharp edge cutting a gash into Edea's flank as she twisted away. The wound was painful, but far from deadly.  
  
Squall pulled his weapon back, ready to strike again, this time to finish Edea, when a wall of force hurled him away to the edge of the float.  
  
"Impudent SeeDs!" Edea shouted in raw rage.  
  
Blue light shot out around her, tiny motes of ice magic swirling around the Sorceress, before rippling up along her body and down her left hand. She fixed her gaze directly on Squall, the magic soldifying and centering directly on her hand as she raised it. Then, above her head, there formed a single long shard of ice, glowing with its own inner magic. Squall stood, staring at the shard of ice, as it cracked and broke into several pieces.  
  
Edea smirked, then jabbed her hand down, as if throwing something, and the glowing ice shards rocketed forward, faster than Squall could even twitch. They flashed across the float, and then past Squall.  
  
He jerked, and then gasped as a numbing cold leaked through his veins around his right lung. He looked down, seeing one of the pale, glowing ice spears lodged in his right breast. He began to reach up to the shard, but his right arm did not respond.  
  
He turned, looking to Rinoa, who stared at him in absolute horror. The numbness spread through his chest, and down Squall's legs. He felt his knees buckling, and heard the sound of his gunblade slipping to the floor of the float. The weapon bounced off the edge and clattered to the pavement below.  
  
Rinoa screamed Squall's name, but it sounded so distant as he felt himself slipping backward, falling of the end of the float. He knew the ground was rushing up to meet him, but instead of hitting the road below, Squall plunged into darkness.  
  
He saw Rinoa at the edge of the float, reaching toward him desperately. He tried to raise his own arm to her, but he kept falling away into the shadows . . . .  
  
And Squall Leonhart knew no more.  
  
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Wow. What an ending.  
  
That's it. The end of an era. Its the end...of Disc 1. Whoo.  
  
Okay, to my notes on this chapter:  
  
The fight scenes. Yes, I know. Squall did a lot of fighting on his own here, especially against the Iguions and Edea. I prefer it that way, as it makes things more dramatic to have the one-on-one battles. Not to mention it showed his ferocity and determination to save Rinoa. The seeds of romance have been sown now....  
  
I modified the moment when Irvine fired so that Rinoa said the important things, instead of Squall. I did that because, as I always figured, Rinoa is very empathetic person who is good at motivating people. She seems far more likely to have been the one to aid Irvine in shooting than mean old Squall. XD Plus, I like Rinoa, a lot, and I try to improve on her character when I can. Rinoa helping Irvine seems natural to me.  
  
Also, as a side note, I'll be referencing real world firearms when referring to irvine's weapons. Which means that, yes, Irvine will be using more guns aside from his shotgun/rifle and revolvers. In fact, Irvine will really come into his own soon. There will be guns...lots of guns. 


	28. Interlude: Fragments of Memories

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The Gunblade Saga: An In-Depth Novelization of Final Fantasy VIII  
  
Book Two: The Sorceress War  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------  
  
Interlude: Fragments of Memories  
  
He finished slipping on his jacket, and turned to look at himself in the mirror. His hair had grown out signifigantly over the last few months, and he'd only gotten the chance to cut it back yesterday. It still hung just below his shoulders, just where he liked it.  
  
He paused for a second, remembering something, and fished out his yellowed, rusted dog tags. Heh, they'd never been the same after that dunk in the seawater in Centra. He glanced down at them, reading the information imprinted into the metal.  
  
"1st Lieutenant Laguna Loire" it read, and he chuckled slightly as he put the dog tags around his neck. He'd tendered his resignation five months ago, and no doubt a few officers back in Deling would be cheering at his leaving the military. Now, he just kept the dog tags as a reminder of that chapter of his life, despite the gross violation of military procedure in Galbadia that a civilian wearing dog tags would entail. Of course, with the law being so paranoid, Laguna was violating the law just by keeping a military-grade weapon, but the local soldiers stationed in town (all ten of them) didn't care enough to bother. Either that or they were glad to have someone as skilled at fighting as he was reinforcing them. Winhill didn't matter enough to Galbadia to bother holding with more than a token force.  
  
Laguna looked down at his weapon, what had once been a Galbadian MP- 10 sub-machinegun, but had been heavily modified for increased power with an extended barrel and higher-caliber round, as well as increased ammunition capacity. He carefully inspected and cleaned the weapon; despite his odd antics, Laguna was quite competent with his weapon of choice and kept his guns carefully maintained. He reloaded the weapon, attaching one of the small drum-like magazines to the underside, and made sure the weapon's safety was on before slinging it over his shoulder. He checked his other weaponry, including a small bandoleer of grenades, a pair of knives on his belt, and a Beretta M9000 handgun. He frowned at the weapon but shrugged. He'd never liked the Beretta, it was a rather weak weapon compared to some handguns. But Laguna had to make do with what he had.  
  
Laguna's inspection was just completed and he was about to leave the room when the pitter-patter of soft soled shoes belonging to a tiny figure could be heard bounding up the stairs. He looked up to see a small, undeniably cute brown-haired girl poking her head through the doorway at Laguna. The man's face lit up with a smile. Seeing little Ellone always boosted his spirits.  
  
"Uncle Laguna, there's someone here to see yoo!" the little girl called, not quite annunciating properly. She was still only five years old, after all.  
  
Laguna stood up from the small table and the undersized chair, slipping on his finger-less gloves.  
  
"Someone for me?" he echoed. "What does he look like?"  
  
"Umm, he's wearing funny clothes," Ellone said after a moment of thinking about it. "He's tawking with Raine right now."  
  
"He's at the pub?" Laguna asked, suddenly not very happy.  
  
"Yup! That's why I came to get yoo!" Ellone replied. She caught the look on Laguna's face, and frowned slightly. "Am I a good girl?" she added, almost hesitantly.  
  
"No," Laguna replied, shaking his head. He put his hands on his hips. "Its dangerous to be out there by yourself. What if a monster comes along?"  
  
"Its only next door," Ellone protested, but Laguna shook his head again.  
  
"Its still dangerous," he replied, walking across the room to the little girl. He crouched down in front of her. "The monsters could be anywhere, and since you're such a cute little girl, they'll be after you especially." He reached up and ruffled her long brown hair, making Ellone giggle.  
  
"I'll be okay," Ellone replied as she tried to fix her hair. "I'll just call yoo, and yoo'll come and save me!" Before Laguna could say anything, Ellone dashed out of the room and back down the stairs. Laguna stood up quickly and hurried after her, stepping out of the run down bedroom and out onto the stairs overlooking the kitchen. He stopped and sighed slightly in relief at the sight of Ellone standing by the door leading outside, not having left yet.  
  
"I waited!" she called as Laguna walked down the stairs. "Am I a good girl now?" Laguna laughed and nodded as he reached the ground floor. He glanced around the room, particularly at the wall just below the stairs, riddled with bullet holes. The rest of the room was in shambles, partially because Laguna was never one to clean it up, and partially because he wanted to leave it this way, as a reminder of the ever-present danger in this part of the world.  
  
"Yes, a good girl!" he agreed, pausing by a coffee table, where a picture of a middle-aged couple was sitting. The husband and wife were smiling, the wife cradling an infant in her hands. He crouched beside the table, and touched the picture in its frame.  
  
"Don't worry, Ellone's been a good girl today," he said quietly to the picture of the little girl's departed parents. He smiled, and turned back to Ellone. "Right?"  
  
"Yup!" Ellone replied, pumping a tiny fist in the air. Laguna laughed, for no real reason, and stepped over to the door. He poked his head out, scanning outside.  
  
Like the house Laguna resided in, the other houses lining the central plaza of Winhill were simple wooden buildings, mostly two stories tall, and lined with flowers and small gardens. Some were overgrown now, because of the local situation, but for the most part people kept their gardens maintained and prosperous. The people of the small town loved plants and flowers, and Laguna wasn't an exception.  
  
He spotted a pair of Galbadian soldiers on patrol across the central plaza, weapons held high and ready. Beyond them, at the north end of the town, was the huge palatial mansion that had been commandeered by the soldiers as their barracks and base of operations. Two more soldiers stood guard outside, beside a pair of older military trucks. Aside from the soldiers keeping the plaza clear, there was nothing else moving. Laguna nodded, then turned around, scooping up the small girl in his arms and carrying her outside.  
  
With Ellone safely in his arms, Laguna quickly crossed the plaza to the nearest home, a local pub, one of the few businesses here in Winhill. He opened the door into Raine's pub, and was immediately struck by the scents of the flowers the woman kept in her home. He spotted Raine standing behind the counter, preparing a drink. She looked up as Laguna entered with his precious cargo.  
  
Raine looked between Laguna and Ellone, and shook her head before smiling. The soldier let Ellone down, and smiled back to Raine before bending down in front of the girl.  
  
"I think I'm in twouble," Ellone whispered, and Laguna smiled and nodded.  
  
"Too baaad," Laguna replied, mimicking a child's tone that came all too easily to the soldier. He patted Ellone on the head, and pointed up a staircase to the side of the bar. "Go up to your room and play. I'll stall Raine." Laguna winked to Ellone and stood up. Both he and Raine watched as the little girl scrambled up the stairs to her room.  
  
"You're too easy on her," Raine commented, making Laguna chuckle. He turned back to the woman, who was still preparing a drink behind the bar. Raine was a beautiful woman, with soft features, blue eyes, and long brown hair that cascaded down her back. She seemed slightly heavyset, but that was perhaps just a trick of the thick, loose white sweater she wore.  
  
"Long time, no see," came a familiar call from behind Laguna, and he spun, recognizing that voice.  
  
"Kiros!" Laguna cried, seeing his lithe war buddy leaning on the wall beside the door, a spot where he'd gone unnoticed by Laguna. Laguna rushed forward and pulled his friend into a hug, laughing.  
  
"What are you doing here?" he asked after detaching himself from the dark-skinned man.  
  
"Looking for you, actually," Kiros replied, stepping toward the bar. Laguna walked with him. "Life's been boring without you around."  
  
Laguna pulled up a stool and sat down at the bar, and Kiros followed. The small man was clad in a form-fitting brown suit, designed for traveling, though like Ellone had said, it did look a bit odd. The outfit matched Kiros well, fitting his fast-flowing fighting style. Laguna noticed that Kiros still carried his familiar katals belted to his hip.  
  
"How long has it been since our grand escape from Centra?" Laguna asked, reminded of the escapade by Kiros' blades.  
  
"I would call that being chased out," Kiros replied, shaking his head. Raine set a pair of glasses on the bar, filled with some Sylkis beer. "Hmm. I would say it was about a year ago. I was in the hospital for about a month, though what I took was nothing compared to what I heard about you." Laguna nodded, sipping his beer.  
  
"He was bedridden for about six months," Raine commented, leaning forward on the bar. "The soldiers said that there was a storm and they got separated. I was wondering why they were bringing a wounded man here, out on the edges of Galbadian territory."  
  
"You had to take care of this lunkhead?" Kiros asked her, and Raine nodded. "Wow. I would never put up with that." They shared a good laugh at that, even Laguna, who couldn't really be angry. He owed a major debt to Raine for taking care of him.  
  
"Every bone in my body was broken," Laguna commented. He pounded his chest. "But hey, I'm back!"  
  
"Hyne help us all," Kiros replied, inciting another laugh.  
  
"How's Ward doing?" Laguna asked a moment later.  
  
"Doing pretty well," Kiros answered. "Remember how we said we envied those janitors because they got paid so well for doing crap jobs?"  
  
"Yeah," Laguna replied. "Wait, Ward's a janitor?"  
  
"Exactly," Kiros said. Laguna chuckled at the notion of the big, muscle-bound bear in a janitor's uniform. "Over at the D-Disrtict prison that was built out in the desert."  
  
"Can't picture him mopping floors, but I'm glad he's doing well," Laguna said. "Did his throat ever heal?"  
  
"Nah," Kiros said with a shake of his head. "He never got his voice back, but he's starting to learn sign language and you can easily tell what he's thinking with his expressions."  
  
"What about Julia?" Laguna asked, taking another gulp.  
  
"I'm not sure," Kiros replied with a shake of his head. "Haven't been around Deling City in a while, honestly."  
  
"You mean the singer?" Raine asked, apparently recognizing the name.  
  
"Yeah, that's right," Kiros said with a nod. "Laguna really liked her music and always frequented the club she performed at." The small man managed a wry smile at Laguna's expense.  
  
"Shut up!" came the expected response from Laguna. "So what if I did?"  
  
"Julia sang at a nightclub?" Raine asked, curious. Kiros shook his head.  
  
"She just played piano. That was before she started singing."  
  
"That's right," Raine replied. "I heard she was also playing the piano in 'Eyes on Me.'"  
  
"How does that song go?" Laguna asked. He wasn't a big music buff, although he had liked Julia's music.  
  
"You don't know?" Raine asked, suprised. "Everyone's heard that song."  
  
"Well, you never let me listen to it!" Laguna responded, which wasn't really true. He spent so much time working that the majority of his lesuire time consisted of boating on the lake and trying to catch fish (emphasis on "trying"). He didn't have much time to listen to music, and again, Laguna wasn't a big music fan.  
  
"Its a great song," Raine added. "It's about being in love. I really like it."  
  
"I heard she had gotten married recently when i was passing through Timber," Kiros commented, taking another sip.  
  
"To some army officer, right?" Raine said, scratching her chin thoughtfully. "What was his name? General Cary?  
  
"Caraway," Kiros clarified, nodding. "General Caraway. The guy in charge of homeland defense."  
  
Laguna listened to them speak, and for a moment felt his heart sink. He had really admired Julia, just as Kiros said, but perhaps he had held deeper feelings for her. However, Laguna shook the slight depression off as quickly as it came. Julia was married now, and happy with her husband, right? Why should that make him sad?  
  
"I read in a magazine that her true love went off to war and never returned," Raine added. "The general supported her during her grief, and after a few months they fell in love." Kiros nodded, then pointedly glanced at Laguna, gauging his friend's reaction. Laguna caught that glance and quickly looked away, a bit embarrassed.  
  
"Hey, who cares?" Laguna muttered. "As long as she's happy, right?"  
  
"Right," Raine added with a smile and a nod. "Besides, it's about time for you to get to work."  
  
"Work?" Kiros asked skeptically, looking at Laguna. "You actually have a paying job around here?"  
  
"Not exactly," Laguna said, finishing his glass and standing up. "I get paid in food, at least. Come on, I think you'll like my job around here."  
  
"Do I want to know?" Kiros asked, finishing his beer as well and standing. Laguna didn't reply, except to wave over his shoulder to Raine, and stepped outside the bar. He took his sub-machinegun down off his back and checked the weapon. Kiros also drew his blades, and after a moment thought he was catching on.  
  
"So, what exactly do you do here?" Kiros asked as Laguna led him south, away from the guarded plaza. There was a wooden bridge crossing a stream, leading toward a collection of distant houses nestled among trees and separated by wide expanses of fields, many filled with tall grasses and flowers. Hills rose to the east and west of the town, and to the far south, one could see a rushing river, and the blue line of the ocean a couple of miles downstream. The landscape was wide, rolling, and beautiful, precisely the kind of place Laguna had always said he wanted to live in.  
  
"Well, since you passed through here already, you probably noticed that, with the exception of the soldiers back there, I'm the only man around," Laguna explained. "All the able-bodied men here have already gone off to join the army and fight Esthar. That means that the only people around here are old folks, kids, and women, along with the odd assortment of cats, dogs, and chocobos." As he was speaking, Laguna walked down a shaded dirt road, passing by a local flower shop. The elderly woman who ran the shop saw Laguna through her window and waved. He smiled and waved back.  
  
"Anyway, without anyone around here to keep them away, the monsters have wandered in," Laguna continued. "This town did me a great service, so I'm paying them back by doing what those dumbass soldiers back there should already be doing."  
  
Laguna patted himself on the chest and smiled.  
  
"You're looking at the Monster Hunter of Winhill!" Laguna beamed. "And today, you're my assistant. Basically, what we do is we patrol to the edges of town, kill any monsters we see, and if we spot someone in need of help, we help them."  
  
"So, you're the sheriff around these parts?" Kiros asked, and Laguna nodded again, glad Kiros understood. Kiros grinned and raised his katals. "Alright, sounds like fun. I'll be sticking around for a while, and this sounds right up my alley."  
  
"Glad to hear it!" Laguna said, and with that, the two Monster Hunters of Winhill set out to protect the town.  
  
--------------------  
  
Laguna spun, firing as he went. The bulbous green caterpillar-like beast flinched as Laguna's bullets ripped into its side. Laguna kept up the fire, pouring a dozen or more bullets into the beast's hide,and it backed away, bleeding viscous fluids from numerous of holes. Laguna paid the dying creature no mind, instead whipping back around to find any other targets.  
  
The only ones he spotted were a pair of flying blue Bite Bugs, flitting around Kiros, whose katals danced and dove. A pair of flashes of the slicing blades, and the two insects fell, one bisected, the other with a fatal thrust in its abdomen.  
  
Kiros cleaned his blades on the grass as Laguna bounded down the hill, reloading his machinegun.  
  
"That was easy enough," Kiros commented as he looked up and down the hill. They had encountered a sizable collection of monsters, consisting of a large flock of the blue Bite Bugs, and in the midst of the battle with the insects, a quartet of hungry green Caterchipillars had wandered in. Things had gotten hectic for a few seconds, but it was nothing the two veteran soldiers couldn't sort out.  
  
"Too easy, actually," Laguna added. "You hear that buzzing?"  
  
"It's the faeries," Kiros answered, smiling. "No wonder every fight's been like this."  
  
"A walk in the park," Laguna added. "Come on, let's take advantage of them while they're still around."  
  
Ten minutes and a trio of Bite Bugs later, Laguna and Kiros had finished patrolling the perimeter of Winhill. The two Monster Hunters paused for a break on another hill, allowing them a good view of the surrounding town.  
  
"Well, the first patrol is complete," Laguna said, checking a small cut he'd received on his bare left arm. The wound had closed nicely, Laguna saw as he took a small bottle of healing potion out. He poured a bit of the fluid onto a small cotton ball and brushed it over the wound.  
  
"We'll report back to the commander before the next patrol," he added as the potion began to repair the already healing injury.  
  
"The commander?" Kiros asked. "You mean Raine, right?" Laguna nodded.  
  
"She seems like a nice woman," Kiros added,, before grinning wryly once again. "But easily taken in by a hotshot."  
  
"A hotshot?" Laguna asked. To tell the truth, he liked that description. "Tell you what. Let's step up the patrol while we still have the faeries backing us up. We'll head back and form a plan of attack!" Laguna sprang to his feet, and Kiros followed him. The two Monster Hunters rushed down the hill to the central plaza, keeping their eyes open for any more monsters.  
  
A pair of wandering Bite Bugs rose up along their path, but Laguna dropped one with a burst of gunfire, while Kiros met the other with a quick thrust and slash that left it in three pieces. With that exceptionally optimistic pair of monsters, Laguna and Kiros met no other threats on the way back to Raine's pub.  
  
"Hey, Laguna," Kiros asked as they hurried down a road bisecting the town. Laguna paused for a second, looking back to his friend.  
  
"Are you doing this patrol thing every day?" the small man asked. Laguna blinked.  
  
"Hey, what are you calling 'thing'?" he snapped, surprised by Kiros' words.  
  
"Weren't you planning on becoming a world-traveling journalist?" Kiros asked, crossing his arms. Laguna nodded. "Okay, while I was in Timber, I talked with the chief editor of Timber Maniacs. You know them, right?"  
  
"Yeah, that's the big magazine based there," Laguna replied with another nod.  
  
"Anyway, the guy is interested in any article relating to world travel," Kiros said. Laguna's face brightened.  
  
"Really? That's great!"  
  
"We should go talk to him sometime," Kiros added, and Laguna nodded, though it seemed he was a bit reluctant. Kiros frowned behind Laguna's back as his friend turned and continued up the path.  
  
About ten minutes later, the duo was finding their way back to the plaza when Laguna paused.  
  
"It'd be okay if we stick around here for a bit longer, alright?" he asked Kiros, and the small man shrugged.  
  
"Still need to gather material?" Kiros asked. "This seems like a nice town. You going to write about it first?"  
  
"No way!" Laguna replied, shaking his head. "No way I'm going to write about here. If this place gets too famous, you'll get all those tourists coming through ruining everything."  
  
"Scared someone's going to come along and steal Raine away?" Kiros suddenly asked, and he knew he'd hit what he was suspecting. Laguna had changed a lot, though Kiros did think it was for the better.  
  
A look at Laguna's blushing face, however, told the lithe man that Laguna was still at least somewhat similar to his old self.  
  
Laguna's face had returned to its normal color by the time they had returned to Raine's pub a few minutes after that. The two Monster hunters stepped into the room, only to find Raine wasn't behind teh bar. They heard voices upstairs, in the combined bedroom and living room where Laguna, Raine, and Ellone slept, so the duo started climbing to the second floor. Laguna almost immediately stopped, however.  
  
"What?" Kiros asked, but Laguna just held up his hand.  
  
"Girl stuff," he said, shaking his head. "Its just Raine and Ellone talking."  
  
"I think we should listen in," Kiros replied, nodding toward the top of the stairs. At Laguna's quizzical expression, Kiros added, "Something inside me tells me we should listen." Laguna shrugged but complied, edging up the stairs so he could hear better.  
  
"But don't yoo like uncle Laguna?" Ellone asked in her not-quite- perfect speech.  
  
"That man?" Raine replied, and Laguna could almost imagine her shaking her head. "He was carried in here crying like a baby, and I was the one who had to take care of him, since I was the only one in town who had any experience with medicine. He has such a crude way of talking, he never has a serious conversation, he snores and talks in his sleep . . . oh, I could go on all day."  
  
Laguna glanced back at Kiros, who helplessly shrugged. Laguna frowned and put his hands on his hips, as if his friend should have informed him of those personality faults. Kiros held back a snicker.  
  
"But Raine and Uncle Laguna should be together forever!" Ellone protested. There was a long pause that stretched on for several seconds.  
  
"But . . ." Raine said quietly, almost a whisper. As she spoke, her voice drifted closer. "I don't think he has it in his heart to stay here in this tiny town. What he really wants is to travel the world. Some people are like that. I don't want to hold him back, but I think he's almost torn between staying here and traveling. But I'm not sure, and . . . oh, it makes me so mad."  
  
"Yoo don't like him?" Ellone asked.  
  
"No, I do like him," Raine replied, almost directly overhead. "I feel the same way about him that you do . . . ." Raine trailed off, and Laguna glanced up to see her looking down the stairs, not exactly at him, but as if she sensed someone was down there. Thinking quickly, Laguna bounded up the stairs, huffing and puffing as if he was exhausted.  
  
He came to a stop in front of Raine (and quietly reached down to rub his leg, where it was cramping up, yet again) and sent her a quick, crisp military salute.  
  
"I came back in a hurry, with the report from our first patrol!" he said in a quick, precise military voice. Raine smiled at the usual manner in which Laguna delivered his reports, and sat down at one of the couches lining the room.  
  
"At ease," Raine said, and Laguna relaxed, letting his hands drop behind his back.  
  
"In addition to squishing Buchubuchus and smashing Bunbuns that Assistant Commander Ellone oh-so-hates, we have exterminated a total of thirty-eight monsters," Laguna stated. Raine nodded, impressed with the number. Laguna usually only reported about half that many kills, though with the weather warming up the monster population was becoming more aggressive.  
  
"Excellent," Raine stated. "You're going to rest up before the next patrol, right?" Laguna nodded as he sat down.  
  
"We're probably going to take a quick nap while you guys get lunch prepared," Laguna stated, and Kiros nodded.  
  
"All right," Raine replied standing. "Come on, Ellone," she said, herding the young girl downstairs. "We'll call you when i'ts ready." Laguna nodded, and watched as Raine walked down the stairs. When he heard the door close below, he stood and stretched. Kiros immediately plopped himself down on another couch, while Laguna moved to his bed. he paused over it, then glanced back to the staircase.  
  
"What's the matter?" Kiros asked, and Laguna glanced up, an odd look in his eyes.  
  
"Man, sometimes I get scared," Laguna said, sitting down on his bed. "I'm scared its all a dream, and I'll wake up somewhere else, not seeing Ellone, or . . . ."  
  
"Not seeing Raine?" Kiros asked. Laguna didn't reply, but Kiros understood. His friend was dealing with something he didn't normally have to deal with, which was the weight of real responsibility and concern. It was all new for Laguna, and it frightened him.  
  
"Please let me be in this bed when I wake up," Laguna muttered as he slowly began to lay down. "Please let it be this room when I wake up!"  
  
Kiros watched his friend put his head down, then lay back ont he couch. He couldn't help but smile, as Laguna had probably grown up more in the last six months than he had in his previous twenty-six years. The small man was happy to see his friend going through that fear, as it meant he had something true to hold on to. Something Laguna would give his life to protect.  
  
Laguna had changed, but, Kiros thought, he had changed vastly for the better.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------  
  
Argh. This chapter was difficult, I think. I had a hard time writing it, but I think I'm a bit satisfied with the outcome.  
  
This chapter wasn't my favorites, I think. I love Laguna, but somehow this didn't come out right. I could really use some feedback here on how I could improve this chapter. I'll probably upload an edited verson of this at the same time as I upload the next chapter detailing Squall's adventures. 


	29. Behind Bars

Chapter 24: Behind Bars  
  
Darkness gave way to a dim gray pall as Squall cracked his eyes open. He inhaled, and caught a scent of stale air tinged with industrial chemicals as his eyes began to fully open. He found himself staring up at some type of gunmetal gray ceiling.  
  
A quick inventory of his senses as he regained consciousness informed him of his surroundings; he heard the distant clanking of machinery somewhere beyond the metal walls of the small room he was in; the semi-soft surface he lay on resembled a bed of some kind, and the dull, gummy feeling in his mouth told him he'd been out for at least a day or so. He felt cool air across his chest, and realized he was clad only in his black pants, still stained with Iguion blood. All his gear was gone, and that, combined with the blank metal walls of the spare, empty room told Squall all he needed to know.  
  
He was a prisoner.  
  
Squall shook his head groggily as he sat up, recalling the circumstances behind his last conscious thoughts. He'd been facing Edea, and she had speared him with a magical icicle . . . .  
  
Squall reached up to check his chest wound, and found that his injury was mysteriously gone. That didn't comfort him much, however; Galbadia took excellent care of individuals they intended to interrogate, in order to ensure their survival through the process. Still, being at something resembling full health was good; he'd need as much strength as he could if he was given an opportunity.  
  
He thought back to the battle in the archway, recalling Edea's face as she had speared him, along with Rinoa's scream, and Seifer's leering grin as they had fought. Anger welled up in Squall for a moment as he recalled his rival's betrayal. Squall had only hoped that Seifer was under Edea's influence, but it almost seemed as if Seifer had turned to her side of his own free will.  
  
"Damn, you, Seifer," Squall hissed as he began to stand. At that moment, however, the floor bucked underneath him, and he partially lost his balance, falling back onto the bed. He immediately got the sensation of his cell moving to the side, and heard machinery working above and in the direction his cell was moving. A moment later, Squall felt gravity tug at his innards as his cell seemed to rise into the air. He frowned, confused. Did this place operate with movable prison cells?  
  
That thought led Squall back down to something he'd read back at Garden about Galbadia operating an ultra-secure prison out in th deserts in the southwest of the country, a high-tech prison that involved isolation cells that could be moved with a robotic arm. The D District prison, it was called. Well, at least he had a name and a rough location.  
  
The moving cell jolted to a stop, and directly across from his bed, a door slid open. Squall looked up at whomever was standing there, and immediately tensed, fists clenching.  
  
Seifer stepped into the prison cell, shaking his head.  
  
"Squall, you're looking terrible," he commented, smiling. Squall's response came in the form of a right hook, which Seifer caught and deflected easily enough. As Squall's arm was pushed aside, Seifer's other hand shot over that arm and slugged Squall hard. The SeeD fell back under the power of that hit, and at that moment realized his Guardian Forces were silent. Damn, Seifer must have Drawn them.  
  
Squall didn't give in, even with the realization that Seifer was junctioned and he wasn't. The SeeD rushed forward, launching another punch. Seifer moved to block, but the punch was a feint, as Squall shot up his left leg in a quick snapping kick aimed at Seifer's ribs. The foot slammed hard into Seifer's side, and the knight grunted slightly. Seifer then rushed forward himself, tired of playing games, and his fists shot forward with shocking speed. Squall was slugged once, twice, then three times across the face, before Seifer grabbed him by his hair and slammed Squall's skull against the unyielding metal wall.  
  
Stars exploded across Squall's vision, and he felt himself being hurled across the room. He smashed hard against the opposite wall, and distantly heard Seifer ordering someone to take Squall away. Several hands roughly grabbed Squall beneath his armpits and hauled him to his feet, and he was dimly aware that he was being dragged out of his cell. A metal door slid open behind him as he began to recover from the daze.  
  
Squall's feet were being dragged across the floor, but then they were suddenly not being dragged as he pressed them hard against the metal, resisting the two guards who were dragging him. The two men stopped for a split second, surprised at his momentary resistance, and Squall snapped his body backwards, along his original route. The two guards were not expecting the swift breakout maneuver, and lost their grip on their prisoner for the instant Squall needed. He shot forward, out of their grasp, and planted his feet firmly on the metal deck.  
  
The guards began to shout something when Squall ducked low, spinning around, one leg leading in a swift sweep that dropped both men. Squall spotted what looked like a heavy baton on one prison guard's belt, and snatched it up off the prone man. The baton rose quickly and smashed into one guard's temple, knocking him out cold. These men wore simple uniforms, with no armor or helmets, and it took Squall only a second swing to drop the other guard. He rose quickly, brandishing his new weapon, when something smashed hard into the back of his head, and he flopped to the cold metal floor.  
  
"Valiant effort," Seifer commented from somewhere above and behind Squall as the SeeD blacked out.  
  
-------------------  
  
Zell stirred, rising from where he'd simply collapsed an hour ago, and sat up. The walls of the large, sparse room were still just as cold and bare as before, and Rinoa, Selphie, and Quistis still sat scattered around the large prison cell. Selphie was examining the large blast door, obviously looking for a way to force it open, while Quistis leaned against a wall near Zell. Rinoa was also sitting near Zell, but was looking down at the floor silently.  
  
The martial artist shook his head as he came around, and rubbed the spot on the back of his head where the soldiers had beaten him with the butts of their rifles on the way into the prison. At least, he assumed it was on the way in, as the entire group had been brought in with hoods over their heads after the battle in the archway yesterday. The three SeeDs had begun to descend the ladder to help Squall in his battle with Edea when a small army of police and soldiers had arrived. They'd taken the only available route out, which was through the sewers, but after a long, merry chase beneath Deling City's streets, the SeeDs had been caught between a wall and about a hundred very angry soldiers.  
  
"Welcome back, Zell," Quistis said, noticing Zell was regaining consciousness. "Was it the 'dream world' again?" The martial artist nodded and shook his head completely free of the cobwebs. He had collapsed and descended into the "dream world" of Laguna maybe an hour after arriving in the prison. Apparently, Rinoa had been shuffled into the same cell with the SeeDs, as she had already been waiting for them in this cell when they'd been pushed inside. She hadn't said much during the brief time they'd been jailed, but everyone could tell she was worried. The rest of the team was equally worried about the same thing: where was Squall?  
  
"How's Laguna doin'?" Selphie asked, an expectant look in her eyes, as if waiting for the latest news about her favorite celebrity. Zell shrugged, not having a definite answer.  
  
"Actually, I never saw Laguna," Zell explained. "I don't know much about Ward, but I know when he's frustrated. He's working as a janitor in some prison, and he's bored out of his mind!" At that, Rinoa looked up, suddenly interested.  
  
"All he wants is to find Laguna and be with his buddies," Zell added, shaking his head. He felt for the big man and his frustrations.  
  
"So, what is this we've been experiencing?" Quistis asked, stroking her chin thoughtfully.  
  
"How the hell should I know?" Zell growled, standing up. At that moment, he wished he had his Guardian Forces, but there was something weird about this prison that suppressed both GFs and magic in general - even Quistis could barely even get her innate blue magic to operate, and that was so weak as to be nothing more than a light show.  
  
They sat there for several long minutes, until Rinoa suddenly broke the silence.  
  
"Hey, Zell," Rinoa said. The martial artist glanced her way.  
  
"Yeah? What's up?" he asked.  
  
"You said Ward worked in some prison, right?" she asked, and Zell nodded.  
  
"Does this room look familiar?" she asked. For an instant, Zell wondered what the hell Rinoa meant, but then, her meaning clicked in the brawler's mind.  
  
"Yeah!" Zell shot to his feet, suddenly trying to remember as much as he could from his dream. Rinoa was right, this prison was familiar! It was the same prison Ward worked at, and even more importantly, as a staffer, Ward had been tasked with not just cleaning but also maintenence and operations in the control room at the top floor. Zell recalled the schematics of the prison, though his experiences as Ward had only been for a short while. Still, he quickly composed a map of this section of the prison from Ward's experiences as a janitor.  
  
Even as Zell's mind was racing with the new information, a shudder ran through the prison. Everyone looked up, confused, as they heard the rumbling of distant machinery.  
  
"What was that?" Selphie asked, jumping to her feet. At that moment, one section of the wall slid open, and a group of at least ten or more uniformed prison guards strode into the cell, led by a rough-looking, burly officer with a sadistic gleam in his eye. Zell frowned at the leader of the bunch, not liking him at all.  
  
"That's the sound of your friend getting what you scum should all deserve," the guard said, laughing. He crossed his arms as he looked over the group, and Zell caught the very base expression in his eyes as he looked at the women. Zell clenched his teeth and his fists in fury, but barely managed to keep himself under control, though control came more easily as he saw several of the guards carrying sub-machineguns.  
  
The lead guard turned to look at Zell, and sneered. He strode over to the martial artist, and grinned. Zell grimaced as he felt the foul breath of the brute.  
  
"You got a problem, punk?" the guard growled, his sneer growing. Zell responded by standing straight and stamping a foot down, meeting the vicious guard's gaze. The sadistic guard laughed again, then smacked Zell across the face with a baton. Zell staggered under the hit, but rose defiantly, only to get beaten again. Zell shrugged off the heavy blow, and caught the next swing on his forearm.  
  
In response, over half the guards rushed forward, brandishing batons and either beating Zell with the heavy clubs or with the butts of their sub- machineguns. The martial artist took a dozen hits to the face and torso, and several painful jabs to the stomach. He began to double over, and two sub-machinegun butts and a baton smashed into his exposed back. Another baton cracked into the back of Zell's skull, and even he couldn't hold out in the face of the brutal attack. Zell collapsed to the floor, and was kicked three or four times in the ribs, before the lead guard leaned down and grabbed him by the op of his hair. The guard pulled back, dragging Zell's face up so the SeeD could look the guard in the eyes.  
  
"That should be all the telling you punks need," the guard growled, grinning again. "Don't screw with me!" He then dropped Zell's head back to the deck and kicked him again for good measure.  
  
"Now, before I forget," he said, turning back to the women. "I'm looking for someone named Rinoa. Which one of you is her?"  
  
There was a moment of hesitation, and the sadistic guard spun back toward Zell and soccer-kicked him in the side, drawing a groan from the dazed brawler.  
  
"Stop!" Rinoa said, unable to bear watching Zell mercilessly beaten. "I'm Rinoa."  
  
"Good," the guard said, though he actually sounded unhappy that he couldn't beat on Zell anymore. "You're coming with us."  
  
"What are you gonna do to Rinoa, you bastard?" Zell growled, standing up. Two batons and a sub-machinegun butt sent him back to the floor, and the lead guard kicked Zell just because he could.  
  
"Come on!" the guard growled to Rinoa, who reluctantly nodded and began to walk toward the door. She looked back to her comrades and gave them a nod, as if to tell them she'd be fine.  
  
Quistis and Selphie weren't convinced, but they said nothing as the guards filed out with Rinoa. The door slid shut, sealing them once more into their blank metal prison.  
  
-------------------  
  
Squall felt an aching pain in his arms as he came to once again. His head was hanging forward, and he sensed a tight pressure around his wrists and ankles. He opened his eyes, and then understood.  
  
His arms were manacled to the wall above his head, and his feet were similarly restrained. He was strapped to a cold metal wall about five feet above the floor, though judging by the ache in his wrists he hadn't been there for too long. The room was a dull brown, all metal, though Squall spotted a pair of large electrical generators across the room. He glanced around the chamber, and spotted another prison guard, with a black mustache special insignia on his shoulder indicating he was the prison warden. The warden was talking with Seifer, but paused as soon as Squall began moving. Seifer nodded to the man and strode over to Squall. The knight paused beneath him, and looked up, sneering just as he had during the battle in the archway.  
  
"I'm sure you know what's going to happen next," Seifer stated, crossing his arms. Squall said nothing, only setting his teeth and gaze. Garden had given instructions on how to resist torture, and Squall ran them through his mind. He knew what he should and shouldn't give up, and recalled the proper mental state one needed to be in to resist pain and withstand the tortures.  
  
Squall flexed his muscles, testing the manacles, and understood how solid they were. Maybe if he'd had his Guardian Forces, he might have stood a chance . . . .  
  
"What do you want?" Squall asked after a moment.  
  
"Edea wants to know what SeeD is," Seifer replied, drawing Hyperion and pointing it at Squall.  
  
"You could tell her that yourself," Squall replied, not understanding the question. "Don't you already know? Its common knowledge."  
  
"I'm not a SeeD," Seifer explained. "That's the problem. There's some kind of secret they tell you once you make SeeD, isn't there? What is it?"  
  
"There isn't," Squall replied, shaking his head. What was Seifer getting at? "And even if there was, you'd be stupid to think I'd tell it to you."  
  
Seifer nodded, as if he'd been expecting this all along.  
  
"I figured as much," Seifer said, resting Hyperion on his shoulder. "You're on my tough-nut-to-crack list. I knew you wouldn't talk that easily, and to tell the truth, I'm glad you're being stubborn. Makes me proud!"  
  
"I'm honored," Squall replied without emotion, understanding what would happen next. He closed his eyes and distanced himself from his body and the sensations he was receiving.  
  
"That's why I've got a little something for you!" Seifer said, and Squall heard the knight's fingers snap, and the warden flip a lever.  
  
A guttural roar that Squall wasn't even aware he was making escaped from his lips as agony shot through his body. Squall went into a series of violent convulsions as pain racked his entire body, electricity sparking and arcing across his skin.  
  
It ended sooner than Squall could have hoped, and he slumped in his shackles, but quickly recovered, flexing his muscles. He looked back down at Seifer, giving him a defiant glare that mocked the brief torture as something trivial.  
  
"Even if you don't talk, others will," Seifer commented, seeming unfazed by Squall's easy resistance to the interrogation. "The instructor, the little messenger girl, Chicken-Wuss . . . hell, he wouldn't last three seconds!"  
  
Squall's eyes widened, and Seifer grinned, knowing he'd hit Squall in a spot no physical torture could touch.  
  
"They're here?" Squall asked, but even as he spoke, Squall realized that he should have known they'd be here all along.  
  
"Oh, you bet," Seifer replied, enjoying the moment. "They're all down on the seventh floor, waiting their turn. But since I like you so much, I thought you should go first."  
  
"Always doing favors for a friend, huh?" Squall asked, managing a slight chuckle. Seifer nodded, chuckling as well.  
  
"Where is my gear?" Squall asked, more to delay Seifer from repeating the torture and give him more time to prepare. Seifer gestured to a nearby box by the door.  
  
"Don't worry, its all right there," Seifer replied, smiling. "Well, your clothes, at least. I'll have to get your gunblade from the confiscated materials room later. Regulations."  
  
"You want a rematch?" Squall asked, laughing. "You were the one to get your ass kicked this time." Seifer didn't laugh at that, but after a second, he did smile.  
  
"As long as we're on that subject, Squall, tell me," Seifer asked, sheathing Hyperion. "How did I look in my moment of triumph? My childhood dream fulfilled! I've become the Sorceress' knight, and the ultimate warrior!"  
  
Squall blinked, recalling Seifer's words only a short while ago at the graduation ceremony. Seifer's dream . . . to become the greatest warrior of all time? Was that what Edea had promised him through becoming her knight? But yet, he'd become something less than that now. He was just a sadistic torturer for the Sorceress.  
  
"Come on, Squall, say something!" Seifer added, laughing. "This is the scene where you swear your undying hatred for me! The evil mercenary against the Sorceress' knight! Don't disappoint me!" Squall said nothing during Seifer's strange, insane rant, until Seifer snapped his fingers again.  
  
Squall tried to distance himself from physical sensations as the lever snapped down, and agony shot through his body once again.  
  
--------------------  
  
Selphie had tried casting curative magic on Zell's wounds, but the bruises and cuts barely showed any improvement. Her magic was still somehow suppressed by the environment, just like their Guardian Force junctions. Zell had heard of some technologies that could contain and disable magic, and if something like that was in effect here, it would explain a lot.  
  
So, the SeeDs had sat around, Zell occasionally rubbing his bruises, and began forming escape plans. They didn't have much, just Zell's experiences as Ward, which would come in handy if they ever got out of the cell. Unfortunately, the walls were made of solid, virtually impenetrable metal, and there appeared to be no way to open the doors from the inside, nor any means by which to access the mechanisms short of ripping apart the metal floors and walls. There was a card reader inside the cell, but it was well-armored, with recessed screws, and Zell suspected that the actual circuitry for the panel was buried too deep to get to even if the panel was removed.  
  
They were still planning with what little they had when the metal door swung open. The SeeDs looked up to see a strange creature enter the room. It was about four feet tall, with bright orange fur that turned red along its long, whip-like tail. The creature had huge, four toed paws with short, stubby claws, and a face that strangely resembled a combination of both humanoid and leonid features. The fur on top of its head stuck straight up and back, and the tips of the fur were a deep crimson.  
  
The creature was carrying a plate with what looked like a large, if not completely appetizing, meal, but the SeeDs were entranced by the little red and orange creature. None of them had seen a Moomba in the flesh. the creatures were native to Selphie's home of Trabia, and were the one of the evolved versions of the strange race of nonhumans in that region known as the Shumi. Moombas were sentient, but their actual mental powers were less than those of an ordinary human or an unevolved Shumi. However, the creatures made for great laborers, and Galbadia was notorious for kidnapping Moombas as slaves.  
  
The Moomba walked in with the plate, and strode toward the SeeDs, though its eyes were downcast and it moved with what seemed to be broken resignation, which was as telling as the pair of manacles around its lower legs. All three SeeDs felt the Moomba's pain, and knew that it was as much a prisoner as they were.  
  
The Moomba approached the SeeDs and was about to set the tray down when it mis-stepped and fell forward, spilling the food tray with a resounding clatter of metal on metal. Almost immediately, the vicious, sadistic guard stepped in through the open door, alerted by the sound.  
  
"What happened?" he asked, rushing across the room to stand over the Moomba. The little orange creature immediately scrambled to its feet, but cowered slightly before the brutal guard. The guard scowled at it, and saw the spilled food tray.  
  
"Dumbass Moomba!" he shouted, kicking the Moomba in the face so hard it flipped over into its stomach.  
  
"Bastard!" Zell roared, too angry to hold back his wrath anymore. He snapped to his feet, and as the sadistic guard spun to smack him with the baton, Zell deflected the blow off his forearm. The man's eyes widened as Selphie and Quistis jumped up as well.  
  
"Yeah, leave him alone you big meanie!" Selphie complained, putting her hands on her hips. The guard raised his baton to strike again, but Zell caught it and held it fast. The sadistic guard tried pulling his hand free, but Zell's grasp was iron hard. The man opened his mouth to call for help, but Zell silenced him with a powerful uppercut into the stomach. The guard wheezed as the air was ejected from his lungs, and doubled over, giving Zell an excellent shot into the back of his head. The vicious guard promptly dropped.  
  
"Heh, he went down easy," Zell remarked, clapping his hands as if to clean them. Even as he did so, Selphie ran to the still-open cell door, and peeked out. From her vantage point, she could clearly see that this floor was circular, with a walkway encircling the chamber and a wide hole in the center. She spotted a staircase near their cell, leading to the levels above and below this one, and from what she could see, the entire prison was shaped similarly to this level.  
  
By that time, Quistis - and a second later, Zell - had moved to the door, the rescued Moomba tagging along.  
  
"Where are all the guards?" Quistis asked, scanning the floor. With the exception of the sadistic bastard Zell had taken out, there were no other uniformed prison guards on this floor. At the far end of the room was a pair of baton-wielding Galbadian soldiers escorting a group of Moombas going about the food delivery task, but that was it.  
  
Zell leaned out of the door and caught a number marked above their cell door. 7-B2. He nodded, then looked back to his fellow SeeDs.  
  
"Seventh level. If I remember correctly, the storage and evidence lockers are on the ninth level, and that's where all our weapons and gear will be." Zell nodded toward the soldiers. "And if I also remember correctly, the guards usually take breaks around feeding time, so there shouldn't be very many of 'em around."  
  
"Even so, we're unarmed," Quistis said. "Not to mention it won't be long before that man you decked is missed."  
  
"Don't worry," Zell replied with a smile. "My weapons are my fists, remember? I'll head up alone, it'll be easier for me to hide. And besides, I know this place a lot better."  
  
"Better shut the door so the guards won't get suspicious," Selphie added. The Moomba had apparently understood the conversation and bounded over to the unconscious guard. It returned a second later with a pair of card keys. Zell nodded and took one, while Quistis took the other.  
  
"Be back soon!" Zell said, and stepped outside the cell. Behind him, the cell door slid shut.  
  
--------------------  
  
The agony ended, but Squall's body still ached with pain from the electricity. He panted hard, head hanging with exhaustion, his throat raw from the pain-filled scream he was dimly aware aware he'd been making. Stubbornly, the SeeD raised his head, and glared at Seifer.  
  
"I'll ask again," Seifer said, leaning back against the far wall. "What is SeeD? Why do they oppose the Sorceress?"  
  
"Oppose?" Squall muttered hoarsely, not understanding. If Seifer was referring to the assassination attempt, that was an act of self-defense. Surely Seifer knew that. But it almost seemed as if Seifer meant that SeeD was actively opposing Edea for some other reason.  
  
"Sir Seifer," a guard called from the doorway to the room. Squall looked that way, as did Seifer.  
  
"Yeah?" Seifer asked, annoyed at being interrupted.  
  
"The missiles are nearly ready for launch, sir."  
  
"Good," Seifer replied. "Send the word to the base commander that I will be meeting with Edea to confirm the missile launch immediately." The guard nodded and left quickly. Seifer turned back to Squall and drew Hyperion.  
  
"That was part of Edea's plan to deal with SeeD," Seifer explained, almost conversationally. "Missiles are about to be fired at both Trabia and Balamb Garden."  
  
Squall jerked as if he had been slapped. Galbadia was going to fire on Garden?  
  
"Too bad, too," Seifer added, shrugging. "I grew up there too, but orders are orders. Garden is to be destroyed on grounds of training SeeDs to oppose the Sorceress."  
  
"No . . . ." Squall muttered, shaking his head.  
  
"After Garden has been annihilated, the SeeD hunt will begin," Seifer added, holding up and aiming with Hyperion like a hunting rifle. "I'll hunt down every one of your kind. It'll be fun." Seifer laughed openly, and spun toward the door. "Don't die on me, Squall." With that, Seifer swept out of the room, the door sealing behind him.  
  
The mustached warden crossed the room and looked up at Squall, arms folded across his chest.  
  
"Ready to talk?" the man asked, and Squall glared at him.  
  
"I don't know what it is you want," he replied truthfully.  
  
"Don't give me that shit!" the warden shot back, crossing the room to the switch. "Edea says you know something about SeeD! Spit it out!"  
  
Squall endured several long, agonizing seconds as electricity coursed through his body, before the warden cut the power. Squall panted again, slumping in his shackles, as the warden walked back over to him.  
  
"Hm? Had enough yet?" he barked, and waited as Squall spent several long seconds slumped in pain. Finally the SeeD's head rose. The warden's eyebrows arched, expecting Squall to speak.  
  
A wad of spit struck him between the eyes instead.  
  
"Go screw yourself," Squall added, giving the warden a venomous and defiant glare.  
  
The warden's jaw clenched in fury, and he ran over to the control panel and flipped the switch. By that time, though, Squall was ready, bracing himself and distancing his mind from his body as the pain erupted along his body. The warden jumped the power level to extremes, and Squall screamed in agony. Then, mercifully, he slipped into unconsciousness.  
  
--------------------  
  
When Rinoa had been led to the top level of the prison, she had been expecting torture, or something even worse. She was not expecting to be led to the entrance to the D District Prison, nor who would be waiting there for her to take her home.  
  
"What are you doing here?' she demanded after the guards had cleared her to leave. She had stepped onto an elevator that was fast descending to the vehicle hangar, standing beside the one who had come to take her away.  
  
"To get you," Irvine Kinneas replied with an uncomfortable shrug. "Your father asked me to pick you up."  
  
"And the others?" Rinoa asked, angry that Caraway hadn't included them.  
  
"He didn't say anything about that," Irvine replied as the speedy elevator stopped outside the hangar.  
  
"But we can't just leave them!" Rinoa complained, but Irvine would hear none of it. He crossed the hangar to a waiting army truck and opened the door. Rinoa followed, despite her anger. She doubted she would be able to help rescue Squall without Irvine's help.  
  
"Get in," Irvine added, opening the passenger door. Rinoa complied, sitting down and glaring at Irvine mercilessly. The sharpshooter ignored her and started the vehicle. Moments later, they were outside the prison, under the glaring light of the desert sun and yellow sands.  
  
"You can't be serious about just leaving them behind!" Rinoa stated after several minutes. Irvine did not look up, which was something Rinoa was counting on. She knew he didn't want to leave his comrades behind, and she played on that as much as possible.  
  
"Orders are orders!" Irvine snapped back. "Your father wants you safe, and he's taking a massive risk just springing you."  
  
"I don't care!" Rinoa replied, shaking her head forcefully. "We have to go back to the prison!" When Irvine reluctantly shook his head, Rinoa grabbed the door handle for the car and swung it open. Irvine yelped in surprise and jammed the brakes, stopping the vehicle in mid-movement. Rinoa leaped out of the car and stood to the side of the vehicle, arms folded across her chest, while Irvine rushed out.  
  
"What the hell are you-" he began.  
  
"We're going back." Rinoa stated defiantly. Irvine shook his head.  
  
"Squall and the others will be fine. They'll get out of there when the time comes."  
  
"You don't know that!" Rinoa replied. "Squall may stay, saying no one's ordered him to escape. We have to go help them." While the jab at Squall was mostly just exaggeration, Irvine got the message. He seemed uncertain, until Rinoa strode around the vehicle and roughly shoved the sharpshooter back inside.  
  
"Hey! No pushing, and - _ow!_" Irvine cringed as Rinoa scratched him across the face with her fingernails. "Hey! Quit that!"  
  
"Turn this thing around, now!" Rinoa demanded, scratching him again.  
  
"Okay! Okay! Stop that!" Irvine pleaded in the face of Rinoa's unorthodox, but effective, tactic. "Get in the passenger seat!"  
  
Rinoa did so, circling around the vehicle and climbing in. Irvine threw the vehicle into reverse, and spun around. He shook his head as they drove back toward the prison, then looked over his shoulder to the rear of the vehicle.  
  
"Look, I was gonna go back anyway after I got you out," Irvine explained, which surprised Rinoa. "While we're headed back, could you open that big box in the cargo compartment?" he added. Rinoa looked behind her seat and saw a large plastic crate there. She leaned over and popped it open, then blinked in shock at the contents.  
  
"A personal collection I managed to procure from Garden when I said things might get dicey," Irvine explained with a grin as the D District Prison loomed above them once more.  
  
--------------------  
  
Zell peeked his head around the corner, just enough so that he could see onto the ninth floor. A quick scan showed no guards near the stairs, so he moved a bit further up. As with the level below, Zell did spot pair of soldiers escorting Moombas going about their business, but those men were at the far end of the chamber, and Zell went unseen. Nonetheless, he stealthily crept forward, making sure that there were no surveillence devices watching him or guards taking smoke breaks in inconveniently located corners.  
  
Zell made it to the confiscated materials room easily enough, and used the stolen card key to open the door. The metal door swished open quietly, and Zell peeked inside. The room consisted of a large number of freestanding shelves upon which were piles all sorts of items. Lockers, some with heavy-duty safe locks on them, occupied three of the walls. The martial artist froze when he heard voices inside, but they were coming from behind a shelf to the left, out of sight. Quietly, the brawler crept in, staying low and trying not to make any noise.  
  
He needn't have bothered, as the two men were speaking loudly, muffling Zell's footsteps. He edged around the shelf the men were standing behind, attracted by the subject of their conversation.  
  
"So, these are SeeD weapons?" one of the men asked. Now that Zell had a good look at them, he saw that they were clad like regular Galbadian infantrymen, though they were armed with batons instead of swords, and had large black "MP" insignia over the Galbadian crest on their shoulder guards. Galbadian military police and prison guards, apparently.  
  
"Interesting stuff, too," the second MP offered. "Nunchaku, chain whip," the man reached into the locker they were inspecting and drew out Squall's Revolver. "Is this a gunblade?"  
  
"Never seen one for real," the first MP added, inspecting the intricate craftsmanship. Unnoticed behind them, Zell slipped silently forward.  
  
"Heard they used some type of high technology involving concussive energy," the second said, opening the chamber on the gunblade. He never got a chance to look into them however, as Zell's left hand snaked around his neck, grabbed his chin, and pulled up and back while the other hand pushed hard against the back of the MP's neck. The soldier's vertebrae popped like a dry twig, and even before the man had hit the floor, Zell had spun on the second guard. The man snatched his baton off his belt, but Zell grasped the man's wrist and twisted, sending a searing hot pain down the soldier's arm. He dropped the baton, and Zell's other fist smashed into the guard's throat, crushing his windpipe.  
  
The man fell to the floor, trying to breathe through a throat that couldn't handle air anymore, while Zell snatched up the weapons and emptied the lockers of their gear and hurried out of the room. He didn't like having to kill like that, but considering the situation, Zell knew he'd had no choice. In a fair fight, he might not have won, especially with his magic supressed.  
  
A few tense minutes of evading guard patrols later, Zell had made his way back to the cell where Quistis and Selphie waited. He stepped in, closing the door behind him to cut out prying eyes.  
  
"I come bearing gifts!" Zell crowed, handing Selphie her nunchaku and Quistis her rante. They quickly took their weapons, and also their extra gear, including various potions and backup knives. The little Moomba, who had opted to stay with the women, growled its approval.  
  
"Okay, now we've got our gear back," Quistis said, checking her rante to make sure it was undamaged. "But without our junctions, we're not too much better off."  
  
"Sorry, didn't think of that," Zell replied, shrugging. "I don't know where the anti-magic generator is located. They must have installed that after my experience with Ward."  
  
As Zell was speaking, however, the cell door swept open. The SeeDs turned to face the two men stepping into the room, both clad in MP uniforms, though one wore the red of an officer.  
  
"So, private, is this the cell with the new prisoners?" the officer asked, with a strangely familiar voice.  
  
"Yes, sir, Lieutenant Biggs sir!" replied the lower-ranking officer, with an equally familiar voice. The name "Biggs" was all Selphie and Zell needed to remember the incompetent duo of Galbadian soldiers in the Communication Tower from a little over a week ago.  
  
Biggs and Wedge apparently recognized Selphie and Zell as well, as the two soldiers froze immediately upon seeing the familiar SeeDs.  
  
"Hey! What an unexpected bonus!" Biggs crowed as soon as he realized who the prisoners were. "I didn't expect to be able to pay you punks back so soon after what you did in Dollet!" The demoted Biggs threw his head back and laughed. "I know it may seem cowardly to beat up on unarmed prisoners, but it's a dog-eat-dog world, and-"  
  
Quistis snapped her whip, and the chains of Selphie's nunchaku rattled as their weapons came out, cutting Biggs off in mid-sentence. The officer stopped, and looked back and forth between the armed SeeDs, and the tatooed kid who needed no weapons.  
  
"Sir, they seem fully armed," Wedge commented, hand dropping to his baton.  
  
"You don't think I know that!" Biggs shot back. He loaded his arm- mounted guns. "Armed or not, you kids are dead! You hear me! Dead!"  
  
Quistis' whip wrapped around Biggs' foot even as he spoke, and a quick tug threw the officer off his feet. Biggs hit the floor heavily, and then his breath was blasted from his lungs as nearly two-hundred pounds of Zell Dincht jumped onto his stomach. Biggs groaned and black out from the impact.  
  
Wedge had only just begun to draw his baton when Selphie's nunchaku entangled the club. A quick tug by the tiny SeeD yanked the baton from Wedge's grasp, and the soldier began to back away, only to take his own baton in the face as Selphie snapped her nunchaku back around, throwing the club at the soldier. Wedge staggered under the hit, and then was knocked off his feet as Selphie closed the distance and smashed him with both bars of her weapon.  
  
"Simple enough," Zell commented, stretching after hopping off the unconscious lieutenant. "Now its time for the breakout!"  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------  
  
Whoo. I liekd doing that chapter. Reminded me of Metal Gear in several ways. I almost did the ketchup escape trick, but decided not to. You may find some Metal Gear lines here and there too.  
  
Obviously, in this chapter, there was some signifigant deviation from the established script, especially in when the scenes were presented. I also added in the scenew ith Rinoa and Irvine, not only to show that was happening, but also as to lead into the next chapter. The next chapter will be, quite simply, Irvine's chance to be all he can be! A good way to describe the upcoming chapter is with a great movie quote.  
  
"Guns. Lots of guns."  
  
Also, I'm discontinuing shout-outs in my chapters. I'll submit reviews which will contain shout-outs instead. 


	30. Prison Shooting Spree

Chapter 25: Prison Shooting Spree  
  
The guards in Tower One looked up as the teenager wearing the cowboy hat walked back into the entry room at the top floor. The D District Prison was divided into three towers, the first being the administrative wing, while the second and third were actual prisons. Naturally, one had to go through Tower One if one wanted to enter or leave the complex, as that was the only tower with an elevator.  
  
The prison guards were surprised that the female prisoner who he had left with just minutes ago accompanied the kid, but they were not alarmed. Most of them went back to reading their newspapers or talking about the latest football scores, lounging around the security desks just behind the weapon detectors. The teenager, having already gone through the entry process, knew what to do, and set the heavy sport bag he was carrying on the conveyor belt to run through the X-ray scanner. He then stepped through the weapon detector, the girl he returned with waiting behind him to pass through as well.  
  
A harsh wail from the detector caught the majority of the guards' attention, but they did not raise any weapons. The kid, they knew, carried several guns on him, so his setting off the detector didn't alarm them. One guard sighed and stood, taking out a metal detector and stepping over to the kid.  
  
"Could you please remove any metallic items you might be carrying?" the guard asked, repeating the phrase he'd used hundreds of times before. "Any keys, loose change, personal sidearms . . . ."  
  
The kid nodded, and opened his trenchcoat wide. The guard glanced down, expecting to see the twin revolvers the kid carried, and was not disappointed. However, he saw far more than just those revolvers, for in addition to the .357's, the kid wore a quartet of holstered Beretta 92FS handguns along the side of his body, two MP5K sub-machineguns on his hips, and a pair of AB-10 machine pistols below those in thigh holsters. A bandoleer of fragmentation hand grenades were positioned around the kid's waist, and in numerous pockets in his coat were magazines and speed loaders for his various weapons. Not visible to the guard were the special Calico M950 sub-machinguns resting in holsters on the back of the kid's bandoleer.  
  
"Holy shit!" the guard managed to say as Irvine Kinneas whipped out the AB-10s. He fired a quick three-round burst at the man in front from both machine pistols, throwing the man back to the floor with blood flying from six bullet holes. As the man fell, the AB-10s rose and Irvine's arms crossed, pointing the machine pistols in opposite directions. He squeezed the triggers, sending a hail of bullets from both weapons in either direction. Guards began to stand up or raise their own sidearms when streams of automatic gunfire cut them down. Those not immediately killed by the initial shots dove for cover, though none made it to safety before Irvine's shots caught up with them.  
  
However, one man managed to make it behind a desk and slap the emergency alarm button before succumbing to his wounds. Immediately, klaxons sounded throughout the building and the adjoining towers as the intruder alert was issued.  
  
"Not good," Irvine commented, glancing back to Rinoa. In the brief firefight, the heavy bag Irvine had sent through the scanner had arrived, and he opened it. He tossed the girl her arm-mounted crossbow, as well as a Walther PPK, in case she needed the handgun, before shouldering the bag. Almost as an afterthought, Irvine quickly reloaded his AB-10s and holstered them, then reached into the bag. He kept his trusty rifle there, but didn't want to use it right away. Only if things got dicey would he switch to the Valiant. Instead, Irvine dug in and pulled out an assault rifle, a compact M4A1 carbine.  
  
He shouldered the compact rifle, and slid a huge drum magazine into the weapon, then fitted a separate grenade launcher to the underside of the weapon. Irvine glanced back to Rinoa, who stood ready behind him.  
  
"Squall's waiting for us," she said, and Irvine nodded. Now that he was committed to his course, he was not afraid. The sharpshooter moved the action on his compact rifle, and led the way.  
  
The D District Prison's towers rose high above the sands of the Dingo Desert, and each tower was connected to the others by metallic bridges spanning the gaps. Irvine and Rinoa ran out of Tower One and onto the bridge leading to Tower Two, where Squall and the other SeeDs were being held. They ran across swiftly, the desert sun beating down on them and casting reflections off the gray metal of the narrow bridges, and made it halfway across before incident.  
  
Out of both towers across from the first charged squads of Galbadian soldiers, clad in full armor. Irvine saw them coming, and leveled his weapon at the soldiers directly in front. Those men ahead of the group raised their own rifles, but went flying as Irvine launched a grenade into their midst while still on the run. And entire squad was either ripped apart by the grenade blast or hurled off the edge of the bridge, and the survivors retreated, falling back to the inside of the tower.  
  
The soldiers from Tower Three, however, did not fall back. Taking cover behind the solid metal railing of the bridge, they opened fire on the two intruders. Rinoa returned fire with a quick pair of shots, before ducking behind the protecting wall of her own bridge's railing. Irvine also dove for cover, before moving down about ten feet and popping up. He squeezed the trigger on his rifle, sending a barrage of bullets at the Galbadians on the far bridge. Several soldiers fell, and the others ducked behind their covering wall. Irvine continued firing in staggered bursts, sidestepping down the bridge.  
  
With Irvine keeping the Galbadians occupied with keeping their heads on their shoulders, Rinoa rose and followed the sharpshooter. She added fire from her handgun, though the smaller weapon was not as powerful or accurate as Irvine's assault rifle. She tried keeping her hands steady, but they still trembled as bullets flew around them. A Galbadian soldier rose from behind cover and fired at her, and she cried out as a bullet lodged in her left shoulder. She dropped behind cover, clutching the wound. Rinoa glanced down at the injury, her hand coming away bloody, but was surprised to see it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be.  
  
"Rinoa!" Irvine shouted, firing another burst that emptied his weapon. He dropped down beside her, reloading his rifle.  
  
"It's not bad," Rinoa quickly replied. "My junctions took most of the damage."  
  
"You can junction?" Irvine asked, slapping a fresh drum magazine into the M4. He popped up and fired again. Another soldier cried out, clutching his chest as the 5.56mm rounds punched through, and collapsed over the railing. Irvine ducked back down for an instant, avoiding the counter, and tapped his chest. "Better than body armor, I'd say."  
  
"Squall taught me," Rinoa explained, casting a quick curative spell on her injured shoulder. The flesh quickly reformed, the regenerating tissue pushing the lodged bullet out of her skin. She picked up the handgun again, but didn't use it immediately. Instead, she rose from behind cover and gestured forcefully toward the soldiers. Fire exploded from her hand and rocketed toward them, scattering several of the soldiers and blasting those who did not dodge aside quickly enough.  
  
"Remind me not to get on your bad side," Irvine replied, ducking behind cover as more bullets struck his cover. He looked down the bridge, to see the Galbadian soldiers there crouched behind the entrance to Tower Two. One of them was fiddling with a control device, which Irvine knew immediately would be a bad thing, no matter what it was. He spun around, launching a three-round burst into the control room. None of the bullets actually hit the man, but they impacted around him, throwing up sparks as they struck control panels, and sent the soldier diving for cover.  
  
However, he must have completed whatever he was doing, as the blast door leading into Tower Two began to close, sliding down.  
  
"Rinoa!" Irvine shouted, and Rinoa saw what he meant. Irvine dropped the M4 behind him as he and Rinoa rose, running at full speed toward the descending door. Reaching behind him, Irvine snatched up the Calicos off his belt, pointing the weapon in his left hand toward the distant bridge and spraying cover fire at the remaining soldiers there, while pointing the other ahead.  
  
The soldiers behind the door, realizing that Irvine was headed their way, stepped or leaned out from behind cover and opened fire with their rifles. Irvine grunted as he felt a powerful impact in his chest, but kept running. The bullet did not punch through the body armor he had donned beneath his vest.  
  
Two more rounds struck Irvine in the chest before he countered with the Calico in his right hand. The machine pistol sprayed showers of bullets at the Galbadian soldiers, Irvine trying to manuever the weapon's muzzle to keep the Galbadian soldiers in his sights despite the jostling his running was doing to the weapon. Two of the soldiers fell with fatal wounds, clutching bullet-riddled chests, and several more were wounded, their arms blasted. Those not hit ducked behind cover as the door continued descending, hiding from the constant stream of 9mm rounds. The sharpshooter's legs pumped even more furiously as he rushed across the bridge, but after several seconds he skidded to a halt, then hit the deck as more bullets from the distant bridge reached out toward their position. The descending door was already too far down for them to make it inside Tower Two. Beside the sharpshooter, Rinoa crouched as well, holding her handgun tightly in hands that still trembled. She ducked a bit lower as another bullet ricocheted off the metal railing.  
  
"Back to the first tower!" Irvine ordered, looking back toward Rinoa. "There has to be a master control somewhere in there that can open the door!" She nodded, and Irvine stood, leveling both Calicos at the distant enemy soldiers and emptying the magazines in their general direction. Together, the two scrambled back up the bridge, Irvine discarding the spent weapons and drawing his AB-10s. He fired a series of bursts at the ducking enemy soldiers, and at least one dropped, clutching his throat in a vain attempt to stem the damage three bullets had inflicted to it.  
  
The Galbadians returned fire, their rounds bouncing and pinging off the metal. Irvine's replies were much more accurate, dropping another pair of enemy soldiers as he began to slow, covering Rinoa's retreat. The girl made it inside Tower One within moments, with Irvine two steps behind. The sharpshooter scanned the entrance, and spotted a staircase against the north wall, leading up to the next level. He dropped his spent AB-10s and reached into his pack, drawing a shotgun.  
  
"Let's go!" Rinoa hissed, already rushing toward the staircase, and Irvine scrambled after her.  
  
--------------------  
  
"Where the hell is that Moomba?" one of the guards asked, escorting the quartet of Moombas doing food delivery on Level Seven. He and his partner were near the stairs, closing on Cell 7-B2. Behind the two bored MPs, a shadow deepened, but no one paid it any attention.  
  
"Taking its time," the second replied. He drew his baton and slapped it across his left hand, grinning."If Captian Veek doesn't punish it, it'll be our job."  
  
"Bah," the first said, shaking his head. "Veek always punishes. He'd beat dead bodies if they could feel pain. He won't pass up the opportunity to smack around a Moomba."  
  
"Still, if he's busy . . . ." the second man added, laughing. The other guard began to laugh as well, but paused as he noticed a shadow looming up over them. He spun, whipping out his baton, but stopped as the source of the shadow looming over the duo became apparent.  
  
"Shit! Stupid Moomba!" the guard hissed, seeing the Moomba standing in front of one of the lamps set into the wall near the floor. "Don't do that!" He brandished the baton and strode over to the tardy beast, his comrade joining him a second later. Behind the guards, the door to cell 7- B2 slid open.  
  
"I'll teach you to be late, you ugly little-" he continued, but never finished the threat as a chain whip wrapped around his neck, the curved blade on the end whipping around to bury into the side of his head just above his mouth. The other guard's legs went out from under him thanks to a sweep of a leg, and as he fell back, Zell Dincht leaped onto his chest, a metal-plated fist leading into the guard's stomach. The man wheezed out a gasp of air as his chest was emptied of oxygen, and Zell sent an elbow cracking into the man's mouth. The guard's head dropped to the floor as consciousness flew from him.  
  
Quistis untangled her whip from the mess that remained of her victim's head, and snapped the whip back up, catching it just beneath the blade. Behind her, Selphie twirled her nunchaku, unhappy she had been unable to get into the action. The Moombas had panicked during the brief battle, scattering around the wide chamber on all fours, excepting the one who had distracted the guards.  
  
That Moomba made a quick, high-pitched yelp, which attracted the attention of the rest of the group. A loud growl, followed by what seemed like a mix between a purr and a bark attracted the rest of the creatures to the Moomba. They bounded back to the "speaking" creature, which quickly spoke to them in a strange mixture of growls, quiet roars, and whines. After several seconds, the remainder of the Moombas growled in unison and turned toward the watching SeeDs.  
  
"Laguna!" one of them called in a high-pitched voice, startling the SeeDs.  
  
"What's going on?" Selphie asked, excited by the mention of the mysterious soldier.  
  
"Hell if I know," Zell added, but then was surprised as Quistis stepped toward the creatures. She crouched in front of the small orange beasts.  
  
"Do you know where our friend is?" she asked, and the Moomba who had spoken nodded in an oddly human-like manner.  
  
"Laguna!" it repeated, and was echoed by several other Moombas.  
  
"Lock!" another growled, and a chorus of roars and growls answered the word. Then, the group of Moombas seemed to explode, four-foot-tall orange beasts scrambling around the SeeDs toward the stairs on all fours. Within seconds, they were gone from sight. Zell scratched his head, perplexed by the weird actions of the Moomba horde, and looked back to Quistis.  
  
"What did you do?" Selphie asked, equally confused. Quistis rose, smiling.  
  
"Blue magic," she replied with a shrug. "I said I could understand the magic of nonhumans, but that comes from an understanding of nonhuman creatures in general."  
  
"So, what was that all about?" Zell asked, not getting what Quistis meant. "You knew what they were saying?"  
  
"It was an educated guess," she replied. "I think they know something about Squall."  
  
"You think they know where he is?" the martial artist asked, and Quistis nodded. "Then what are we waiting for! Let's follow 'em!"  
  
Zell led the group toward the stairs the Moombas had rushed up, and then jerked as a klaxon boomed over speakers somewhere within the prison.  
  
"_Warning! Intruder alert! Repeat, intruder alert! All personnel report to security stations and prepare to repel intruders! The anti-magic field will be lifted and mechanized sentries will be activated. Lethal force authorized for any escapees who refuse to surrender!"  
_  
The SeeDs suddenly felt a surge of energy shoot through their muscles and sinews. Zell flexed one of his arms, and nodded as he saw the already impressive muscles on that arm tighten into bands of steel. Quistis and Selphie seemed to experience similar transitions, as the energy of their stocked magic hardened and enhanced their bodies.  
  
"Back in business, baby!" Zell shouted with a thumbs up. That shout almost cost him his head as a quartet of Galbadian MPs rushed down the stairs, one leveling a shotgun at Zell's face. The man fired, and Zell threw himself backward, his back parallel to the floor. The buckshot flew overhead, and Zell snapped himself back upright.  
  
"Hands up!" another MP shouted, raising his rifle.  
  
Quistis' whip entangled the rifle, and she snapped the weapon out of the man's hands with effortless ease. A second snapping strike sent the whip into the man's chest, the blade tearing a bloody hole across his armor.  
  
The man's comrades began to level their own firearms when a blast of lightning took one in the stomach and sent him sprawling at the base of the stairs. Selphie's nunchaku followed the blast of magic, whacking the other guard upside his head with shocking force. The man staggered, and Selphie spun, swinging her heavy nunchaku with all her deceptive strength. The iron bar came around at extremely high speeds, and smashed into the soldier's head so hard as to crush his helmet inward and smash his skull. The man went flying back and away to slam into the wall beside the stairs.  
  
The guard who fired at Zell pumped his shotgun, but in that split second necessary to load the next shell, the brawling SeeD was already in front of the guard. Zell's left hand grabbed the barrel of the weapon - Zell grimaced away the burning heat from the discharged weapon's barrel - and pushed the shotgun out of line. His right hand rose in a powerful forward jab, smashing into the soldier's chest and pounding his armor inward. The man flew backward, losing his grip on his shotgun, to crash heavily into the base of the stairs. Zell raised the gun like a spear and threw it like one as well, the butt of the weapon driving into the stunned, prone soldier's mouth hard enough to break his jaw and render him unconscious.  
  
"Hurry!" Quistis shouted, running past Zell and leaping over the unconcious soldier. "There's no time!" Zell and Selphie agreed, following Quistis up the stairs as the klaxons continued sounding.  
  
--------------------  
  
Irvine's shotgun kicked, and the buckshot blasted clean through the armor of the Galbadian MP perched on the landing. The man fell back, slumping against the wall, and Irvine dashed past the dying soldier, reloading his weapon frantically. Behind him, Rinoa kept her gaze up, the PPK pointing up through the stairwell, ready for any threats.  
  
She spotted movement and was ready as another Galbadian leaned over the edge of the staircase one level above, pointing his rifle down. The compact handgun fired once, then twice, the first bullet deflecting off the soldier's shoulder guard, while the second struck the man in the throat. He fell back out of sight.  
  
Irvine bounded up the stairs, sweeping his shotgun up and to the left as he did so, ready for any threats. He encountered no more enemy military police, and continued up past the dying soldier Rinoa had shot. He quickly moved up, stopping at the next landing, which led to the same floor as the control room. Holding his shotgun up one-handed, Irvine cracked the door open, then slid a pair of grenades off his belt. He edged the door open a bit more, and popped the pins on the weapons before tossing them inside. Irvine shut the door quickly, and heard several exclamations of surprise mixed with fear on the other side, followed by a pair of resounding explosions. The sharpshooter kicked in the door and swept the hallway, satisfied with seeing several shrapnel-riddled corpses strewn across the hallway. He waved Rinoa to follow him, and then rushed down the hall, shotgun raised.  
  
Mere moments later, Irvine stood outside the door leading into the main control room, and once more edged the door open. He drew another pair of grenades off his belt, but even as he was about to pop the pins, the door slammed inward. The sharpshooter cursed and fired his shotgun at the door and the man obviously holding it shut. The buckshot struck the intervening metal, but did not punch through.  
  
Thinking fast, Irvine dropped the grenades - minus their pins - at the base of the door and scrambled backward. Rinoa saw this and dove for cover in the doorway of a deserted office. The grenades detonated, the exploding shrapnel tearing into the door and blasting it partially open. Irvine then leaped forward, slamming into the door and forcing it the rest of the way open. He barreled into the control room, shotgun up, and spotted a nearby prison guard raising a pistol. Irvine's weapon barked and the guard's chest erupted in a shower of spewing blood.  
  
Running on instinct alone, Irvine threw himself to the floor, just as a sub-machinegun erupted somewhere in front, spraying bullets wildly at him. He looked up as he fell, spotting another prison guard holding that particular weapon, and bringing the barrel down to line up and fire at the diving sharpshooter. Irvine's weapon rose faster than the guard's could descend, however, and another shotgun blast laid this man out flat.  
  
Irvine hit the floor and rolled over onto his back, scanning the room for any other hostiles. He spotted no one, and as he finished rolling over, the guard who had been holding the door shut was recovering from the grenade blast and raising his pistol to fire at Irvine. Irvine pumped the action on his shotgun once more and fired, blowing apart the man's chest and face with another blast of buckshot. With that last kill, the control room was clear.  
  
Rinoa was a step behind Irvine, sweeping the room with her pistol, and once she saw the room was secured, she hurried to one of the computer terminals. She tapped a few keys, then shook her head as she looked through the directory. Irvine scrambled to his feet and accessed a second terminal. He quickly determined that this one was not the one that controlled the doors, and moved on. Rinoa, meanwhile ran a quick check to see which terminal handled the door controls. Within a few seconds she had found it.  
  
"Here!" she said, running across the room to a terminal on the north wall. She quickly tapped in a few commands, and highlighted the door controls. While the doorway to Tower Two facing the bridge from Tower One was locked down and unopenable, the remaining doors could be locked open. Rinoa did so, opening all the remaining bridge doors in all three towers. That done, she quickly looked around the terminal, looking for some way to disable it so the doors couldn't be closed. Irvine saw her checking, and quickly stepped in front of the terminal.  
  
"Allow me," he said, and pumped another shell into his shotgun's chamber. He fired a blast into the terminal, and then a second into the monitor. Both blasts destroyed the device, the devastation ensuring the prison doors would remain open.  
  
"We'll have to take the long way around," Irvine commented, pumping his shotgun's action to clear the chamber, before reloading the weapon. He quickly slid a series of shells into the shotgun, all the while moving back to the control room door. Rinoa was right behind him, reloading her PPK as well.  
  
"Then we can't waste any time!" she responded, pushing roughly on his shoulder. Irvine shrugged, inserted the last shell into his weapon, and rushed out into the hallway, weapon up and ready.  
  
--------------------  
  
Something tugged on his leg. Squall raised his head slightly, and tried opening his eyes, but was too weak to even raise his eyelids, drained of strength and filled with pain across every inch of his body. Something scraped along his face, warm and wet, yet rough at the same time.  
  
"Laguna!" a high-pitched voice called, though the significance of the name was lost to his barely conscious mind. Something large and soft bounced off his head, knocking it aside, causing the exhausted SeeD's head to loll around on his neck. He was batted a couple more times, and somewhere in his mind he wished it would stop so he could return to darkness, a respite from the pain that tightly wrapped his body.  
  
"Laguna!" the voice repeated, and as he slowly began to become more aware of his surroundings, Squall recognized the importance of the name, though why he did was still lost to him. His arms ached, slumping in the manacles binding him to the wall, his body covered in sweat. Squall tasted something warm and salty in his mouth - he must have bitten his tongue during the prolonged period of agony, the warm red fluid spilling down over his chin.  
  
"Laguna!" the voice called again, jolting Squall further into consciousness as his mind recognized the name of the mysterious soldier. He tried opening his eyes again, and they cracked apart, flooding his mind with hazy images of the torture room. Squall closed them immediately as a stinging pain erupted in his eyes - sweat had dripped down into his eyes from his forehead.  
  
Squall opened his eyes as the soldier's name was called once more, and opened his raw, aching throat, damaged from the intense screams of agony.  
  
"Laguna?" he asked, the sounds hurting his damaged throat. He found himself looking into the eyes of a small orange and red humanoid creature. A Moomba? Yes, it had to be, he realized, shaking his head. Squall immediately wished he hadn't, as the motion sent stabbing pains through his aching skull. However, as he finished shaking the cobwebs free, he did indeed realize that he was looking at a Moomba, which was perched on the shoulders of another of the creatures.  
  
"Laguna!" the Moomba in front of him called, and hopped down off the second creature's shoulders. A third Moomba, standing near the control panel, joined in the call, hopping up and down.  
  
"Free!" the creature that had served as a step-stool growled, and the Moomba beside the panel nodded, flicking a switch. Squall suddenly pitched forward, his hands and legs free of the manacles, and hit the floor, crashing heavily to the metal. The Moombas surrounded him, two of them hooking their huge paws underneath his armpits and lifting him up with surprising strength. They set Squall against the wall, where he tilted his head back, not understanding why the Moombas were treating him this way.  
  
"Laguna!" one of them shouted.  
  
"Laguna! Laguna!" a second called.  
  
"Free!" called a third. "Escape!"  
  
Escape? What was happening? Squall closed his eyes, and thought he heard the sounds of distant klaxons over far-off speakers. Something was happening, but he didn't know what.  
  
"Laguna!" came another Moomba's call, and Squall wondered what it meant. Was Laguna here? Or did these creatures somehow know the soldier from Squall's dreams?  
  
The answers eluded the SeeD, and he could do nothing but lay back against the wall, trying to regain his strength while listening to the distant alarms, a sound that filled him with hope that he might, just might, survive this hell.  
  
--------------------  
  
A grenade shell exploded in the grouped soldiers' midst, and more than a dozen were sent flying off the narrow metal bridge between Tower One and Three. Irvine advanced, running down the bridge, and raised the Valiant again as he spotted movement behind the smoke cloud. The weapon spat another grenade round at another squad of Galbadian soldiers, who scrambled and dove as the grenade fell among them. The grenade cleared a path through the military police, and Irvine and Rinoa bulled right through, Irvine pausing only to knock aside a soldier who was still standing with the butt of his rifle.  
  
They had made good progress down the bridge, as the Galbadian response was still disorganized. They had to take the long way around to Tower Two, however, something that the Galbadian troops that were moving against them had taken advantage of. At first, they had tried to stop the pair from reaching the bridge, but a combination of Irvine's shotgun and Rinoa's spells had blasted clean through the defense inside Tower One. From there, they'd rushed out onto the bridge, relying on sheer speed and firepower to get them across and through the soldiers crossing that bridge. So far, the military police were still off-balance and were concerned more with hiding their heads and taking cover than trying to stop Irvine and Rinoa, but that would change soon.  
  
Irvine and Rinoa burst through the last defense outside Tower Three, a barrage of ice and .50 Action Express rounds opening the route into the top level. The last of the guards dropped to the floor, and the pair stepped past their corpses, rushing to the door leading to the bridge between Three and Two. Irvine turned toward that door but threw himself backward, grabbing Rinoa and pulling her down with him, as a stream of bullets ripped through the air in front of them.  
  
"Sentry robot!" Irvine hissed, opening his rifle's chambers and sliding in a pair of grenade shells. He snapped the chamber closed, and looked up as he heard a series of metallic footsteps, those of the sentry robot he'd spotted ahead. Irvine didn't remember the exact designation, but he recognized the weapon he'd seen, and knew its capabilities. It was a fairly standard Galbadian war machine, a blue-painted humanoid robot with a hovering engine pod on its back, similar to regular hoverfoils, and a pair of wing-like maeuvering vanes on its shoulders.  
  
The robot had been standing in the middle of the door leading toward Tower Two, and ran into the control room on the top level, armored feet ringing off the metal floor. It spun toward the duo, its targeting software identifying them as enemies, and raised one arm. A machinegun barrel extended from the weapon's wrist as it sighted the duo, but the war machine was blasted off its feet by a powerful explosion, combined with a blast of electrical magic from Rinoa. It smashed into the ground heavily, engine damaged, torso partially melted, and one of its maneuvering vanes twisted badly. The weapon began to rise, however, and another grenade blasted it directly in the weapon's head. The head, where the weapon's sensor systems were located, was blasted inward, shrapnel from the grenade devastating the interior.  
  
The war mecha continued to rise, however, and Irvine cursed, reaching into his coat and drawing a pair of heavy, dense shells. He loaded them into his Valiant rifle, and snapped the chambers closed. Irvine clutched the rifle tightly with both hands, and squeezed the trigger.  
  
The rifle bucked viciously, as he'd been expecting, but the powerful armor-piercing shell blasted clean through the war machine's torso armor, shredding its insides. The weapon was blasted onto its back, and did not move, its power systems and computer core reduced to slag.  
  
Irvine quickly moved toward the door leading toward Tower Two, and ejected the other AP shell. Rinoa was two steps behind him as he ran through the doorway back into the sunlight. Immediately, they both stopped and ducked back within the doorway as bullets from the tower ahead tore through the air around them. Irvine squinted in the light, and nodded.  
  
"There's only a few," he told Rinoa. She nodded, then jerked back in surprise as another bullet deflected off the doorway just in front of her face. Irvine grimaced, then reached into his bag. He produced a long barrel, and the stock, chambers, trigger, and grip of a rifle, and quickly assembled them with practiced hands. Within moments the sharpshooter had assembled a powerful-looking sniper rifle, a Galbadian PSG-1, and affixed a scope to the top of the weapon. His rifle complete, Irvine leaned around the corner, and stilled his breath. He flicked off the safety with his thumb, and willed his hands to be still. Through his scope, he saw a quartet of soldiers crouching or standing in the doorway, firing staggered bursts to keep the intruders behind cover until reinforcements could arrive.  
  
Irvine's sights settled over one of the soldier's triad of sensors, and the PSG-1 barked. A 7.62mm round blasted cleanly through his faceplate and between his eyes, and the MP fell to the floor, dead before he knew he was hit. The other soldiers wasted a split second as they reacted to the sudden death of their comrade, and in that second, Irvine's sights settled over another man's temple.  
  
The rifle cracked again, and another soldier fell. Only two remained, and one opened his mouth to call for a retreat. A bullet went through his mouth before he could speak, tearing into the back of his throat and through his brain stem.  
  
The last soldier began to duck back into cover when his right arm was blasted, the fourth shot from Irvine tearing apart his gun arm. The MP dropped his rifle and clutched at his marred limb, effectively out of the fight.  
  
"Let's go!" Irvine shouted, standing and charging down the bridge. Rinoa followed, but scanned the other two bridges, keeping an eye out for incoming Galbadian soldiers. After a second, she was glad she had, as an entire platoon of Galbadian MPs could be seen running from Tower One toward Tower Two. Apparently, someone had reopened the locked door inside Tower Two.  
  
"Irvine!" she shouted, and the sharpshooter looked in the direction she was pointing. He nodded grimly, knowing that if that group managed to get inside Tower Two then they wouldn't stand a chance of breaching the prison where Squall and the others were held. The sharpshooter spun, and his PSG-1 rose to his shoulder. The weapon cracked repeatedly, and enemy soldiers fell, but they both knew that they would not be able to stop them all.  
  
"Run!" Rinoa shouted even as Irvine dropped another MP, and the sharpshooter nodded, reluctantly slinging his rifle and drawing his MP5Ks. He would need the firepower of the sub-machineguns inside the prison, if they ever managed to make it inside. Both of them ran on as hard as they could, trying to beat the Galbadian MPs to the inside of Tower Two.  
  
--------------------  
  
Zell's foot connected in a roundhouse kick that sent a guard flying over the metal railing and into the hole in the center of the chamber. He then ducked low, his head dropping inches below the arc of another MP's swinging baton, and the brawler's arms rose catching a second baton swung by another guard. He swept the captured weapon around to intercept the second guard's baton as it came back in, then launched a snap-kick to the chin that decked the second soldier. Zell then spun, one hand grasping the third soldier's wrist as he did so, and lifted the man off his feet. The military policeman's mouth opened wide as he was flung like a rag doll to smash heavily into the wall opposite the central chasm.  
  
Selphie launched another blast of lightning magic, her spell ripping into and dropping another of the blue Galbadian war machines. Beside her, Quistis worked her own magic, fiery bursts throwing guards aside and forcing others to dive for cover. Amidst her explosive magic, Quistis spun on another of the blue robots, hovering overhead on its hoverfoil engine, and speared it with her Blue Magic, a barrage of magical projectiles "fired" from her left hand like a machinegun. The robot was cored right through its power supply, and the engine lost its structural integrity. The robot exploded in fireball.  
  
The SeeDs had found the going up somewhat easy from Level Seven, only encountering small groups of guards. Then, on Level Twelve, right in front of the stairs Zell had assured them led to the interrogation room, the escaping mercenaries had run headlong into a small army, what had amounted to an entire platoon of military police and prison guards, and a quintet of blue, humanoid robots.  
  
A pair of summoned Guardian Forces had led the way, breaking the formation of guards and soldiers, and the SeeDs had driven right in. Three of the robots had already fallen in the initial barrage, and Selphie was finishing the fourth and Quistis the fifth. Over half the guards lay dead or dying, and Zell leaped around the battlefield, blasting aside Galbadian soldiers and guards with each punch, kick, headbutt, or throw. His constant, brutal assault on the soldiers and guards had given the women all the time they needed to crush the robots, which were the real threat. Most of the soldiers still alive at that point had opted to simply flee, already awed and demoralized by the appearances of Ifrit and Quetzocotl.  
  
Those who remained wished they had fled, as Zell caught one swinging soldier's arm and flipped the man over, smashing him hard to the metal floor. The blade of Quistis' whip dug deep into another guard's upper chest, drawing a fountain of crimson, while the man behind that guard was hurled off his feet by a blast of lightning from Selphie. A jab from Zell crumpled another guard's armor, and a quick hook shattered another's elbow. The man fell over, screaming as he clutched his blasted arm, and Zell soccer-kicked him across the room to smash heavily into a wall, where the man lay still, dead or unconscious. A blast of magic staggered the last guard standing before the stairs, and Selphie whacked him aside with a whipping iron bar of her nunchaku, and the SeeDs bounded up the stairs.  
  
They found themselves in another circular room, with another staircase leading up, and a single door against the far wall. The hole leading down deeper into the prison through the center of the chamber was here as well, but positioned in the middle of the hole was a huge mechanical crane with a holding cell set beneath a control room mounted on the device. "Interrogation" was imprinted above the door across the room in blocky letters, and more importantly, the gaggle of Moombas, plus a lot more, were gathered outside the chamber. They seemed agitated, many of them leaping and shouting "Laguna!" over and over again, as the SeeDs approached. Quistis opened the door, and looked inside the interrogation room, before rushing in at the sight of Squall laying against the wall, half-dead from the torture. Zell and Selphie were a half-step behind her.  
  
"Squall!" Zell shouted, standing over his fellow SeeD. Squall raised his head, and opened his eyes, looking up at his comrades. A slight smile etched itself on his face as Zell bent down, grasping one of Squall's arms and helping him to his feet.  
  
"You okay?" Selphie asked, and Squall nodded weakly.  
  
"It was hell," he muttered, standing shakily.  
  
"Let me help," Quistis said, calling up the energies of a healing spell. Energy washed over Squall, and he found his strength returning as the pain ebbed away. Squall took a deep breath, and stood straight.  
  
"Better?" Quistis asked, and Squall nodded, standing without any support.  
  
"Thank you," he said to her, and Quistis nodded, glad she could help him. Zell reached over his shoulder and took out the gunblade he'd strapped to his back, and handed the weapon to squall. The SeeD took his weapon, and grasped the handle of the Revolver, glad once again to hold the slid weight of his weapon in his hands.  
  
"You're not going to be escaping like that," Selphie commented, and Squall nodded. She had a point with his lack of clothes. Squall glanced around the room, and spotted the box Seifer had pointed out earlier. How convenient of Seifer!  
  
Squall moved to the box, and opened it, taking out his stolen clothes. He quickly donned the muscle shirt, gloves, and stained leather jacket, still covered in dried Iguion blood, along with his pants and shirt.  
  
"Lookin' good, Squall!" Selphie commented as Squall replaced his knives, belts, and scabbard. With all his gear back, Squall felt his strength returning. It took him several seconds before he realized that more than just his regular strength had returned, and he sensed the presence of Guardian Forces in the back of his mind. Apparently, they had only been suppressed, not stolen. Good.  
  
"Let's get the hell out of here!" Zell commented, and Squall couldn't have agreed more. He led them out of the interrogation room, and as he stepped outside, was almost mobbed by the gaggle of Moombas and their chorus of "Laguna!" shouts. The creatures seemed ecstatic about his escape, he realized, and moments later, they dispersed, bounding down the stairs and deeper into the prison.  
  
"Okay, now what?" Selphie asked.  
  
"We need to escape, but I don't think I saw Ward leave the prison," Zell explained.  
  
"Did you come here as Laguna?" Quistis asked Squall, and he shook his head, recalling his experience in Winhill.  
  
"Sorry," he said, then looked around the chamber. "They brought me up using that device."  
  
"You think it would go all the way down?" Selphie asked, running to the edge of the gap and peering over the railing. "I think it goes all the way to the bottom floor."  
  
"That should be where the exit is," Squall added, joining her. "We can use the crane to go down, but I don't know how to operate it."  
  
"I do!" Zell said, grinning. "I saw how to do it when I was Ward."  
  
"You came here as Ward?" Squall asked, and the martial artist nodded.  
  
"But the problem is," Zell explained, "You have to unlock the crane's controls from the control room upstairs, then operate the crane from inside the crane's control room. So, someone's gotta stay behind . . . ." Zell glanced around at the group and then nodded.  
  
"I'll stay," he said, before Squall could volunteer himself. "I'm the only one who knows how to operate the controls," Zell added before Squall could object. "I'll have to hump it on the way down, but I can handle myself."  
  
"You sure, Zell?" Selphie asked, suddenly worried, but the brawler simply grinned.  
  
"Relax, I got this," he said. "Just get inside. I'll talk to you over the intercom." Zell then turned and ran toward the far stairs, and bounded up into the control room. Squall, Selphie, and Quistis entered the crane's control room, Squall standing near the control panel. After a few moments, Zell's voice crackled over a speaker hidden somewhere.  
  
"Can you hear me?" he called.  
  
"Hiya, Zell, loud and clear!" Selphie shouted.  
  
"Alright, check the main control panel," Zell explained. "There should be a big red button."  
  
"I see it," Squall answered, hand hovering over the control in question.  
  
"Punch it," Zell ordered, and Squall did. Above the control panel, machinery whirred, and something clanked, followed by the crane's descent at a steady pace. "I set it for the first floor," Zell added. "I'll see you guys down there!" With that, Zell's voice went silent.  
  
Three minutes later, the mechanical arm came to a stop. Squall poked his head out the door of the control room, and nodded, spotting a door just ahead. He led the trio out of the control room, weapon up and ready, keeping an eye out for guards as he slid the metal blast door open. He was expecting to be greeted by gunfire, shouts, or swinging batons, but instead found a long, empty corridor.  
  
"Something's not right," Selphie commented. "If this is the exit, where are the guards?" Squall shrugged, and moved down the corridor, eyes open and alert. He stopped by the door at the end of the corridor, and tapped a control panel next to it. The door began to slide open, and Squall spotted movement. The SeeD dropped into a crouch as Quistis and Selphie readied their weapons behind him. Squall was caught off-guard as a wave of brown dust suddenly billowed forth out of the opening door, and fell back, waved his left hand in front of his face, while keeping his senses alert for an attack. However, nothing came, and as the dust dissipated, he saw a pile of dirt having slid through the doorway, blocking the exit.  
  
"Dirt?" Selphie asked, confused.  
  
"We're buried," Quistis realized. "The prison's underground."  
  
"So, anyone going down and thinking they're escaping will just get further away from freedom?" Selphie asked. "Clever!"  
  
"The exit must be upstairs, then," Squall mused. He turned back toward the arm. "With the controls unlocked we should be able to get up. We'll need to find Zell and tell him to secure the entrance upstairs-"  
  
Squall paused as he heard a sound above. Quistis and Selphie heard it too, and they all recognized the all-too-familiar crack of automatic gunfire, from somewhere far above. And from the sounds in the upper levels, it seemed like there were dozens of weapons firing.  
  
"Zell!" Selphie and Quistis shouted in unison, and Squall charged out into the arm's control room. The other two SeeDs rushed in after him, and he closed the door. Squall hit the controls, and cursed as the arm began its stately ascent. Judging from the gunfire, Zell was badly outnumbered by too many enemies for even a SeeD to defeat.  
  
If they didn't get upstairs soon, Zell would be dead.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------  
  
The first and most important note about this chapter was that Irvine did use lots of real-world guns. I opted to arm Irvine with actual firearms as opposed to fantasy weapons to give FFVIII a much more realistic flavor. Therefore, Irvine's weapons were all real guns, with the exception of his Valiant. (as a side note, Laguna's sub-machinegun and handgun I mentioned in the fourth interlude are also real guns)  
  
The title of this chapter came from the lobby scene in The Matrix, which actually went by a similar name, "Lobby Shooting Spree." It pretty well describes how this chapter progressed. And yes, the intro was taken straight from The Matrix.  
  
Just in case you were curious, the guns Irvine used:

-AB-10: A machine pistol manufactured by Intratec. Popular among gangs and criminals. 9mm magazine, with 10, 20, 32, or 50 round capacity (Irvine used the 32 round magazines)

-H&K MP5K: The famous compact sub-machineguns Neo used in the lobby shooting spree scene from The Matrix, right after he decked the first guard. 9mm, 30 round magazine

-Calico M950: An unusual, cylinder-fed machine pistol. Magazine is located on the top of the weapon. 9mm, 50 round magazine. The weapon Irvine used was a compact version of the larger sub-machinegun. These guns were in Resident Evil: Code Veronica, mislabled as "MP-100's."

-M4 Carbine: One of the rifles of the United States military, this is a smaller, compact version of the classic M16 assault rifle, and is used primarily by special forces units like the Navy SEALs or Marine Force Recon. 5.56mm, 30 round magazine. (sadly, I'm not likely to get to shoot this baby except possibly on the firing range. ;;)

-Benelli M3: The shotgun Irvine used. A powerful 12-guage shotgun used by police forces. 6 shell capacity.

-Walther PPK: The classic Bond pistol. 9mm, seven round capacity.

-PSG-1: The sniper rifle made famous by Metal Gear Solid. Fires 7.62mm rounds and is semi-automatic.


	31. Diverging Paths

Chapter 26: Diverging Paths  
  
Zell ducked low, his chest nearly sweeping along the floor, the baton passing easily over his head. He rose, the brawler's right arm shooting up with shocking speed, the momentum and power behind his rising torso adding to the power behind the uppercut directly into the guard's chin. The prison guard was launched off his feet, hurled across Level Seven with all of Zell's strength.  
  
The brawler ducked and weaved through a series of rifle-butts and swinging batons, seeming to dance among the quartet of remaining soldiers and their weapons. As they moved and struck, Zell's fists and forearms bobbed and thrust, blasting the wind out of one guard and hurling him away, before turning and launching a spinning roundhouse kick the smashed another soldier's helmet inward. Zell snapped a hand out around the dead man's arm, and tossed the body into the path of another guard, tripping the man up. The last guard swung hard at Zell with a double-handed grip on his baton, but Zell's hands weaved up into the swinging baton's path even as he stepped aside, turning the swing's power back on itself to flip the man over and drop him hard to the floor. A swift stomp onto the guard's windpipe finished the man off.  
  
"There he is!" came a shout from the stairs, and Zell looked up to see what might have been an entire platoon of Galbadian prison guards and military police rushing down the stairs from Level Eight.  
  
"Tch!" Zell muttered, turning and running around the perimeter of the central chasm of the prison, guards chasing after him. "Too many!" Bullets began to whiz and ricochet around Zell as he ran, and the brawler cursed the prison's security measures. Sometime during the brief battle with guards, someone had raised a wall-like barrier between the staircase leading down from Level Eight and the stairs descending to Six. A reasonable security measure to keep rioting prisoners in check, and one Zell was finding to be quite effective.  
  
Bullets flew around the brawler as he ran, one managing to catch the SeeD in the shoulder and inflicting a painful wound. he didn't slow, however, but did look over his shoulder as he rounded the central hole. About ten or fifteen guards were in hot pursuit, rounding the bend after Zell, and the brawler noticed (to his annoyance) that the wall-like barrier was lowering to allow the remainder to run around the other end of the chasm and intercept him.  
  
"Damn!" Zell cursed, knowing he wouldn't be able to escape without barreling through at least one, and more likely both, sets of guards. However, there were alternate ways around the guards, ways often only reserved for SeeDs. The brawler closed his eyes even while running around, and reached into his mind.  
  
The guards rounding the hole ahead of Zell crashed to a halt as the air in front of them burned. From that fiery portal emerged a growling, burning, hell-spawned demon, glaring down at the pitiful mortal guards with its golden eyes.  
  
Ifrit unleashed a shockwave of blasting fire, the searing heat throwing the awed and terrified soldiers off their feet, fires burning through their armor and uniforms, the metal of their helmets and body armor melting and twisting under the heat. Practically the entire group was blasted away by Ifrit's incandescent blast of fury.  
  
As the Guardian Force roared in victory and returned through its burning portal, Zell leaped through the last embers of the fiery doorway and over the burned, blasted guards. he hit the floor running, and glanced over his shoulder at the pursuit force, which had stopped in the face of the spectacle of Ifirit and his inferno.  
  
Zell should have been looking ahead, as the metal butt of a sub- machinegun clotheslined the brawler across his face, throwing him to the floor. Zell began to stand, only to find the barrel of that very sub- machinegun leveled at his face. The prison warden glared down at Zell, his uniform still smoking, doubtlessly scorched by Ifrit's fires.  
  
"You bastard!" he roared, finger hovering over the trigger as he looked down at Zell. "DIE!" Zell flinched, closing his eyes as he expected the warden to fire, but was instead met by the sound of an impact overhead, followed by the sickening sound of bone crunching and a powerful explosion. The martial artist opened his eyes to see the warden's headless corpse splayed across the floor, and Squall standing behind the decapitated man.  
  
"Squall!" Zell exclaimed, leaping up onto his knees and hugging Squall's waist in thanks for timely rescue. The standing SeeD looked down in confusion, and pushed down on the grateful brawler's head.  
  
"Let go," he muttered through clenched teeth, then pushed again, before bopping Zell on the head with the butt of his gunblade. Zell did let go after that, and stood, somewhat embarrassed at how stupid he'd looked. Then, both SeeDs hit the deck as more gunfire flew over their heads.  
  
"Shit, too many of them!" Zell muttered. "How the hell did you get here, anyway?"  
  
"The arm," Squall replied. "I couldn't stop it as it rose past your level, so I jumped off."  
  
"What about Quistis and Selphie?" Zell asked. Squall shrugged.  
  
"Probably on the upper levels," he replied, then snatched up the warden's rifle. Squall poked it over the top of the metal railing and fired a series of blind shots, more to keep the guards' heads down than to do any real damage.  
  
Squall thought he heard a grunt of pain, then and explosion, and the enemy gunfire slackened off noticeably. Squall risked poking his head over the top of the railing, wondering whether he's actually hit anything explosive, and saw another large detonation. Bodies and body parts flew wildly, and those guards still alive ducked behind the metal railing for cover.  
  
Squall looked up, scanning the area, and spotted a familiar, trenchcoated form stepping down the staircase from Level Eight. irvine kept his Valiant leveled at the soldiers behind cover as he reached the foot of the stairs, and moments later, Quistis, Selphie, and Rinoa bounded down the stairs. Squall rose in a crouch, and rushed to meet the, Zell following. A million questions went though his mind as he approached, not understanding what she or Irvine were doing here.  
  
"What-" he began to ask, but Rinoa cut him off.  
  
"Sorry we're late," she explained, and the SeeD noticed for the first time that her arm was wounded. "We had some trouble getting in."  
  
"Nothing I couldn't handle," Irvine replied with a grin, still keeping his weapon trained on the guards' positions. "We made it safely through, thanks to my escort."  
  
"My father pulled some strings with the military, Rinoa explained. "He sent this guy to come and get me out, and only me!"  
  
"I wasn't going to abandon you guys," Irvine quickly explained, his weapon twitching as he saw movement, but no clear target. "I needed to get Rinoa to a safe location, and then I was going to head back, under Garden's mandate, of course."  
  
Squall nodded, recalling Garden Code Article Twenty-One, Line Four, which stated that in the event Garden personnel were captured, all available forces must be committed to their rescue.  
  
During their conversation, the guards must have gotten more ambitious, as several men, having scattered across the chamber behind the covering railing, rose at once and began firing. Bullets struck the metal all around the group, and Irvine returned fire, his heavier .50 Action Express rounds mixing with the lighter fire from the guards' 9mm sub- machineguns. Two men fell, one's head blasted open while the other's right arm was nearly blown off. Others dove for cover, while yet more continued firing, realizing their firepower advantage.  
  
Down below, Irvine spotted movement on the lower floors as more guards were moving up through the structure in pursuit. They didn't have much time.  
  
"Squall!" Irvine called, and Squall moved next to him. "I'll hold them here as a rear guard," Irvine explained, firing another pair of shots, blasting another guard. a pair of bullets struck near the railing, and he ducked momentarily before popping back up with a pair of blasts.  
  
"You guys head up top first, I'll keep them back," the sharpshooter explained.  
  
"Top?" Squall asked. "That's where the exit is?"  
  
"Bingo," Irvine replied. "Take everyone up there, I'll be a step behind you!"  
  
"Not without me!" Selphie replied, and Squall looked to her, surprised. He was even more surprised to see Selphie's nunchaku strapped to her back. The diminutive SeeD instead sported an M4A1 carbine with a grenade launcher underneath the barrel. Squall was confused as to where Selphie had picked the weapon up, but she simply shrugged, nodding toward Irvine.  
  
"He had a spare in his bag," she explained.  
  
"My last weapon, too," Irvine added, firing again. "She gave me that look when she saw the grenade launcher."  
  
Squall didn't bother asking any other questions; he knew Selphie was trained in demolitions and explosives, so she knew how to use the grenade launcher aspect, probably all too well.  
  
"Okay, we'll open up the front door," Squall said, and turned back to Quistis, Zell and Rinoa. He nodded to them and pointed up the stairs, before taking the lead. The trio quickly fell into step behind Squall, even as Irvine and Selphie opened fire with their weapons, driving the Galbadians behind cover.  
  
"Let's dance!" Irvine shouted, picking off another Galbadian soldier with a precision blast to the neck.  
  
--------------------  
  
Xu sat in the chair across from Cid Kramer, watching the Headmaster tap in a series of commands into his computer, before looking up at his trusted second-in-command. behind her stood two other high-ranking SeeDs, Jofey and Elain. All three of them were fully armed and ready for battle.  
  
"It's done," Cid said. "The last of the train tickets has been purchased, and most of the SeeDs are already deployed." Xu nodded.  
  
"How soon do you think it will be before NORG acts?" she asked, and Cid shrugged.  
  
"NORG knows that Galbadia knows that Balamb SeeDs were behind the assassination," Cid said with a shake of his head. "He's going to try to cover his own ass." Xu sighed.  
  
"Trent's warning came too late," Jofey said, and both Cid and Xu nodded.  
  
"You know what NORG will do now," Cid stated. "He's afraid of Galbadia, and we've already gotten reports about the move against Galbadia Garden. Its only a matter of time now."  
  
"Most of the SeeDs should be long out of Balamb before NORG even realizes you've dispersed them," Elain added. "With the fake IDs and training, they should be able to blend in well and hide from Galbadia." Cid nodded, and sat back in his chair, thinking.  
  
"We'll need to prepare our defenses," the Headmaster said quickly. "We don't have much time, if the reports from Galbadia Garden are any indication. We'll need to get in touch with Trabia Garden, and coordinate defenses. Galbadia will strike hard and fast, and we need to be ready."  
  
"But with most of the SeeDs gone, that will compromise our security," Xu objected, and Cid nodded.  
  
"What's important now is SeeD itself, not Garden," he explained. "SeeD was brought up for the future, and for this conflict especially. We've scattered the SeeDs so that they can operate more effectively in small groups that are hard to find, as opposed to concentrated in one location."  
  
"And to make sure they're beyond NORG's reach," Jofey added, and Cid nodded. The Headmaster sat forward, his brow furrowing and shoulders straightening. He no longer looked like the kind old grandfatherly figure he normally put out for the media and the cadets. No, Cid Kramer looked far more cunning and dangerous now, like a sheathed sword suddenly drawn.  
  
"Its time," he said, and the three SeeDs nodded. "NORG has held too much control over Garden for too long. I will not risk letting that fat bastard ruin the only hope we have to defeat the Sorceress. Its time we made our move.  
  
"Jofey, Elain," Cid explained, standing. The headmaster took a computer disk out of the computer and put it into a small data pad, then handed it to the SeeDs. "These are all of the cadets that I know will be loyal to us, as well as the few SeeDs we have remaining here in Garden. Round them up, and explain the defensive plan." The two SeeDs nodded and saluted, before leaving Cid's office.  
  
"And me, sir?" Xu asked. Cid sighed, and nodded.  
  
"Things will get ugly, Xu, if NORG begins to act before we're ready," Cid explained. "We'll need to keep whatever he rallies against us delayed as long as possible. I want you to go to the security station on Level Two and scramble all of the locks. Set the encryption code to 'Moombas rule the universe.' Do the same for the universal lock/unlocking codes."  
  
"Moombas rule the universe?" Xu asked, confused by the sentence, and Cid nodded, a faint smile creeping onto his face.  
  
"Trust me, NORG would never think of that as the code," Cid explained. "I also need you to disable the intercom so NORG will not be able to coordinate his forces. This won't hurt us, as the defense plan won't require communications between the different sectors and groups." Xu nodded and rose, standing eye to eye with Cid.  
  
"Headmaster, what will you be doing?" she asked. Cid chuckled, and sat down in his chair.  
  
"I'll be up here," he explained. "There's something in the archives I need to find from before the Garden was renovated from a Centra Shelter," he explained. "I need to find it - it may be the only hope we have of surviving a Galbadian attack." Xu nodded, but hesitated before leaving.  
  
"Sir, I want to know," she began. Cid looked up from his monitor to his second-in-command. "You've dispatched all the SeeDs already, but what about Garden? If Galbadia attacks, we'll only have cadets, and maybe not even that many, depending on how many side with NORG. Why are you leaving Garden so vulnerable?"  
  
Cid sighed, his shoulders sagging, before he stood and walked to the huge window in the back of his office. He clasped his hands behind his back as he looked down at the academy grounds, grounds that may soon know war.  
  
"Garden exists for the future," Cid explained. "It was made for the express purpose of training SeeDs." Cid looked over his shoulder at Xu. "Right now, the SeeDs have been scattered to the winds. The SeeDs are Garden's true value; without them Garden is just a military academy. They are the future, and the only hope we have of preventing yet another Sorceress War." Cid looked back out to the grounds.  
  
"The Garden is not necessary," he explained. "Not as long as the SeeDs are out there. It can be rebuilt, but the skills, the knowledge, the spirit of Garden can never be replenished if they are lost. Those exist within the SeeDs Garden has trained. If they are lost, the future is lost.  
  
"I've left Garden as it is because I know that I do not need to defend it," Cid continued. "Garden now exists for only one purpose, and that is to be the anvil on which the Sorceress will beat her hammer."  
  
"Garden is just a distraction?" Xu asked, and Cid nodded. The Headmaster looked up, his eyes scanning the inside of his office.  
  
"Our only purpose now is to keep the Sorceress' eyes fixed on us," he explained. "We must keep her attention until the SeeDs are safely away. Garden is being left out as a sacrifice."  
  
Xu listened to Cid's voice, hearing a faint sadness, and understood what Cid was meaning. After several long moments, the Headmaster turned to face her once again, and nodded.  
  
"Xu, I'm counting on you," he said, and she nodded. Xu saluted the Headmaster once again and quickly exited the office.  
  
--------------------  
  
The grenade bounced down the stairs, and landed directly in front of one unfortunate prison guard. He opened his mouth to scream, but the panicked cry was swallowed by the roar from the fragmentation grenade that shredded the doomed man.  
  
Irvine slid the door shut behind him, and locked it with a .50 Action Express key, sealing off Level Eleven from the levels below. Selphie, meanwhile, leaned over the metal railing at the center of the chamber and sent another grenade from the M4 down into the guards on the level below them. An explosion scattered them, killing one and maiming another, and the remainder opted to retreat. Selphie launched another grenade for good measure, and then turned back to Irvine.  
  
"Whoo-hoo!" she shouted, and Irvine was still amazed by her enthusiasm. She had taken to the grenade launcher like a fish to water, wielding the weapon with surprising deftness and a somewhat scary enthusiasm, dropping grenades among the pursuing soldiers and guards with shocking accuracy. One wouldn't have expected such a small and seemingly innocent girl to be so deadly with explosives.  
  
Irvine loved it.  
  
Between Selphie's aggressive grenade-launching and Irvine's own explosive rounds and fragmentation grenades, the two had beaten back the pursuing guards, scattering them repeatedly and blowing apart any soldiers or guards ambitious enough to get close. Most of the soldiers, valuing their lives over a handful of extremely dangerous and well-armed prisoners and intruders, opted to get the hell away from the duo.  
  
With Level Eleven secured, the sharpshooter and the deceptively dangerous girl ran upstairs, until they reached the same level as the torture chamber, just below the control room for this tower. They were surprised to hear the sounds of explosions and sizzling magic up above in the control room, and rushed upstairs, ready to enter the fray they were expecting.  
  
Irvine went up first, and stopped immediately upon reaching the top of the stairs, watching the battle unfold. Well, it wasn't exactly a battle; most of the Galbadians were already dead or unconscious, scattered around the control room. Squall, Quistis, Rinoa, and Zell were crouched near the top of the staircase, watching as the two brother Guardian Forces, Sacred and Minotaur, rushed around the control room, smashing their maces down on hapless Galbadian soldiers and guards.  
  
Sacred slapped one soldier away with a surprisingly powerful blow that hurled the man across the room, while the Minotaur rushed toward a pair of standing soldiers who desperately fired their rifles at the charging Guardian Force. The massive GF simply smiled in the face of the gunfire and swatted both men away with a single swipe of his spiked mace.  
  
The few remaining soldiers were already retreating out through the bridge leading to Tower Three, and the Minotaur made sure they ran hard, chasing them all the way to the exit before stopping to let out a tremendous roar, just to keep the terrified soldiers cowed. Then the pair of Guardian Forces, their task finished, vanished like dissipating sand being blown away in the wind, leaving the control room empty.  
  
Irvine whistled, awed by the destructive power the duo of GFs had inflicted. Between the two brothers, they had pretty much annihilated the control room, leaving the broken bodies of almost thirty soldiers and guards littering the chamber. A couple of corpses lay near the stairs, burned and sliced, likely soldiers that had wandered too close to the quartet waiting by the stairs.  
  
Squall turned back to Irvine, who was still looking around in amazement, and nodded.  
  
"Is our rear secured?" he asked, and the sharpshooter nodded. Selphie bounded up the stairs behind him, surveying the brutal carnage that the pair of GFs had inflicted.  
  
"Wow," she commented, then smiled, holding up her rifle and its accompanying grenade launcher. "Don't worry about the lower levels! We've made sure the guards don't want to catch up with us!" Squall nodded again, understanding.  
  
"Let's hurry up and get out of here before reinforcements come," Squall added, standing. The rest of the group nodded, needing no incentive to leave, and hurried outside the prison, using the door leading to Tower One. Squall was the first out of the door, the desert sun beating down on his head while hot, sandy air whistled through his hair. It had never felt better to be back under the sun.  
  
Still, the pleasantness of being outside, breathing the free air once again, didn't stop Squall from surveying their surroundings. He found himself looking down to the desert sands far below, stretching across the landscape to the horizon, with only a single vehicle trail leading away. Now outside, he saw the truth behind the towers: each one was constructed like a giant screw, designed to burrow deep into the desert sands and bury the prisoners alive, to further keep them contained. it was quite impressive, he had to admit, as he led his team to Tower One. they quickly crossed the bridge and entered the controlling tower, stepping across the corpses of dozens of collapsed guards and soldiers.  
  
"Elevator's over there, beyond the weapon detectors," Irvine added, leading the way. Squall glanced around the security room, seeing yet more collapsed corpses littering the area, and shook his head.  
  
"You two fought your way past all of this?" he asked, and Irvine nodded.  
  
"You should have seen us in action, too!" Irvine said, calling the elevator up. "it was like we blasted through the entire prison. And you should have seen Rinoa! Nothing stopped her." Squall glanced at Rinoa, who shrugged, somewhat uncomfortable.  
  
"Irvine did most of the work," she replied with a shrug, but Squall shook his head.  
  
"It's a good thing that both of you came back," he said, and the Zell, Quistis, and Selphie agreed, nodding their heads.  
  
"We would have been goners without you two!" Zell stated as the elevator doors opened, and they entered.  
  
Shortly afterward, they arrived in the vehicle garage at ground level, and stepped out. Irvine quickly led them to the car he had used, though he explained they didn't have enough space in the vehicle for everyone. Selphie remedied that problem, breaking into and hot-wiring another car (this one a yellow military vehicle, matching her dress color, coincidentally enough) Soon, the vehicle was driving away from the prison at full speed, Selphie taking the wheel of her stolen vehicle, with Irvine and Quistis riding, while Squall and Rinoa joined Zell in the more sedate gray vehicle Irvine had used.  
  
Squall said nothing, he simply sat in the back, close to Rinoa, while Zell drove. He was very glad she and Irvine had come back, and she recounted their infiltration and the long, running gun battle that had raged throughout the complex as they had fought their way inside and linked up with Selphie and Quistis after he had jumped down off the arm.  
  
Now, however, he knew that he had an even more important mission, because even throughout the entire escapade, Squall had not forgotten the critical piece of information Seifer had let slip: Garden was about to be bombed.  
  
Shortly after they had left the prison, Squall saw that they were closing with a crossroads in the vehicle trail, next to a sizable boulder. He called for a halt from Zell, and he obliged, stopping the car at the crossroads. Selphie's vehicle, right behind theirs, joined them a second later.  
  
"Why the stop?" Selphie called, bounding out of her vehicle. Squall looked around the group of his comrades, and frowned, not happy with telling them the news.  
  
"Galbadia will be launching missiles at Garden," Squall explained, and the response from the group was immediate.  
  
"Now damn way!" Zell shouted, his words matching the shocked and horrified expressions of the rest of the group. Squall nodded grimly. he glanced around, scanning the area, and spotted something on the horizon far to the north. Squall knew the general layout of the region and what important landmarks and structures were out here, and thus he was able to recognize the distant shape.  
  
"That's the missile base," Squall stated, and began to turn back to his grou. "Our primary objective is to get back to Garden and warn the students to evacuate. There's a train depot south of here where we can steal a train to Timber. From there we'll-"  
  
"Look!" Selphie exclaimed, and Squall spun, scanning the horizon.  
  
White contrails reached up from the distant missile base, behind tiny black dots that ascended into the clear blue sky with extreme speed. Within moments the missiles were out of sight - flying north. Toward Trabia Garden, not Balamb.  
  
"They're hitting Trabia first," Squall managed to say, his stomach sinking. Without access to an HD cable, they wouldn't be able to warn the students there . . . .  
  
Behind him, Selphie sunk into the sand, her fists balling in helpless frustration.  
  
"Miss . . . ." she muttered, shaking her head. "Please be a miss . . . ."  
  
The group was silent for a long while, as the white contrails faded into the blue skies. Finally, Squall turned back, grim determination set on his face that immediately galavanized the rest of the team.  
  
"We don't have much time," he explained. "If what I remember about Galbadian weapon technology is correct, the missile base will need several hours to launch its next strike. that won't give us enough time to warn Balamb Garden about the next strike, but it will give us time to act if we move quickly enough."  
  
"We're goin' in, right?" Zell asked, and Squall nodded. Squall ticked off his fingers.  
  
"We'll need two teams. One will infiltrate the missile base and hamper with the launch any way possible. The other will return to Garden to warn them about the strike."  
  
"I'm on the missile base team!" Selphie shouted immediately, with surprising force. "I have to be! They attacked Trabia!" Squall looked at her, momentarily considering ordering her not to, but said nothing as he looked into her pained, enraged green eyes. Finally, Squall nodded.  
  
"I'm with her," Irvine added quickly, surprising the group as well. "Trust me, no one knows Galbadian technology better than me," the sharpshooter added. "You're going to need a firearms expert in there as well. I'm the man to fit the bill." Squall nodded, and turned to Zell, who nodded immediately.  
  
"Don't worry, I'm good for it," Zell said, slapping his fist into his palm. "Have to protect Garden! It's my only home!"  
  
"Alright," Squall said with a nod. He turned to Quistis.  
  
"Quistis, we still have an obligation to protect Rinoa," he explained quickly. "I'll need you to get Rinoa to Garden and warn them about the attack-"  
  
Quistis shook her head, and Squall blinked in surprise. She waved him forward, and he stepped up to her. The rest of the team began to move in as well, but Squall waved them back.  
  
"Squall, this is a suicide mission," she quickly explained. "You're going to go in yourself?"  
  
"I have to," he replied. "Stopping the launch is more important. I have to-"  
  
"No, Squall," Quistis replied. "The missile base team is expendable. The messenger team is much more important. The odds that the infiltration team will stop the launch is close to impossible. If we can't stop it-"  
  
"We?" Squall asked. "You want to go in?"  
  
"Under the circumstances, yes," Quistis said with a nod. "I'll lead the missile base team, you take Rinoa back into Garden and warn them."  
  
"You can be the messenger just as easily," Squall replied, but Quistis shook her head.  
  
"Squall, going into the missile base is almost suicide," she explained. "You're the best hope we have to defeat Edea and Seifer. You have to go back to Garden-"  
  
"There won't be a Garden unless we stop the launch!" Squall growled.  
  
"And we can stop it," Quistis assured him. "Squall, just once, trust me on this. I'll take care of the team inside the missile base. I know I can."  
  
Squall opened his mouth to object, but stopped. In all honesty, he did trust Quistis to be able to lead effectively. He looked to her, and then around to the rest of his team, and then back to her. He recalled the night not so long ago where he had listened to Quistis open her heart on the balcony overlooking the Training Center. He remembered how, despite the mistrust that the Garden faculty had in Quistis' leadership, Squall still believed he could trust her.  
  
How could he refuse to trust her now? Balamb meant as much to her as it did to him; she had as much a stake in this as he did. Under those circumstances, how could he deny her this? Her chance to prove herself?  
  
Squall stepped away from Quistis, and nodded.  
  
"Irvine, Selphie, Zell," he stated, then glanced to Quistis. "Quistis will be in operational command of this mission." The trio nodded in understanding. "However, this isn't like an ordinary operation. We're not performing this mission under Garden orders. We're acting under our own initiative to protect Garden."  
  
"Cid always said he wanted us to act on our own," Zell commented. "I guess this is what he meant."  
  
Squall nodded, and looked over the four SeeDs who he had worked beside in recent memory, a quartet he may never see again. The odds that the group would even survive the infiltration were negligible; in fact, the odds that they could even save Garden were questionable.  
  
But still, wasn't trying better than nothing?  
  
"Everyone, good luck," Squall stated, before saluting. The salute was mirrored by Selphie, Irvine, Zell, and Quistis, before the two groups took their separate ways.  
  
Squall glanced over his shoulder a few minutes later as he drove Irvine's vehicle away, watching the departing Galbadian army vehicle driving north to the Galbadian missile base, and bided his departing comrades a silent farewell. He didn't want to believe they would never return, but something in his heart told the SeeD that if his comrades did succeed, they would not escape . . . .  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------  
  
Whee! Thus ends the prison arc, and now, onto the Garden civil war and the missile base mission! Yee-haw!  
  
Future updates won't be quite as often as they have been, as there is something new I've been working on, a little something me and Xenogears have titled "Bittersweet Synthesis." Keep your eyes open for it, it should be up next weekend. Trust me, you won't be disappointed. 


	32. Tactical Espionage Action

_Chapter 27: Tactical Espionage Action_

Getting inside the perimeter of the missile base was surprisingly simple and easy. Security was apparently lax, as, in the seventeen or so years in which the base had been operational, no one had yet to have attempted to break in to the facility. So when the Galbadian army truck Selphie was riding in thundered over the horizon and pulled up the guard post outside the massive, looming metal gates, all the guard had to do was glance inside the truck to see a quartet of Galbadian uniforms and nothing else that seemed out of order.

"Alright, go on in," the gate guard stated, and Selphie couldn't help but be surprised at the lax security. Still, she took advantage of the situation and quickly went through the gate that the guard lowered. They passed within the perimeter of the missile base's huge concrete walls.

Once inside, Selphie found a fairly empty parking lot and parked the vehicle. The group quickly filed out, clad in a set of blue Galbadian uniforms. Zell was carrying the same sports bag that Irvine had used in the prison over his shoulder, which carried all their normal SeeD weaponry, gear that would undoubtedly not be considered standard issue. Instead, everyone carried a standard-issue Galbadian rifle and swords belted at their sides.

"So, where to first?" Zell asked casually, uncomfortable in his uniform. The constricting torso armor, in particular, was tight around his chest. The others seemed fine, though Selphie was sracthing occasionally from the itchy outfit, an urge that the others were barely containing.

"We go inside," Selphie replied quickly. "If there's anything we can smash, we smash it! And in the end, we blow this place to smithereens!"

"I like that plan," Irvine commented, grinning underneath his helmet. He glanced to Quistis, who nodded.

"Ordinarily we'd operate with a lot more intelligence," Quistis explained, not happy with the lack of proper planning involved with such a haphazard objective. "We'd already know where to go and what to do. I suppose the best course of action is to cause as much damage as we can." She turned around, scanning the base, and nodded to a nearby bunker which seemed to lead deeper into the base. The group made their way to the structure and entered. They moved down an empty corridor, rounded a corner, and nodded to a pair of maintenance soldiers checking a conduit before passing through another door. They enetered a small room with another pair of sliding metal doors. Selphie moved up to one, and frowned.

"Locked!" she muttered. Glancing around the door, she spotted a card reader. "We need an ID card!"

"How about this one?" Irvine asked, drawing a card out of a pocket in his uniform. "Found it inside my uniform. Maybe it'll work?" Selphie took the card and ran it through the scanner. The device beeped cheerfully, and the door slid open. Selphie was the first to step through, the other three following her.

They found themselves on a catwalk overlooking a missile storage bay, with dozens of blue-painted, sleek missiles standing in rows, ready to be transported to launchers.

"I know those," Irvine stated, looking down. "BAG0003A's. Powerful stuff, and real accurate if you set them that way."

"You can set them to be inaccurate?" Selphie asked, and Irvine nodded. "Why?"

"If you want to hit a wide area, or be indiscriminate," Irvine replied. "All depends on the error ratio."

"Maybe we can mess with the error ratio?" Quistis commented, and Irvine nodded.

"It'll decrease the chances for a hit," he replied. "We'll need to keep an eye open for a control panel."

The team moved on across the catwalks, past the missile storage bay and deeper into the underground base. Soon they passed by a door marked "Power Control," but a vigilant guard stood outside, watching the catwalk. It didn't look like there was any way to sneak up on him and take him out. They marched past him, Selphie somewhat disappointed that they wouldn't be able to get inside.

It was a few minutes later that they found themselves standing on a walkway overlooking a series of metal grooves set into the floor far below. Several huge metal platforms moved about the massive chamber below, transporting materials, missiles, and launchers around the base.

"If we cut the power, we can stop this whole operation," Selphie commented. "But we need a way past that guard."

"Maybe we could pretend we're maintenance," Zell suggested, but Quistis shook her head.

"What if its not scheduled?" she replied. "He'd see right through it if we showed up for maintenance off-schedule."

"So, let's see if we can find a schedule," Selphie replied. "Maybe there'll be information on there about how we can mess with other stuff too!" Everyone agreed, and they moved out, deeper into the facility.

Soon, the quartet of SeeDs found a staircase descending down, marked "Missile Launchers," and Selphie took them down without hesitation. The found another series of catwalks overlooking more metal grooves, and even as they watched, a metal platform bearing a pair of missiles rolled through a double door directly beneath the catwalk. There were several doors, one of which, marked "Main Launch Bay," was guarded by a bored-looking soldier. The man glanced at his watch, and then up at the quartet as they approached.

"Hey," he called. "Have you guys heard from the maintenance team repairing the elevator?"

"Nope," Irvine quickly replied, stepping forward. The others said nothing, merely shaking their heads.

"Hell," the guard growled. "They need to check Power Control before we can launch. Go check the launcher elevator that way," the guard said, pointing behind them. "If you see the guys, tell them we need Power Control inspected ASAP."

"Right away!" Irvine replied, and turned around, a grin on his face that was matched by Selphie at the golden opportunity. The rest of the SeeDs followed him down a long corridor, which eventually opened into a wide chamber which had a floor made largely of steel grates, through which steam was hissing. To their left, they could see what looked like a massive gray tube on wheels sitting on a platform, a pair of soldiers in front of it fiddling with electrical wires.

"Damn elevator!" one of them muttered as the SeeDs approached. "These things always go out at the worst times."

"I know," the second man replied. "But if we don't get this elevator fixed-"

"Well, it's one less launcher the guys in the main bay will have to worry about. Hell, there's already enough launchers prepped over there to level Deling City. One more won't matter."

"S'cuse me," Irvine said as he approached the soldiers. one of them looked up. "The guys over in the main bay said they needed the power control room checked out before they could launch."

"Shit!" the first soldier muttered. "Don't they know we're busy! We can't go check the power room too!"

"Well, like you just said, this isn't exactly essential," the second soldier commented.

"We've got our orders!" the first man replied. "The commander will have our heads if the missile launch is delayed, but we can't leave here until the elevator is fixed." The man paused, then glanced back at the quartet of SeeDs.

"Hey, can you check Power Control for us?" he asked.

"No way, that's not cool!" the second soldier objected. "What if the base commander finds out?"

"It's nothing major," the first soldier replied. "Just a quick check." He turned back to Irvine. "Just make sure nothing's burning or exploded or whatever. Shouldn't be, but you never know." Irvine nodded, while behind him, Selphie grinned anew.

"Smash it all to smithereens!" she whispered to herself.

Ten minutes later, they were back at the door to Power Control, and explained their intentions to the guard. The man shrugged and nodded, saying he was going to call in the next shift anyway, before moving off, leaving Power Control to them.

Selphie led the way inside, to a room that consisted of a wide bank of control panels beneath several monitors on the far side of the room, and a huge window to their right. The window showed what was undoubtedly the power generator for the base; a massive energy reaction contained within two magnetic field generators on the ceiling and floor of the power room. Hundreds of pipes and cables lead to and from it.

"Well, everything's working fine," Irvine commented.

"For now," Zell added, grinning.

"Smash it all!" Selphie shouted. She snatched her nunchaku out of Zell's bag and smashed the metal bars down hard on the console directly in across from the doors. Zell and Quistis exchanged surprised glances, but Irvine, who had already seen Selphie in action when she was aggressive, simply smiled and hefted his Galbadian rifle, smashing the butt down on the console somewhere else. Not letting those two get away with the fun, Zell smashed an entire bank of consoles with a single devastating two-handed slam.

A few seconds into the rampage, the room suddenly went dark, before yellow emergency lights cut. To the right, the power generator was no longer operating, the energy reaction fading quickly. An automated voice called over the speakers.

_"Attention: Main power disabled. Maintenance team, report immediately to Power Control."_

"Better get out of here," Quistis quickly warned, and Selphie nodded.

"Next objective!"

They hurried outside of the room and found their way onto a darkened catwalk, the emergency lighting barely sufficing for them to see. However, they did clearly see the pair of maintenance soldiers from the missile elevator running their way.

"What the hell happened!" one of the men called, running up.

"I dunno!" Irvine quickly replied. "We were coming down here to check things out when the power went haywire!"

"Don't worry, we'll check it out!" the second soldier assured them, and the two of them ran into Power Control. The four SeeDs looked at each other and shared quick a nod, before dashing back into the control room. Between the four of them, they easily knocked out the pair of maintenance soldiers, who were still gaping at the smashed consoles when the SeeDs fell upon them.

Leaving the thoroughly unconscious soldiers behind, the quartet moved back through the base, looking for anything else they could sabotage. Selphie noted with some satisfaction that all the mobile platforms were disabled, many of them still carrying missiles. Soon, they found their way back to the catwalks outside the missile launch bay, which were strangely empty.

The answer was forthcoming, as an officer stepped out of the main missile launch bay and spotted them.

"Hey!" he called. "Need some help in here! Power's out, and we need to push one of the last launchers into place." Quistis, knowing that to refuse might bring trouble, agreed. The officer led them into a wide chamber lined with over two dozen of the huge, cylindrical missile launchers. A group of soldiers were trying to push one of them into place, but were so far weren't having much luck; the device had only moved a couple of feet, even with all their work.

"Okay, I want you, you, and you," he said, pointing to Zell, Irvine, and Quistis, "to push that thing in place. You," he added turning to Selphie. "Sorry, not much room for you, and no offense, but you look a bit wimpy. Keep an eye on those tanks over there on those metal carts."

Selphie looked to where he was pointing, seeing several large tanks sitting on top of metal pushcarts. The metal carts were a bit too small for the tanks, which almost seemed to be about to fall over.

"That's high-octane jet fuel for the missiles," the officer added as Zell, Irvine, and Quistis took up positions alongside the other soldiers pushing the launcher in place. "Normally, it comes in on the big platforms, but we had to push them in with the power outage. If that shit falls off those carts, it'll get in the ventilation shafts and pool around the launchers, and if that happens, we can't launch, unless we want this place to go up like one of those Gardens!" The man bellowed a laugh at his sore attempt at humor, and Selphie resisted the urge to make him swallow his teeth.

"Yes sir!" she answered, and ran over to the carts.

Quistis, Zell, and Irvine pushed against the launcher, though the two Balamb SeeDs held back their full strength. between the two of them, they could have pushed the launcher in by themselves, but they didn't want to tip off the Galbadians as to their abnormal physical power. It took three long minutes of work, but between the three SeeDs and the gathered soldiers, the launcher easily slid into place.

"Good, good!" the officer called, stepping over. "You guys go do me a favor," he added, drawing a card. "Go check the coordinates on the control panel outside, make sure the missiles are locked onto Garden, then go tell the commander in the control room. I'd go myself, but I gotta finish final launch preparations." As he was speaking, Selphie bounded back over.

"Thanks for watching those tanks for me," the officer said, and Selphie nodded.

"No problem sir," she replied with a grin. "My pleasure."

The quartet stepped outside, and Irvine glanced to selphie. he opened his mouth when the tremendous, resounding sound of huge metal drums striking the metal decks back in the main launch bay filled their ears, echoing throughout that segment of the base. Following those sounds was a stream of curses from the officer in the main launch bay, almost as loudly.

"What did you do?" Zell asked, and Selphie smiled innocently.

"Disabled one wheel from each of the carts," she answered. "The moment they tried pushing it-"

"It toppled over," Quistis said with a chuckle. "And now they can't launch from the main launch bay."

"Not for a while, at least," Irvine added. "Let's check out that control panel."

The panel in question was very close by, just down the walkway from the launch bay. Quistis inserted the card and waited for the computer to veify the data within. After reading the information, a green and black wireframe map of the globe popped up, and a trio of options appeared: Target, Equipment, and Simulation.

"Error ratio should be under targeting," Irvine commented. "I know the system they use for long range targeting," he added tapping the side of the console. "Hyper Technology Missile System, subsidiary of Hyper Technology Inc., biggest provider of electronics in all of Galbadia."

Quistis nodded, though she didn't see any input device. She figured it must have been a touch screen, and tapped the targeting icon on the screen. The icons changed to show another trio of options: Set Target, Set Error Ratio, and Upload.

"Wait, change the target!" Selphie quickly suggested, and Quistis nodded, tapping that icon. Immediately, the screen flashed yellow, a message scrolling across saying that only authorized personnel, the system administrator, or the base's commander - Commander Okamogo - could change the coordinates. It demanded a password as well, which they didn't have. Quistis shrugged, glancing back.

"We don't have the password," she replied. "I guess we can only change the error ratio." She exited out of that screen and tapped Error Ratio, which brought up a meter. The left side of the meter was the lower end of the error ratio, while the right side was the higher end. Quistis tapped the right ride of the meter, and the error meter quickly rose to the maximum error ratio.

She exited out of that screen and hit Upload. The screen shifted to a status screen showing the data being uploaded to the missile launchers. Within a few seconds, the new error ratio was fully uploaded into the missiles' guidance systems. Quistis exited out of that screen and, just to make sure, tapped Simulation.

An automatic simulation was immediately run, tracking the projected missile path across the Galbadian continent, over the ocean, and toward Balamb. The missiles were shown descending upon a general area around the center of the continent. Statistic readouts below the simulation stated that the missiles would hit with a twenty to thirty percent accuracy only.

Quistis nodded and removed the card from the panel.

"Okay, now we just need to find the self-destruct mechanism," Selphie added. Everyone nodded. So far, they had just been making sure that even if they failed, the missile launch would cause minimum damage. The real objective had been to stop the launch entirely, and to do that, they needed to destroy the entire base.

"Should be in the control room," Irvine replied, and everyone agreed. They set out to find the control room, which, surprisingly, was actually very close by, just up a short flight of stairs. As they moved up, a man could be heard talking, undoubtedly the base commander, Okamogo.

"We've had some setbacks," the commander called as the SeeDs moved up the stairs. "But even with the primary power out and having to switch to the secondary launchers, we should be ready for launch. Are the coordinates confirmed?"

"Yes sir!" another soldier called.

"Good," Okamogo stated. Moments later, the intercom throughout the base activated.

_"Attention all personnel: missile launch will commence in ten seconds. All personnel report to your stations."_

His address complete, Okamogo turned to the men manning the consoles nearby.

"Begin the countdown," he stated, but then glanced up as a quartet of regular soldiers stepped into the control room via the stairs to the main launch bay. "What are you doing here, soldiers?" he called.

"Sorry to disturb you, sir," Irvine quickly replied, snapping off a salute. He didn't realize it, but he had accidentally given the SeeD salute instead of the Galbadian one. "But-"

"Hold it," he ordered. "You aren't Galbadian soldiers! That salute was totally wrong!"

"Shit!" Zell hissed, dropping the bag and leaping forward across the control room, directly at Okamogo. "Is time to rumble!"

Selphie, Irvine, and Quistis quickly snatched their weapons out of the bag as the half-dozen Galbadian soldiers around the small, open control room drew their sidearms or swords. Zell landed right in the middle of the room, directly in front of Okamogo, and launched a quick punch directly into the officer's face. Okamogo reacted surprisingly fast, catching Zell's fist on his forearm. However, the commander regretted that immediately, as the impact shattered the bone of his forearm. Zell spun around, planting a roundhouse kick into the officer's chest that blasted him across the room to slam hard into the corner of a console, the metal edge jabbing deep into his side just beneath his armor. Okamogo dropped to the floor, definitely out of the fight.

Irvine ducked for cover behind the stairs, leveling the Valiant at a Galbadian whose pistol had cleared its sheath. Two Action Express rounds blasted the soldier off his feet, and the sharpshooter shifted his aim. Another man, near a door into an adjacent room, was taken out before he could retreat out of the control room.

Someone slapped an alarm, and a klaxon sounded even as Quistis' whip snapped across the chamber, taking one man in the throat and send him spinning to the floor, crimson flying from his neck. Selphie launched her nunchaku in a quick sweeping strike, blasting a sword from one soldier's grasp, and then followed up with another swing that impacted with the disarmed soldier's stomach, blasting the air out of his lungs and throwing him off his feet.

Another soldier leveled his sidearm at Zell and fired a quick succession of shots, the bullets striking the brawler in the back. Zell yelled in pain, but spun on the startled man, who expected the unarmored martial artist to have been killed by the shots. Zell denied that logic with an argument consisting of a leaping kick that smashed the soldier's chest armor inward and threw him against another console, denting the device inward.

The last soldier opted to flee, but another pair of Action Express rounds caught up with him as he dove for the door, blasting into the back of his helmet and exploding out the front through his sensors, blood and skull fragments chasing it.

"Any more?" Zell asked, hopping around, but seeing no more soldiers. he popped his helmet off, shaking his head, glad to be out of the confining helmet. The others followed suit, removing their helmets and doffing their uniforms, which they had worn for the most part directly over their normal clothes. Irvine retrieved his jacket from the bag, as did Zell. Irvine replaced his cowboy hat and his .357s in their holsters within his trenchcoat.

"Let's find the missile controls and stop that launch!" Selphie shouted, and the group nodded, splitting up and canvassing the control room. Quistis located the launch controls within moments, and using a surprisingly simple interface, shut down the launch.

"Now all that's left is to blow this place," Irvine added, checking the adjacent room.

"You sure this place has a self-destruct?" Zell asked, following the sharpshooter. Quistis and Selphie were right behind.

"Of course there's a self-destruct," Selphie added. "There' s always a self-destruct!"

Indeed, there was a self-destruct, Zell discovered after a moment's search of the adjacent room, which seemed to be a security room. He activated the device, and frowned.

"It says we need to set a time limit," he said. "How long?"

"Short as possible," Quistis replied. "We can't give them time to deactivate it."

"Alrighty then! Twenty minutes should give us plenty of time to get clear of the explosion." Zell set the time, and the countdown started immediately, with a brand-new klaxon sound.

"_Attention all personnel. Self-destruct mechanism has been activated. All personnel have twenty minutes to reach minimum safe distance. All doors have been unlocked to expedite evacuation process. Repeat, the self-destruct mechanism has been activated . . . ."_

"Let's get the hell outta here!" Zell shouted, and no one disagreed as they turned and fled the control room, running back the way they had come at full speed.

However, they paid an unknowing price for their haste, as Commander Okamogo stirred shortly after the SeeDs had left. He crawled forward with his good arm from his spot on the floor, cursing the band of brats who had walked in and so casually disposed of his men. Now that he had seen them in action, he knew who they were: SeeDs.

"Garden will die," he muttered, pulling himself up on the launch control console. "Think you brats have stopped me?" Okamogo tapped a couple of keys, and reinitiated the launch program. He grinned as he hit the final button.

"It's not over yet," he muttered before slipping into darkness, his wounds claiming him.

--------------------

Captian Aves waved streams of fleeing soldiers, officers, and civilian personnel out of the base. Dozens of men and women fled by as quickly as possible, many running out into the desert on foot, as most of the vehicles had already been taken. Only a few transports remained, drivers bravely staying behind to fill their vehicles to maximum capacity before pulling out.

Aves watched them run on, then turned to Corporal Jern. They had received promotions a couple of days ago for their initiative during the faux kidnapping of Deling, and had been assigned to a special mission with one of the Galbadian military's newest tank models, known as the Iron Clad.

"Corporal, is the Iron Clad ready?" he asked, and the recently promoted soldier nodded.

"Yes, sir!" the perceptive younger soldier replied.

"Good," Aves replied. "We'll keep the Clad here for a few more minutes, in case those intruders show up. If they do, we'll kill them right here, but if they don't, we pull out and seal the gates."

"Sir, why don't we just seal the gates?" jern replied. Aves laughed.

"Jern, you still don't get how to get on the fast track to promotion!" Aves answered. "What do you think will make the Sorceress happier? Us sealing the enemy inside the base with no concrete proof we killed them, or us delivering their corpses directly to her? This army rewards initiative, Corporal!"

"Understood, sir!" Jern replied. A moment later, he pointed behind them, to one of the bunker entrances, out of which ran a quartet of teenagers.

"Gotta be them!" Aves replied. "Everyone else has evacuated. Get the Clad ready!"

"Aye, sir!"

Aves grinned at the kids as they ran across the parking lot, and then glanced to the side as he heard the sound of metal scraping across concrete. Three large holes had been opened on the blank concrete ground just beyond a chain-link fence, and from the holes a trio of huge cylinders rose, rotating and orienting themselves toward the east.

Aves pumped a fist in triumph as the missile launchers fired, a dozen of the artificially intelligent blue BAG003A cruise missiles lancing into the blue sky, riding contrails of white as they ascended into the heavens. He looked back down at the kids, and laughed as he saw disappointment and dejection on their faces.

"Too bad kiddies," he muttered darkly. "Mission failed! Now its time to die!" Aves turned and ran around the back of the juggernaut known as the Iron Clad, laughing all the way as he bounded through the rear door and sat down in the commander's seat.

"All systems go?" he asked and Jern nodded.

"Yes sir!"

"Then let's paste us some SeeDs!" he shouted, knowing already who those teenagers were. "Accelerate and annihilate!"

Iron Clad rumbled forward, and the quartet of teenagers were jolted out of their sense of failure by the advancing weapon. Aves grinned, knowing they were probably wondering how they could hurt this behemoth. Iron Clad was a massive blue-painted war machine with a beetle-like central body, featuring a specially designed (and, Aves thought, scary-looking) energy cannon on the front, just above a high-powered Vulcan gatling gun. Six massive turbines, three on each side of the huge tank, powered the house-sized war machine. It was a lethal juggernaut of devastation.

"Prepare to fire the main cannon!" he ordered.

"Main cannon charging," Jern replied. "Firing in three seconds. two. One. Firing!"

Energy gathered within the main cannon's barrel, and formed into a destructive ball of energy that was discharged in a beam of annihilation an instant later. The energy blast dove toward the quartet of children and Aves laughed, knowing they would be vaporized.

However, when the glare of light from the beam of energy faded, all four of them were still standing, somehow having managed to dodge out of the way, leaving no sign of damage excepting the one trenchcoated kid's hat being slightly singed, some edges burned off.

"Recharge main cannon!" Aves began to order, but even as he did so, he saw the blonde woman shout something to the other members of the group. Then she, the tattooed kid, and the little girl in yellow closed their eyes, while the cowboy scooted out of the way.

"New plan! Kill 'em with the machinegun!" Aves ordered, and Jern nodded.

"Aye sir!" he replied, and switched over to the gatling gun. He targeted the trio and opened fire, streams of metal slugs flying toward the kids . . . only to be deflected by a trio of multi-colored shields that sprang into existence just in front of them.

"Sir?" Jern asked, and Aves was dumbfounded for an instant, unsure what to do.

Then, the air burned. A fiery portal, like a gate to Hell, opened in front of the Iron Clad, and a massive, demonic beast stepped forward, fires running down its body. The monster loosed a roar that shuddered the mighty Iron Clad, and twin balls of magma formed in its hands. The demon stepped forward, and hurled the magma balls directly at the tank. the globes of molten stone impacted, the sheer heat melting the outer layers of armor before the balls detonated like incendiary explosives.

"Captain, the outer armor is melting!" Jern shouted, as the demon vanished and indeed, the outer plates of armor around the weapon were melting under the sheer heat. Then, the blonde woman opened her eyes, and the fires of the demon vanished, replaced by perfect cold as a giant icicle erupted from the ground. A beautiful, shimmering blue entity exploded from the icicle, blue energy forming around her hands. An instant later, a sheet of ice whipped over and encased the Iron Clad.

"Captain, the tank! Its metal is warping!" Jern shouted, and Aves cursed. The dramatic temperature change from the attacks that the two things that had struck them with was causing tremendous damage to the Iron Clad.

"Charge main cannon again! Wipe them out!"

"Aye, sir!"

There was a sudden explosion, shuddering the Iron Clad, and the ice cracked and began to break around the tank.

"What was that?" Aves demanded.

"Armor-piercing round, sir!" jern answered. "It hit the main cannon! Main cannon off-line!"

"Shit!" Aves cursed, glancing at the cowboy, whose unusual rifle still smoked from the shot. His attention was then stolen as rain fell on the battlefield. Rain, in the desert?

Lightning shot down from the sky, striking the ground in front of the Iron Clad and then growing, taking on the form of a strange, snake-bird hybrid, lights playing across its body as electricity crackled along its length. Then, a massive bolt of lightning, unlike anything Aves had ever seen, erupted from the creature's mouth, spearing the Iron Clad and its sheet of ice. the ice and the Clad's metal exterior served to conduct the electricity all throughout the weapon's length.

Something exploded, followed by a second, then a third, then a fourth.

"Generators detonating!" Jern managed to shout, before the Iron Clad began shuddering. Several more explosions rocked the war machine, and then it backed up into the main gate, blocking it.

"Cannon, offline, propulsion, off-line, gatling gun targeting offline!" Jern reported. "Captain, we've only got two minutes until detonation!"

"Let's get the hell out of here!" Aves ordered, and he ran to the back of the Iron Clad, kicking open the door. "Run!"

They ran.

--------------------

"Is it over?" Selphie asked as the war machine sat still. After a long moment, it seemed that it was.

"We can't stick around!" Zell ordered. "Let's get out of here!"

"How?" Quistis asked, pointing to the gate and the massive war machine blocking it. "I don't think we can get over that, even with our junctions."

"So, we're locked in?" Irvine asked, and Selphie reluctantly nodded.

It was over.

The missile base would explode in less than two minutes, and there was no way out. Even if they did get over the war machine, they wouldn't be able to get clear of the explosion in time.

"Damn, didn't know it would end like this," Zell commented. "It came so sudden, but I guess when your job is to fight, it comes sooner or later. I was always prepared, but . . . ."

"I thought it would be more dramatic," Quistis said in response. "I didn't think it would end so suddenly."

"Squall must have known this would happen," Irvine added. "Man, I wish I had known too. Maybe I would have said some things differently to him. Shouldn't have been such an ass when we first met." he glanced over at selphie.

"Aw, to hell with this, if I'm goin', I'm going to at least say something important!" Irvine took a step toward selphie, when Selphie suddenly spun.

"I've got an idea!" she suddenly shouted, and ran toward the gate and the disabled Iron Clad. The others were momentarily confused, but then each of them realized the desperate hope in her plan, and rushed after the tiny SeeD.

Mere seconds later, the entire missile base shuddered under the force of small explosives detonating deep inside, setting off a critical chain reaction, detonating another series of explosives scattered throughout the base, eventually making its way to the missile storage bay.

The warheads on every one of those missiles detonated, and the resulting blast reached high into the sky, a massive detonation of fire and debris that no person, SeeD or otherwise, could have survived.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Phew. that one took me a while to get to, but was fun to write, especially the ending!

I had some funny ideas for this chapter, some of which never got implemented. One idea involved Selphie accidentally setting off an alarm, and when the Galbadians would come looking, she would have hidden under a cardboard box, just like in Metal Gear. Another idea that I scrapped at the last second (as the timeframe might not work to well) is that Irvine was either going to tell selphie his feelings for her, or he was just going to outright kiss her when the base was going up. but I figured that wouldn't work too well, so I just had him hint about his feelings to develop them for later.

Another couple of side things: Commander Okamogo, the BAG003A cruise missiles, and the Hyper Technology Missile System are all actually in the game, none of them made up (except the bit on Hyper Technology Inc.) You see all of this in the missile base control console where you set the error ratio. That officer you kill in the control room, I suspect, actually has a name! I love the attention to detail in FFVIII.

Also, could people please read Bittersweet Synthesis? Please? I'm getting very few reviews for it (compared with Gunblade, at least) ::gives puppy-dog eyes::


	33. Unfriendly Fire

_Chapter 28: Unfriendly Fire_

Garden was still intact when Squall and Rinoa drove up in a car they had rented in Balamb. The huge white structure's continued existence relieved Squall of the burdens of worry that had creept in during the trip back. Even with the trains' surprising speed, that carried him and Rinoa back to Timber and from there to Garden in under twenty hours, he had still felt as if time was passing too quickly.

Squall parked the car just outside the main entrance. He would have gone in through the garage, but the tunnel leading down into the garage was sealed tight for some reason. He and Rinoa stepped out, the woman looking up in awe at the massive white structure in daylight, which made it no less magnificent than it had been during the night.

"The missiles may still be on their way," Squall said quickly. "We'll have to assume they are and warn the students. Let's go."

Rinoa nodded and the pair rushed through the main gates and deeper into the Garden grounds. The quickly passed the outer gardens, but as they drew closer to the entrance, something didn't seem right. Squall spotted a number of students running around, moving through the main entrance or around the entrance. A large group was congregated around one of the Faculty, who was giving them orders.

"Go!" the Faculty shouted as Squall came closer. The robed figure pointed toward the entrance, and the students moved out immediately. Squall blinked, confused. Had they already learned of the missile strike and were evacuating?

"Find Headmaster Cid Kramer!" the Faculty ordered to the departing students. "Seize him! Kill him if you have to!"

What? What the hell was going on? Squall ran toward the Faculty, intending to get some answers. However, his hand rested on his gunblade's handle, ready to draw it at a moment's notice. The Faculty must have heard him approaching, as he spun toward Squall.

"You," he shouted. "What are you doing just standing there! Find the Headmaster!"

"What's going on?" Squall demanded instead, ignoring the order.

"Don't play stupid!" the Faculty member replied. "You're with the Garden Master's faction, you should . . . ." The robed man paused, and then took a step back. "Leonhart!" he cried. "Squall Leonhart! One of the Headmaster's SeeDs!"

His shout was heard by a pair of cadets, who rushed over, one carrying an assault rifle, the other with a halberd in his hands. The looked to where the Faculty was now pointing at Squall, and raised their weapons.

"The hell?" Squall muttered.

"Squall . . . ." Rinoa whispered worriedly behind him, and the SeeD nodded.

"I'm not sure what's going on," he said, both to Rinoa and the apparently hostile cadets in front of him.

"Seize the SeeD, dead or alive," the faculty ordered. The two cadets hesitated, the one with the rifle lowering his weapon slightly.

"Squall," the cadet said, shaking his head. "I don't want to have to fight you. Just surrender, man."

"I don't even know what's happening here," Squall quickly answered, drawing the Revolver. "Are you going to give me some answers or fight?"

"Kill him!" came the Faculty's order, and that jolted the cadets, causing the halberd-wielder to come forward with a half-hearted thrust, as if his attack wasn't entirely willing. Squall deflected the clumsy thrust with ease, deflecting it with his gunblade and then grabbing it with his left hand, holding it fast. he snapped his left leg up into a snapping kick that struck the cadet in the chest, hurling him back to crash heavily into one of the stone railings separating the small gardens from the main path.

The cadet with the rifle raised his weapon to fire, but hesitated briefly. Squall, still holding the halberd near its head, didn't hesitate, however, spinning around and slamming the shaft into the cadet's ribs. The kid gasped in pain as Squall retracted the halberd, thrusting the butt of the shaft into the cadet's face. He took it dead on, right between the eyes, and fell backward, dazed. Squall dropped the halberd and ran forward, closing the distance between himself and the cadet, and smashed the butt of the Revolver into the student's temple, laying him out flat.

"What was that all about?" Rinoa asked, and Squall shook his head as the Faculty scurried away in terror at how casually Squall had disposed of those two students.

"I have a feeling we'll found out inside," Squall replied, running on. They quickly passed through the entrance, and certainly enough, the inside of the main Garden building was in chaos as much as the grounds outside. Cadets rushed around madly, some meeting with others, receiving orders from the Faculty, or just wandering aimlessly amid the shouts and cries.

As Squall surveyed the havoc, he noticed a familiar pair standing near the directory, seeming as bewildered as he was.

"SQUALL!" Fujin called, standing beside her brother. The SeeD and Rinoa hurried to them.

"What the hell's going on!" Squall demanded. "I came in here and I was attacked by students!"

"Yeah, that happens if you're a SeeD, ya know," Raijin replied with a nod. "They were saying something about capturing all the SeeDs, and then everyone started siding with the Garden Master's faction or with the Headmaster's faction. Now everyone's fighting all across the Garden. Total chaos, ya know!"

"DISTURBING," Fujin added.

"Yeah, especially 'cause we're the Disciplinary Committee, ya know," Raijin added. "All our hard work for nothing, ya know!"

"Why are the SeeDs being targeted?" Squall asked, knowing that something was very wrong here. Did it have something to do with the way Cid was always antagonized by the Faculty?

"Don't know," Raijin replied with a shrug.

"Where's the Headmaster?" Squall demanded. "I need to see him immediately. Galbadia has fired missiles at Garden."

"WHAT?" Fujin asked, both her and Raijin's jaws opening in shock.

"Oh, man, we gotta get outta here!" Raijin added, and Fujin kicked him in the shin for his cowardice. "Okay, okay, fine! I guess we gotta warn everyone! This ain't no time for a civil war, ya know!"

"We'll look for the Headmaster," Squall added, glancing to Rinoa who nodded.

"CAUTION!" Fujin added, and Raijin nodded.

"Really, man, be careful!" the big cadet added. "The Garden Master goons are everywhere, and I don't think they'll think twice before trying to kill you, ya know! And from what I've been hearing, the Headmaster's people are taking cover on the edges of the grounds, using the narrow hallways to keep the Garden Master's people out." Squall nodded.

"By the way, who are you with?" Squall asked. Raijin boomed a laugh.

"SEIFER," Fujin answered, and Raijin nodded.

"Like Fuu said," he added. "We're with Seifer. Now and always, ya know! We'll go warn the students!" Fujin and Raijin then rushed off, finding the nearest cadet to warn.

"Where should we go?" Rinoa asked, and Squall scratched his chin. He scanned their surroundings and the cadets rushing about. He noticed that the numbers of the cadets he saw added up to roughly half of Garden's populace, which meant that if anything, the Headmaster's faction had the edge, with both the other half of the cadets and the SeeDs. Things would probably be at a stalemate for a while, which meant that this chaos wouldn't die down anytime soon. And that meant they would be hit with their pants down if the missiles did strike.

Squall nodded in the direction of the infirmary as he noticed a group of cadets led by a Faculty member head that way, weapons drawn. He turned back to Rinoa momentarily.

"Rinoa," he began to say. He intended to tell her that it would be better if she stayed back, as she wasn't yet up to the caliber of SeeD cadets, but she nodded before he could say anything.

"I'll just slow you down," she replied. "I'll go help Fujin and Raijin warn the students."

"Okay," Squall replied with a nod. "Just . . . just be careful." She nodded and turned away, running off after the two siblings. Squall watched her leave for a moment, before turning back to the hallway. the Revolver came into his hands as he strode down the hall deliberately.

Ahead, near the infirmary entrance, Squall saw a standoff as several cadets and a pair of SeeDs barred the entrance, weapons drawn. They were outnumbered slightly by the dozen cadets that the Faculty had mustered to his aid. Squall figured that the Headmaster's people would still win the battle, but he wasn't certain, and quickly advanced anyway. Besides, from the way the Garden Master's faction had treated him thus far, Squall was almost viewing the Headmaster's faction as his allies.

Squall rushed down the hallway as the cadets stepped forward, preparing to wade into battle. The Faculty remained behind, commanding his troops from the back, until squall tapped him on the shoulder. The man turned back, and though Squall couldn't see his expression, it was probably amusing as he backed away in a panic.

"A SeeD!" he managed to cry out, and three of the cadets spun. The others looked back, momentarily confused by the new enemy, and in that moment, the Headmaster's SeeDs charged in. Battle was joined immediately. The three who had turned to face Squall readied their weapons, but one suddenly dropped to the floor, unconscious from Squall's quick sleeping spell. The other two rushed forward, both wielding swords.

The cadets were young; they had likely only recently begun their weapons training, Squall realized, as their initial attacks were almost painfully straightforward, rough swings in Squall's general direction. The Revolver danced between their strikes, parrying blows before they'd even really begun. Squall snaked in a quick hit on the top of one cadet's wrist as he retracted his blade, and the sword went flying away, clear out of one of the hallway's windows. The other student rushed forward in a straight jab. The Revolver turned the weapon aside to the left, and Squall came forward with a rising right elbow that smashed the cadet in the mouth, throwing him to the floor in a daze. He turned to the first cadet, who just put up his hands in immediate surrender.

The battle at the infirmary door was almost over, ending almost as quickly as Squall's. Most of the cadets were unconscious or had their weapon arms disabled. A few had surrendered as well, their battles over before they had even started. The last cadet gave in, dropping his weapon, and Doctor Kadawoki stepped out, shaking her head.

"Get the wounded inside," she muttered.

"What?" one of the wounded Garden Master cadets asked. "Why are you helping me? I'm with the Garden Master."

"Don't be ridiculous," she responded as one of the SeeDs helped the wounded cadet stand. "I don't care whose side you're on. Get in there so I can fix you up."

Squall bent down, grabbing the dazed cadet by the front of his uniform, and hauled him into the infirmary one-handed. He dragged him in and set him on one of the beds, and turned to face the doctor as she bandaged up a wounded cadet.

"Doctor," he said, catching her attention. "I need to find the Headmaster."

"Cid?" she replied, shaking her head. "I wouldn't know."

"The Headmaster deliberately set us up so we wouldn't know everything," one of the SeeDs added. "Xu, Elain, and Jofey are the only one who know where he's really hiding."

"Where can I find them?" Squall asked, to be met by shrugs.

"Elain?" one of the Garden Master cadets, a bandage wrapped around his head, asked. "I saw her in the Training Center, protecting some junior classmen."

Squall turned to the cadet, confused as to why one of the Garden Master's cadets would be so helpful. At his questioning expression, the cadet shrugged.

"Hell, this place is insane," he replied. "I don't really want to fight. The Master's Faculty said we had to seize the Headmaster, and I couldn't refuse with all those cadets backing them. I'm actually kind of glad I'm injured. Takes me out of the fighting."

Squall nodded and looked back to Kadowaki.

"Doctor, I think you should help with the evacuation," he stated. "Galbadia is planning to launch missiles at Garden."

"What?" Kadowaki exclaimed, eyes widening. "Are you serious?" Squall nodded grimly.

"Then I have to stay here," she replied immediately. "If those missiles hit, I'm the only certified doctor here. I can't leave."

"Then take cover," Squall replied. He didn't waste anymore time there, instead running out the door and back down the hallway to the central structure of Garden.

Squall didn't realize it, but at that moment, a dozen sleek blue missiles had already passed through the clouds far above Timber and were even then turning toward the distant island of Balamb and the Garden located there.

"Over there!" came a shout. "It's one of the Headmaster's SeeDs! She's got some of the junior classmen with her!"

"Catch them!" ordered the Faculty member commanded the cadets. "Don't let them escape!"

Elain dashed through the thick jungle of the Training Center, running deeper into the wilderness, ushering a dozen or more younger Garden cadets ahead of her, most of them not even into their teens. They could hear the pursuing steps of the trio of Garden master cadets behind them, and the slower steps of the Faculty commanding them.

They ducked down a side trail, and ran deeper into the woods, before suddenly stopping as the electrical fence loomed up ahead. Eleain looked around in fear, searching for a way out, another route perhaps, but was cut short when their pursuers arrived, brandishing weapons.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Elain managed to say to the children as she stepped in front of them, readying her halberd. They whimpered, some of them falling back almost to the fence as the cadets spread out, grinning. One child, though stepped up beside her, putting his hands on his hips defiantly. He was one of the more gung-ho and motivated children, Elain remembered, and though she tried to usher him back, he stepped forward, ready to fight.

"Seize them," the Faculty ordered, and the cadets advanced, one glancing to the younger kid with a mocking laugh.

"Fighting you should be interesting," the cadet muttered, slapping the tonfa in his right hand into his left palm. "Not exactly fair, but-"

The kid suddenly leaped forward, left leg snapping forward and smashing up between the cadet' legs. He let out a sudden high-pitched yelp of pain and fell back, clutching his crotch before falling down, eyes crossing.

"I've been training for years!" the kid exclaimed to the suddenly agonized student. "You think its been for nothing?"

"You little brat!" another cadet shouted, stepping toward them, his glaive readied-

-until a black-clad figure dropped into their midst, deftly knocking the glaive into the dirt while at the same time sweeping a leg low, tripping the cadet. A quick motion of his foot lifted the glaive into the air, and he kicked the weapon aside, sending it clattering into the electric fence. The fence protested, sending off a tremendous blast of electricity before the weapon fell behind the startled children.

"If you want them, you'll have to go through me," Squall stated, weapon resting by his side. Despite his casual stance, everyone knew that Squall, who had the deadliest reputation in Balamb Garden, was quite ready for battle. The only standing and armed cadet backed away, lowering his sword, and Squall turned to the Faculty.

"Its in your best interests to retreat," he advised, but the man was already backing off. He quickly nodded to his cadets, and they turned to flee. Squall waited for them to get out of sight, before turning back to Elain.

"Thank Hyne you showed up, Squall!" she said, her relief sincere. He shook his head quickly.

"Maybe not," he replied. "Get those kids somewhere safe. Galbadian missiles are on their way for Garden."

"What?" she exclaimed, and he nodded.

"I need to find Xu."

"Xu?" Elain looked up to the west, toward the center of Garden. "She's coordinating defenses on the second floor."

"Thank you," Squall replied. "Get them to safety. I have to report to the Headmaster."

Squall turned without another word and ran back toward the entrance to the Training Center. Soon enough, he was back inside Garden's main complex, and noticed that the havoc he had seen earlier had died down significantly. No doubt Rinoa, Fujin, and Raijin had done a good job. He quickly rounded the central pillar of the structure, hurrying for the elevator, which he noticed was thankfully unguarded. He bounded up the steps, but a call from behind caught Squall's attention. he looked back to see Rinoa running to join him.

"Squall!" she repeated as she neared him.

"How's the evacuation?" he asked, and she shrugged.

"We've spread the word, but a lot of people are seeking shelter instead of fleeing," she replied. Squall frowned, and shook his head.

"Garden won't be able to shelter them all if those missiles strike," he replied, but Rinoa shrugged helplessly.

"They refuse to leave for the most part," she said. "Sorry."

"It's not your fault," he replied. "I've found Xu, she's upstairs. She can tell me where the Headmaster is."

Rinoa nodded and joined him on the elevator. It rose to the second floor quickly, and from the elevated viewpoint, Squall saw that the Garden was indeed calming down considerably. Moments later, the elevator reached the second level, opened to the greeting of the barrels of several rifles and the ready blades of two dozen weapons. Squall quickly raised his hands in a gesture of peace, and the majority of the weapons were lowered as he was recognized as a SeeD.

"Squall, glad to see you back," Jofey stated, sheathing his blade.

"Is Xu here?" he asked, and some looked back, waving his hand. A moment later, Xu filtered through the ranks, a pair of ornate, bladed sai in her hands.

"Squall?" she asked, and he nodded. "What are you doing back here? we could use the help with the revolt-"

"I'm not here for that,' he replied quickly. "I need to find the Headmaster."

"Why?" she asked.

"Galbadia has launched missiles at Garden." The response was the usual he'd been getting, and Squall continued quickly. "Everyone needs to prepare for the missile strike," he added, and everyone nodded. Xu quickly stepped forward, toward the elevator.

"I'll take you to Cid," she explained, and he and Rinoa stepped back inside. She tapped a button, and the elevator rose quickly toward the third floor and the administrative offices.

"He's been up here the whole time?" Squall asked, and she nodded.

"We've been spreading rumors he's hiding in the outer grounds," she replied. "That's why the Garden Master's forces were trying so hard to take the outer facilities. In reality, he's been hiding up here the whole time while we cut communications and locked them out. They really didn't have much of a chance from the beginning, actually. Cid was too well-prepared for this."

The elevator reached the third floor and they stepped out, moving to Cid's office immediately. Xu opened the door, and Cid was waiting for them, looking at his laptop. He glanced up, and the old man's eyes widened in shock as Squall smartly saluted.

"Squall, what are you doing back?" he asked. "Last I heard, you and your team were compromised in Galbadia."

"We were, sir," Squall replied with a nod. "I don't have time for a full report. Galbadia is retaliating against Garden."

"I know," Cid replied gravely. "They have already invaded Galbadia Garden and seized control. We suspect that they may be planning the same for here and Trabia as well."

"No, sir," Squall replied. "They've fired missiles at Trabia and I suspect more are on their way here."

"I didn't expect Edea would do that," Cid muttered, shaking his head sadly, standing up. "I expected the response to be in the form of ground troops, and would give the SeeDs time to disperse. But I guess we have no choice then but to initiate a full evacuation. I want you to warn the students."

"Fujin and Raijin are handling that," Squall answered. "They've warned most of the students already."

"Then assist them," Cid answered, looking back to his computer, before standing straight, as if preparing for something. "Then evacuate."

Squall frowned. Something was on the Headmaster's mind, but what? did he have something planned?

"You have a problem with that order, Squall?" Cid asked, smiling faintly. "Of course you do."

"You're planning something, aren't you, sir?" Squall asked, and Cid nodded.

"This place is my home," he replied. "SeeD is already dispatched, so there's no true need for it. I'm going to stay here and see this through to the end."

"That's suicide!" Rinoa exclaimed, and Squall nodded in agreement.

"Sir, you can't."

"Rest assured," Cid replied "I'm just going to try something. Balamb Garden used to be a mobile shelter before it was remodeled, and I've learned that somewhere in the basement there is supposed to be a defensive mechanism in case of attack. I'm going to try to activate it."

Squall's frown deepened. If what Cid was saying was true, then that would mean he'd be descending into the Garden's MD Level, which was far from a safe place for anyone, especially an older man like Cid Kramer.

"Sir, I want to do this," he stated quickly. "I want to handle whatever you're planning."

"Why?" Cid asked, curious. Squall shook his head quickly. He had his reasons: he wanted to do something more than just evacuate, he wanted to save his home, and as many people as he could. Cid might screw it up, and there was a distant curiosity about the MD Level and the defense mechanism. He had a hundred more reasons, not all of which he understood, but Squall Leonhart _knew_ he wanted to help.

"My feelings have nothing to do with it, sir," Squall answered, to which Cid simply chuckled.

"Quistis was right," he mused. "You're not very good at expressing your feelings." Squall scowled. Was the old man judging him?

"Here," Cid added, reaching into his desk. He pulled out a set of keys and tossed them to Squall, who deftly caught them. "Use these on the elevator, it will allow you to descend to the MD Level. There's some type of control system at the very bottom of Garden's foundations. I don't know what it looks like, or even what it does, but it's our best bet."

"Understood," Squall replied, saluting.

"Good luck to you," Cid replied, matching the salute. Squall turned back, looking to both Rinoa and Xu.

"We're going with you," Rinoa stated immediately, leaving no room for debate.

"The MD Level isn't the safest," Xu added. "You never know what you'll find down there. You may need the help of another SeeD." Squall glanced to Rinoa, wondering for an instant why she was willing to risk her life for a building and an organization she had no stake in.

"I don't have to have a reason, do I?" she replied, putting her hands on her hips at Squall's unasked question. Squall hesitated for a moment, before finally nodding.

"Be prepared," he told them, stepping toward the elevator, though privately, he was glad they were coming along with him into the darkness of Garden's bowels.

* * *

"Holy shit!" one of the PFC's shouted, surveying the destruction of the Galbadian missile base. Not a building was left standing in the wake of the destruction, and solid steel I-beams could be found a mile away, sticking out of the desert sands like metallic bones.

Closer to the facility was even worse, as a wide crater surrounded by a haze of slowly settling dust and sand marked where the mighty facility had once been located. Only a few pieces of the various hangars and bunkers remained, mostly warped and twisted support beams and blasted foundations. The survey team shook their heads as their trucks pulled up, headlights cutting on to cut through the haze and dust.

"Not gonna be much to report," one sergeant commented, hopping out of his truck. He flicked on his nightvision, but switched it over to thermal immediately. That didn't do any good either, as the desert sun and the detonation heated the dust. He flicked on the electromagnetic scanner, and suddenly paused, spotting something in the ruins that was, in fact, giving off an electrical field. He moved through the haze, calling his squad over, and almost laughed at what he saw.

"Someone call the captain," the sergeant shouted, shaking his head. "The Iron Clad's still intact! Jeed, get over there, see if the controls are still working."

One of the technical soldiers ran over the battered tank, while the sergeant circled it, awed at how this marvel of engineering had survived. Moments later, Jeed came back around, shaking his head as well.

"Rear hatch is welded shut," he explained. "Must have been melted by the fire from the blast."

"Check to see if there's an external access port," the sergeant ordered, walking around to the other side of the tank, inspecting that side. He had almost finished a search for a port there when Jeed called him back.

The technical soldier had already found an outer port under a half-melted panel, and had opened it. He was fiddling with the port beneath, hooking up a cable from his own personal datapad into the port. He tapped a few keys, and the tank suddenly started up, engine rumbling to life.

"Good job," the sergeant stated. "Get this thing to the convoy, the captain's probably going to want it sent off to Tollane. Heard the Sorceress wanted us to bring this thing to the Fourth Expeditionary Unit for some hunting."

"You think they'll get it operational?" Jeed asked, and the sergeant shrugged.

"Hell if I know. The CO's are weird. Probably'll send it into combat with just that remote control program you put into it!" The sergeant laughed, before patting Jeed on the shoulder. "Get it moving, son. We'll check out the rest of this hellhole and see what's worth salvaging."

* * *

Squall took heart when the elevator descended, as the majority of the panic and rioting that had been taking place inside Garden had thinned out. Fujin and Raijin had done a good job of spreading the word of the incoming missiles. The elevator dropped below, past the first level, and descended deeper into Garden's depths.

It descended for several long seconds, and the trio saw nothing outside the windows during that time, until the elevator suddenly screeched to an unexpected halt, the lights cutting. Moments later, a soft blue emergency light cut in, and Squall glanced around the elevator.

"Power must have been cut," he commented.

"The access panel's here," Xu commented, crouching where she had been standing, pulling open a mantainance panel. Squall crouched next to her, peeking down, and spotted a ladder along the elevator shaft's wall, just beneath them. The shaft itself dropped into darkness far below, the bottom too far away for him to guess its depth.

Xu took the lead, with Rinoa following, Squall taking up the rear and climbing down the ladder. They descended the shaft about maybe twenty feet by Squall's estimate when Xu had found another mantainence tunnel and popped it open. She peered in and waved them forward, before dropping itno the tunnel. Rinoa began to step in, when Squall heard something moving up above. He looked up the see the elevator, apparently having regained power, rapidly descending.

Rinoa ducked into the tunnel quickly, and Squall was a second behind her, dropping into the tunnel with less than a second to spare as the elevator dropped past.

"That was too close," she commented. "You okay?" Squall nodded, showing no dismay over his near-fatal experience. It wasn't the first time he'd brushed death within the last week.

Up ahead, Xu had found a switch, which activated a light in the narrow, cramped tunnel. The walls were rusty and reeked of crude oil, a smell that only got stronger when Squall found a sealed trapdoor which took some effort for the SeeD to wrench open. He dropped into an old metallic tunnel below, the smell getting even stronger. Xu and Rinoa followed, both crinkling their noses.

"An old oil stratum," Xu commented. "I heard rumors that there was one beneath Garden, but never knew if they were true or not."

"Garden's sitting on a gold mine," Rinoa added, and Squall nodded, wondering if anyone had really known.

"Keep your eyes open," he warned. "There could be anything down here, so we should be prepared."

"You have elemental junctions, right?" Xu asked, and Squall nodded.

"You think we should be going with fire junctions?" he asked, and she nodded.

"Just be careful if we do find any crude oil deposits," Xu warned, closing her eyes and focusing. Squall did as well, selecting magic from within himself and focusing the energy down into his hands. He felt a warm sensation drift down his arms, and opened his eyes to see a faint reddish-white outline around his gunblade, the power of his Guardian Forces imparting the flame element into whatever weapon he held in his hands. Xu held her bladed sai in front of her, they, too, shining with fire elemental power.

He glanced up at Rinoa, intending to give her a quick crash course on elements, but was surprised to see her crossbow was now shimmering with a similar aura. At his quizzical expression, she shrugged.

"Just like junctioning it into my body, right?" she asked, and Squall nodded.

"You're a fast learner," he commented, echoing the sentiments Zell had expressed earlier that week.

The trio advanced down the metal tunnel, which curved to the right, eventually opening into a vertical shaft with another ladder. They descended, squall leading this time, and moved down about a hundred or so feet to another ladder set into the floor of the shaft. The ladder, however, was sealed off. Frowning, squall scanned the room, and spotted a door nearby. They moved inside to see what looked like a pressure control room, complete with numerous valves and a large locking wheel. The wheel itself was marked _"Access to Lower Level."_

Shrugging, Squall started to turn the wheel, but found that it was wedged in place by decades of accumulated rust, and not even his enhanced muscles could work it. Xu moved up beside him, and together the SeeDs tried budging it, but again to no avail. Then, Rinoa, seeing what she could do, tried to help them move it, and with all three of them pulling hard, they finally managed to free the wheel from its rusty imprisonment and turn it. As they rotated the mechanism, they felt the floor beneath them shudder, until finally the wheel did not move any further. Squall looked outside into the shaft and saw that the entire floor, excepting a small walkway, had opened up, revealing another shaft that extended about a hundred and fifty feet below into a open area far below.

Once again, Squall took the lead down the ladder, and within a minute or so of descending, the trio found themselves looking into a wide expanse, a massive metal cavern with single pillar in the center. The ladder led to a metal walkway that led to the center of the chamber, which they descended quickly. Once there, they found no readily available pathway, or at least, not at first. Squall soon discovered a ladder on the other side of the pillar, which led up to the top of the cavern, where there was located another metal walkway that in turn led to what looked to be a control room about halfway up the wall.

"Who designed this place?" Rinoa complained, and Xu giggled. Squall simply shook his head, and looked up at the old ladder, which was rusty in plenty of places, including where it met the floor. Even though Xu and Rinoa were lightweight, it wouldn't be safe if all three of them went. Shrugging, Squall went up the ladder by himself, promising to check out the control room.

He made it perhaps three-fourths of the way up the ladder before it suddenly began creaking and breaking away from the central pillar. Squall gritted his teeth as he felt the ladder pull away, and held on tight. Moments later, the ladder swung down, falling away from the pillar and toward the control room.

Squall gritted his teeth as they fell, and then suddenly released the ladder, letting himself fall down at the control room and the glass window, his booted feet leading and smashing through the glass. A dozen minor flares of pain erupted along his skin, but he paid them no mind as he hit the floor, rolling away, the ladder crashing behind him. The SeeD quickly checked his body and, finding no real blood on wetting his clothes, excepting the dried blood he hadn't yet had time to clean off, turned to the consoles dotting the room.

The controls and screens were strange things, of a type he'd never encountered before, but as he moved around, poking a few things, he was able to roughly discern what performed which function. He found something he guessed was for opening access to yet another lower level, and activated it.

Instantly, the entire chamber shuddered, and as Squall looked outside, he saw that most of the metal floor between the central pillar and the outer walls rotate away, to reveal even more of the chamber far below. Fortunately, there wasn't too much more below that point, not to mention that there was a ladder that was easily visible from this side, and one that was neither so flimsy-looking nor coated in as much rust, leading down to a platform below, which was located directly above a wide pool of crude oil.

The only real way back was over the ladder that had crashed through the window, so he hopped back onto it and moved back down. The ladder seemed to have been further weakened by the impact, but it held as Squall moved back down to where Xu and Rinoa waited. Both of them seemed worried about him, but Squall waved their concerns away as he hopped off the ladder.

"I was okay," he replied quickly. "It was a bit scary, but we've got more important things to worry about."

They left it at that, Squall leading them to the ladder he'd spotted. After opening a gate blocking access, he led the way down to the lower level. As soon as he hit the floor, he spotted a huge metal doorway a short distance away, just over a metal walkway that hovered mere feet over the pool of oil. Squall didn't see any readily available means to open the door, except a lever nearby. With a shrug, he flipped it, and the door beyond slid up, to reveal a ladder leading even lower. Squall shook his head at all the ladders as Xu and Rinoa joined him, and they moved toward the walkway.

They had advanced about halfway across the walkway when Squall paused, a sudden feeling of unease washing over him. Rinoa and Xu kept on walking for an instant, before they, too, paused, looking back at the SeeD.

"What is it?" Xu asked, but Squall didn't answer, instead turning, looking out over the pool of oil below. His hand dropped to his gunblade, and out of the corner of his eye, Squall thought he saw something move in the oil, the black fluid shifting as if something moved beneath it.

That was all squall needed to justify drawing his gunblade. Xu snapped her sai out as well in response. Rinoa glanced back and forth between them, and started to pull back the wire on her crossbow when the oil to either side of the walkway erupted, and a pair of huge white beasts seemed to explode out of the fluid, landing on the walkway ahead of Xu and behind Squall.

Both SeeDs rushed forward, starting to move even before the creatures had really landed on the walkway. The monsters were huge, white creatures of some kind that none of the group had ever seen before, semi-amorphous blobs of white flesh, looking almost like massive leeches with hose-like mouths. Black eyes peered at them over the long mouths as they began to turn, though neither completed their rotation unscathed, as Xu and Squall hit them hard and fast, Xu's sai stabbing repeatedly, while Squall's gunblade cleaved in hard with one, then two strokes. The beasts shuddered and recoiled from the hits, their skin peeling back as the SeeDs' weapons, enchanted with fiery energy, burned through their vulnerable flesh.

Between the two SeeDs, Rinoa was caught completely off-guard. she looked back and forth, her eyes snapping toward the two SeeDs as they battled ferociously against this new opponent, and she was unsure who to help first.

Xu bore into her opponent hard, slicing rapidly, the blades of her sai cutting into the monster's flesh, but leaving only minor wounds as the small, slender edges couldn't cut too deeply. Nonetheless, she racked up over a dozen cuts across the beast's flesh before it even began to respond. The white-skinned creature rippled forward, whipping its hose-like maw around with surprising strength, impacting across Xu's head. She fell back a step, and the mouth jabbed forward, impacting on her neck, tiny teeth digging in. Xu gasped as she felt the creature begin to suck blood.

Squall went at his opponent with brutal abandon, hacking rapidly. The beast fell back further, roaring, and as Squall chased after it, a mass of black goo erupted from it mouth. The oil, for that was what it was, smashed hard into Squall with the force of a thrown medicine ball, staggering his advance, but only for a moment. The creature slithered forward, intending to get in close and drink his bodily fluids, but Squall recovered faster than it expected and was on it in an instant, slashing with fury at this creature that had dared to attack them during their desperate mission to save Garden.

The monster's teeth had barely begun to sink in and draw blood when a magical blast struck the beast, a barrage of ice that snatched its attention momentarily, but in that moment, Xu struck, snapping her sai around and stabbing them hard into either side of the monster's ugly face. The blades drove into the monster's eyes, burning them away and penetrating deeper. The monster loosed a blood-curdling screech of pain as it tore away, writhing in pain it hasd never known as the burning-hot sai consumed its heat-vulnerable skin and insides. The beast backed away a bit, before sliding to the floor and laying still.

Squall hacked into his opponent brutally, his gunblade burying into its soft flesh, the heated edge devastating its organs and concussive blasts exploding even deeper, tearing apart the creature. The monster, cut, burned, and blasted, was unable to put up a solid defense in the face of Squall's assault, and could only back away. The SeeD paced it, cutting deeper and deeper, until the monster let out a final wheeze and collapsed.

"No time to waste," Xu shouted, turning back. She nodded her thanks to Rinoa for the timely blast of magic, then waved Squall over. He nodded and joined them, Xu already starting to climb down the ladder beyond the walkway.

* * *

Less than ten miles from the shore of Balamb, the Galbadian missiles began their descent. The lead missile dropped through the clouds, its internal computer scanning the terrain below and ahead with a large, eye-like scanner located on its underside.

The scanner spotted the coastline of Balamb far ahead, and confirmed it as the destination. Behind it, the other eleven missiles did the same. The missiles continued to drop, skimming the waves of the ocean as they closed with the coastline of Balamb and the Garden beyond. Soon, they neared the coast, and in the distance, the actual Garden itself came into sight.

The missiles armed their explosives and began to rise, preparing to strike.

* * *

The ladder was short, thankfully, and as they reached the walkway just below, Squall knew that they had finally reached their destination. He scanned the room, seeing what appeared to be a huge, twisted, metallic . . . _something_ in the center of the room, a massive machine consisting of turbines and strange curving metal, forming a snake-like central pillar shooting up into the ceiling. Squall's internal sense of direction told him that whatever this machine was, it seemed to extend up into that central pillar he had seen above.

Before the machine was a strange control panel, though how to operate it, Squall didn't know.

"What are we supposed to do?" Rinoa asked, echoing Squall's sentiments. He looked over the control panel in confusion, not understanding the function of any of the buttons, switches, or any of the runic script everything was written in. The control room above he'd been able to figure out, but here . . . how the hell was he going to figure it out before the missiles struck? And something told Squall deep inside that the missiles were on their way, or were there already, even then diving down at the Garden.

Squall began hitting random buttons, his frustration growing. How was he supposed to do anything down here when even the Headmaster, the man who had built the Garden in the first place, didn't even know what function this place served? Squall growled in anger and slapped a lever in the center of the panel, the device turning suddenly.

"Do you know what you're doing, Squall?" Rinoa asked, and he spun around, clenching his teeth.

"No!" he snapped. "I have no idea what I'm supposed to do here!"

Then as if in response, the panel behind began to whir to life, the lever Squall had hit starting to sink into the panel as the floor around them shuddered.

Then, it began.

* * *

Chapter title courtesy of LuKuang, Aaron Bru and Ice Hobo of SimRTK, routed to me through my ever-awesome editor. Much kickassness is from them, I say. 

What else to comment on? Hmm. To answer some questions and comments:

**Why is fire magic used so much?**

This should be obvious. Fire and electrical magic are, by their very natures, a more destructive energy source than something like cold or wind or earth-based magic. Fire is used against living creatures, and electricity against mechanical foes, which are enemies largely faced during the course of the story. Furthermore, in the duel between Squall and Seifer, Seifer used fire magic exclusively as part of his fighting style.

**Carbuncle? Where is he?**

I answered the Carbuncle queston before I reloaded my story in my insert between the two "books," but here it is, repeated:

_My answer is in the form of a question, or rather, in the form of a hypothetical situation. _

_Imagine yourself as Squall in that scene. You've just run through the Palace gates, initiated a fistfight, climbed up the side of a building, all in a mad rush to rescue a woman you sort of care for and are entrusted to protect. You enter the room where she is with the monsters, and see her lying there, bleeding, possibly dead, and the monsters are towering over her with bloody jaws, ready to eat her where she lays. What would you do?_

_You'd slash the shit out of those bastards, heedless of your own safety, if you're Squall, that's what. I'd already laid out the image of Squall dashing to the rescue, fighting the Iguions singlehandedly while Irvine rushed to catch up, before I'd even written the scene where Squall met Rinoa on the train. And unfortunately, I knew, there would be no logical room for me to have either Squall or Irvine Draw magic from the monsters. It simply couldn't work. Irvine didn't have a Guardian Force, and neither he nor Squall would have any reason to be Drawing magic from the monsters in the first place, nor would they know there was a GF in the monsters. They would have one primary goal, which was to kill the monsters and save Rinoa. Drawing Carbuncle has no place in that scene. There was no point where they would have, logically, taken him, so, like the dog and Squall's outburst, it was left out for the sake of logic. And really, when you consider the situation, it seems strange that anyone would bother with taking the time to Draw the GF in the first place. How many FFVIII players have played that sequence and didn't Draw Carbuncle in the first place? I was one of them when I first played through, because I neither expected them to have a GF, nor did I think to Draw from the Iguions. And guess what? Same with Squall and Irvine. There was no point where they could have gotten Carbuncle, not even with the one Iguion that was dying, since, once again, Squall doesn't know it carries a GF and he isn't really concerned with checking to see if there is one._

_That said, I'm not leaving Carbuncle out, just as I'm not leaving Diablos out. The loveable little green bunny/mouse thing will make his appearance later._

**Fire in the hole?**

For Diego, mostly. "Fire in the hole" is basically a warning that someone is about to detonate explosives or grenades. A soldier about to breach a room with a fragmentation grenade would pass on a warning to his comrades with a quick "Fire in the hole!" before tossing, for example. It comes from tossing explosives into bunkers and holes where enemy soldiers would be hidden.

**Irvine/Selphie?**

Will take place in my fic before the end, or at least, it will be hinted at.

Anything else? Hmm, not that I can think of. if someone does ask a question in the future, expect me to dutifully answer it. next chapter's gonna be sizable, with some original sequences and plenty of plot revelations.


	34. Proprietor

_Chapter 29: Proprietor_

Cid Kramer knew something was happening when he sensed a faint thrumming running through the entire structure of Garden, as if a string was being vibrated just beneath the floors. He looked around in confusion, and then grinned as he realized that Squall had found the defensive system of the ancient shelter the Garden was based on.

The floor below his feet suddenly began glowin, and Cid took a step back in confusion as it resolved itself into a bright white light, one which swiftly widened to encompass a wide circle across his office. Cid stared down at the light for a long moment, until suddenly, something resolved itself from within the circle.

Then Cid was rising, up toward the ceiling of his office, standing atop an old metal platform, alongside a very startled Squall, Xu, and Rinoa!

The platform stopped itself toward the top of Cid's office, and stood there for a moment, giving the quartet a fine view of the rolling green Balamb landscape stretching far below. To the west, a small cluster of dark shapes riding white contrails lanced over the hills at a low altitude. The Galbadian missiles were inbound after all!

As the quartet looked on in surprise, the ring above Garden began to spin, and then glow, emitting a bright white light as it rotated faster and faster. The ring of light became a discus, and began to drop down, descending over Garden, and in its wake, things . . . changed. Squall felt himself shifting slightly, then the floor below thrummed once more, but at a more insistent pace. Then, as the light passed below his line of sight, he saw it expand, encompassing the entire Garden grounds. To the west, the missiles loomd up even more dangerously, now clearly identifiable.

Then a column of rising dust encompassed the entire Garden, making it impossible to see out of the windows. A sudden alarm sounded from the console in front of them, and Squall felt the floor beneath him lurch, and the quartet were almost thrown from their feet as they began to _move_, the dust slightly thinning out as entire academy seemed to glide forward.

Squall could just barely pick out the white contrails and the burning yellow-white engine flares of the missiles as they rose into the air in a preprogrammed evasive manuver to throw off last-ditch anti-air fire, and then began to descend in a series of widely scattered strikes. For an instant, Squall thought that a pair of the missiles were going to strike them head on, but they flew just past the windows, rattling the glass with displaced air. A sudden, powerful rumble sounded from behind the Garden, then a yellow flash lit the inside of the Headmaster's office, and then Garden was past, moving on, over the green hills, a shockwave of billowing dust chasing it out. After a long moment, the academy sailed free of the dust cloud and into clear air, flying in a generally southwestern direction.

Flying!

"This is the secret?" Cid asked, shaking his head.

"Garden can fly?" Xu muttered aloud, looking below as the hills flew past below them. At the rate they were moving, the Garden looked to not only be capable of flight, but of very speedy flight as well.

Squall couldn't tell very well, but it seemed that the ring that had been directly overhead was now located below the Garden, lifting it up into the air as it flew. Even as he was seeing this, Rinoa had noticed one of the small screens on the panel had lit up. As she leaned closer, the image suddenly rose from the screen, resolving itself into a three-dimensional hologram of what could only be the transformed Garden.

It was huge, if the statistical readouts next to the structure were correct. It seemed that the entire Garden grounds had been compacted into this single, massive structure, a huge, conical white building shaped like a smooth mountain, complete with a massive but delicate-seeming fin-like tail flaring out from the rear of the structure, a huge reinforcing strut descending from the top of Garden to the tip of the tail. At its base, along the first level, the various structures had been gathered into a series of huge, rounded, bulbous segments. Below this, the Garden rapidly tapered into a long, narrow, curving segment, around which spun the ring which, judging by a readout on airflow just beneath and above the ring, was the source of propulsion and lift for the academy.

"Wow," Rinoa commented.

"Simply incredible," Cid added as he looked at the reformed Garden. "I knew that Garden was fashioned from a mobile shelter used by the survivors of the old Centra civilization, but I had no idea such technology was actually still intact after all these decades."

"Centra shelters?" Squall echoed, understanding now. When the civilization on the southern continent had been ravaged by the Lunar Cry eighty years ago, many had abandoned their homeland in great flying structures, some large enough to supposedly house small cities. While Garden was nowhere as big, it was still huge.

"Uh-oh," Xu muttered as she looked out the window. "Headmaster, we're on a collission course with Balamb!"

She was right, Squall saw immediately. While Balamb was still quite distant from their current location, Garden was en route at high speeds, and while the tapered tip of the Garden was hovering above the ground, it was barely a man's height from the dirt. It would shear clear through houses and tear a swath of destruction through the town.

"Squall, do something!" Rinoa said, and he glanced at her, not understanding immediately.

"Why me?" he demanded.

"You got it working in the first place, didn't you?" she replied, to which Squall just shook his head. He'd just been hitting random buttons. He glanced back down to the panel, and then out the front window, to see Balamb looming up even more closely. They had less than a minute before Garden plowed right through it. Even at this distance, Squall could see people looking in the flying Garden's direction, apparently awed by the spectacle of the flying academy.

"Squall, hurry!" Cid said, and he glanced back at the headmaster, angered by his insistence that _he_ do omething about this. Shaking his head, Squall smashed a hand down on the lever in the middle of the panel. The device didn't budge.

"The hell with this!" he growled, sweeping his hands across the panel, hitting random switches and buttons, throwing another lever, and turning a dial. He looked back up, and saw that the Garden was much, much closer, almost close enough to pick out the individual people looked above in shock. He growled again and slapped more controls.

Then, without warning, the thrumming in the deck stopped and the Garden began to slow, and at the same time, turn south, away from Balamb. The people of the port town watched in shock as the Garden turned toward the ocean, the shrubbery, clothes, and hair of the populace thrown wildly about by the displaced air beneath the Garden's ring. It swept past, just barely missing the town and passing over the docks, before traveling down the beach and toward he ocean.

"Brace yourselves!" Cid shouted, grabbing onto the panel as the Garden hologram shifted slightly, the ring rotating faster and subtly reconfiguring itself. The ring began to descend into the seawater first, sliding beneath the blue carpet of the ocean, followed by the tapering central column. Then, the first level of Garden and the bulbous pods that contained those faclities touched the water, the sheer force from so much mass dropping into the ocean sending out massive waves that sent the boats on Balamb's docks bobbing wildly. However, the Garden's descent into the ocean stopped at that point, the academy floating on the seawater and rapidly moving south on its momentum. Gradually, the speed slowed, until finally, the Garden began drifting aimlessly to the south, afloat on the ocean waters.

"Thank Hyne," Cid stated as things settled down. "Good job, everybody. I think the worst is past us for now."

"So, what do we do now?" Squall asked, looking out over the ocean. "We don't have propulsion, and I don't want to try hitting random buttons again, especialy in the middle of the ocean."

"We'll just have to make do," Cid replied with a shrug. "We'll probably drift along until we find land or we figure out how to move the Garden. Until then, I suggest we all take a much-needed rest."

Squall glanced down to his outfit, still covered in dried blood and gore from Galbadian soldiers, freaks, and monsters, and couldn't help but agree.

"So much for my office," Cid commented with a chuckle. "Where am I going to change clothes now?"

--------------------

The next few days passed uneventfully, which, by an exhausted Squall's reckoning, was a good thing. The first order of business once Garden was safe was ensuring that there were no injuries or serious damages to the academy. Aside from a few minor scrapes and bruises, and one sprained ankle, the cadets and remaining SeeDs and civilian personnel were largely uninjured.

Once that was done, Squall spent fifteen hours in a much-deserved sleep. Once he woke up, he helped with superfical repairs to the Garden. He and Rinoa had worked at reintegrating the student factions, which required surprisingly little work. Apparently realizing the severity of the outside threat, the students who had been supporting the mysterious NORG and the Headmaster had reconciled their differences, though precisely why they had been in conflict in the first place remained a mystery. Cid didn't mention the subject, and the cadets who had been fighting for the Garden Master actually didn't know much about NORG or his motives, instead having simply obeyed the orders of the robed Faculty when they had begun shouting orders.

The Faculty themselves, interestingly enough, had largely vanished in the chaos.

After various issues were taken care of, and Cid had begun organizing the students and SeeDs on various neccessary duties around the Garden, not much was left to do. Squall finally got around to cleaning his clothes, stained with the blood and fluids of dozens of fallen opponents, and had hung them in the closet of his room. From there, he changed into a loose pair of black cargo pants and a white T-shirt after a quick but heavenly shower.

Once he stepped out, toweling off his hair, Squall was struck with a difficult situation: he had nothing whatsoever to do. With order being restored, and Garden safe, there wasn't anything else he needed to do at the moment.

Squall wasn't exactly familiar with boredom. As a cadet, he'd spent the majority of his time studying and training for his position as a SeeD, and he'd only become a SeeD less than two weeks ago. Even when he'd had no real tasks to do, Squall had been able to entertain himself with practice and training, which filled up the majority of his spare time.

Squall glanced to his gunblade, stored safely within its case, and considered taking it out for practice. After a moment, he decided against it. There were too many people around right now, especially in his preffered training ground, the Quad.

Sighing, Squall flopped on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. His mission was complete, excepting he still had to protect Rinoa, which was something he'd barely been able to accomplish, even after discovering Garden's secret. Those missiles had nearly ended them all.

That thought sent Squall back to the desert, and the decision to deploy the remainder of his team to the missile base. If the missiles had launched, did that mean that Selphie had failed? What had happened to her, and Quistis, and Irvine, and Zell? Were they dead, or worse, prisoners of Galbadia?

He thought about each of his comrades, and wondered how they had felt about that mission. Had he been right sendng them in? The mission had been quite clearly a suicidal job, but none of them had complained about it. All the quartet had cared about was saving Garden, so much as to volunteer their lives for a shot at a, however bleak, chance to stop the Sorceress' attack.

The Sorceress herself . . . why had she fired missiles? Squall knew she was retaliating against SeeD for the asassination attempt, but Martine's words still rang in his ears abut her intent to destroy Garden itself. Her motives were unclear, but the threat she presented was quite obvious. And Seifer . . . what was happening to him? He had thrown in with Edea, but his motives, too, remained unclear. She had promised him his dream, it seemed, but how did he believe she would fulfill that?

Squall swore then and there that he would settle the score with his old rival if they met again.

He sat up in the bed, and shook his head. He hated having nothing to do; it got him thinking too much. Okay, so he had to solve the problem.

Squall glanced around his room, and stopped as he saw a copy of Weapons Monthly sitting on his desk. He had a subscription to the magazine, which was geared more toward collectors and martial sports enthusiasts than actual soldiers, as the majority of their weapons were customized as opposed to mass-produced military hardware. But for a SeeD, it was quite a useful resource. The magazine reminded Squall of a pet project of his he'd been working on for the last year, ever since he'd gotten his hands on a copy of the first edition of Weapons Monthly.

Squall rose from the bed and crossed his room, opening his closet and taking out a metal case large enough to hold a rifle or longsword. He set the case on his desk and opened it, then removed the contents.

An intricately designed gunblade revolver aspect was the first thing Squall removed, the handle heavy with electronics and compensators for the exceptionally powerful concussive projectors and custom-made concussive-force shells the weapon demanded. After this was a set of tools for calibrating a gunblade, followed by a well-preserved copy of the first issue of Weapons Monthly, a page bookmarked. Finally, a set of focusing crystals, a shining crystal throbbing with energy, and an energy-crystal matrix generator were removed. Squall set the case on the floor, removed the tools, and opened the magazine to one of the feature articles, showing the schematics, technology, and instructions for synthesizing an incredibly powerful gunblade based around cystallized energy.

The next twenty minutes were spent in careful concentration as Squall slowly calibrated and adjusted the revolver aspect of the gunblade. That done, he carefully integrated the focusing crystals into a quartet of slots where the gun aspect in a normal gunblade fired, positioned around a triangular slot where the energy-crystal matrix generator was to be placed. After a long period of time, perhaps fifteen minutes, the last crystal slid into place, and Squall sat back, nodding to himself. He quickly aligned the crystals, which would work with the matrix generator to focus the energy of the shining crystal into a blade. Now, he needed to recalibrate the weapon to accommadate the crystals.

An hour had passed from the point where Squall had begun working on the powerful gunblade, and he had finally finished the calibration to accept the new crystals. Squall sat back in his chair, and wiped his sweating brow, glad to have finally finished this difficult step. He knew the hardest part would be in the future, in placing the matrix generator and aligning it all properly. Then he would have to integrate the energy crystal, along with several more. Then, the blade would have to be energized and crystalized, which in and of itself would be a long process, to finish it all off. He still had a long way to go to complete the gunblade, but once it was finished, it would be worth it.

"Hey."

Squall jerked in surprise, and looked back over his shoulder to see Rinoa standing behind him, looking at the halfway constructed gunblade on his desk.

"What's that?" she asked, looking back and forth between the gunblade and the schematics in the Weapons Monthly issue. Squall glanced back down at his work, then back up to her.

"A hobby," he replied, gathering the tools back up, suddenly a bit unhappy about her intrusion into his room. Few people had bothered to come into his rooms before, and in those cases, Squall had never felt very comfortable. He liked his private space to be _private_, after all.

"Looks interesting," she replied as Squall replaced the scattered equipment in the case.

"What do you want?" he asked, rather bluntly as he closed the case. Squall wasn't in much of a mood to chat at the moment.

"Well," Rinoa replied, "I was wondering if you could give me a tour of the Garden."

"I'm not a tour guide," Squall replied with a slowly rising sense of annoyance. "Is this another order?"

"No," Rinoa replied, seeming to sense Squall's discomfort. "Just a request. I'd rather someone I know show me around so I don't get lost in here. Please?"

"All right," Squall muttered, unhappy but seeing no other way to get Rinoa out of his room. He rose from his chair and, belting his gunblade to his hip, walked outside with her.

With the "modifications" to the Garden, the hallway between the dorms and the main building was drastically shortened. in fact, the Garden itself was a lot more compact and claustrophobic now, which wasn't truely a problem, as a portion of the student body and the majority of the SeeDs were no longer around.

They quickly passed the dorms hall and were soon out into the main Garden structure. Squall stopped at the central ring around the elevators, and glanced back and forth, trying to decide which way he should go first, and which route would be quickest to show Rinoa around and get her off his back. However, this was not to be the case.

"So, what's that way?" Rinoa asked as Squall was considering, looking to the left.

"The parking garage," he replied curtly.

"And that way?" she continued, nodding to the right.

"Cafeteria," Squall stated. She glanced back to him, an annoyed look on her face that matched the way he felt.

"Look, Squall," she said, "I really appreciate you taking me on a tour, but could you . . . I dunno, try to make it a bit more fun? Like a normal tour?"

The expression on Squall's face told her that asking him to do something like that would be like asking Selphie to not drive quickly. It just didn't happen, not with Squall Leonhart. She read the look on his face, and put her hands on her hips, pouting slightly. Squall's expression didn't change, and finally she sighed explosively and walked away, toward the cafeteria, shaking her head. Squall watched her leave, somewhat confused by her reaction, but shrugging it off. If Rinoa had a problem with how he showed her around, that was her problem, not his.

"Squall Leonhart?" a voice demanded, and Squall looked back over his shoulder, to see one of the recently-missing Faculty approaching. The man looked to Squall, who nodded.

"Yes?"

"The Garden Master wishes to speak with you," he stated. "Follow me."

"Now?" Squall asked, uncertain. He wasn't exactly prepared for a meeting with the mysterious Garden Master at the moment.

"Yes, now!" the Faculty replied, ire creeping into his voice. "Garden Master NORG has no time to waste! Follow me to the elevator."

Squall shrugged once more as the Faculty spun on his heels and strode along the circular walkway. The SeeD followed the robed figure along his route, circling the elevators and entering the lift. The Faculty waved one of his sleeved hands along the floor selection panel, and Squall once again caught a faint flash of fingers that seemed strangely elongated.

Immediately, the elevator dropped. For several long seconds, it descended, until it gradually slid to a halt at a level Squall knew nothing about. The doors opened silently, exposing a darkened room made of some type of dark-blue metal Squall could not immediately identify.

Squall stepped off the elevator, which immediately whooshed back up to the upper levels, the Faculty taking it back up. Squall glanced back up at it, and then back down into the room around him. It was rather cavernous. The floor was a dark blue that glowed eerily, and the walls of the massive chamber were high and made of some type of concrete that featured etched designs across it. To the south of the elevator shaft a massive dome was constructed, partially built into the elevator shaft itself.

"Let go of me!" came a man's shout from around the dome. It took Squall a moment to recognize the voice because he had never heard him sound so furious.

It was Cid.

"I'm not finished!" shouted Cid as he was shoved around the south side of the dome. A Faculty member followed him more slowly and Cid recovered his balance.

"You fat, greedy son of a bitch!" Cid fumed, his face red with anger. "Why did I ever bother talking with you? Don't you understand the importance of SeeD? They were brought up for the future, and that future is now, no matter how hard you try to deny it!"

The Faculty stalked toward Cid, and one arm shot forward, grabbing Cid by the front of his vest and lifting him up with surprising strength, before shoving him back hard toward the elevator. Cid fell back on his rear, and the Faculty, his job done, stalked away.

"Hyne-dammit!" Cid shouted, livid. "You don't understand, you money-grubbing pig! I wish I could go back ten or so years so I could tell myself you're nothing but a backstabbing greedy bastard! Then I wouldn't have built this place!" Cid trembled in fury as the Faculty disappeared around the dome, ignoring him.

"Sir?" Squall asked, and Cid turned toward him, surprised.

"Squall!" he exclaimed, then scratched the back of his head in embarassment. "I . . I suppose you heard all of that?"

"Yes, sir," Squall answered, and Cid managed a slight laugh.

"I guess even old men like myself can lose our tempers from time to time," the Headmaster replied.

"Are you all right, sir?" Squall asked, but the Headmaster waved his hands quickly.

"I'm fine," he replied. "Just need to cool off. I'll be in my office. But, I need you to do me a favor."

"Yes sir," Squall replied, listening intently.

"Xu is down here too," Cid stated, nodding toward the dome. "Probably finishing a short meeting with NORG herself now. I want you to keep an eye out for her. Its not the safest place in the presence of snakes and sharks like NORG and his . . . people."

"I understand, sir," Squall replied. "I'll be ready for anything." Cid nodded and slowly stepped around Squall. The SeeD turned and his eyes followed him as he left, the Headmaster's shoulders starting to slump in exhaustion.

As Cid rose up on the elevator, another one of the Faculty approached Squall from behind. Squall turned to face him, and the robed figure gave him a once-over, before nodding.  
  
"Leonhart," he stated. "You were the leader of the squad that carried out the assassination operation against Edea?"  
  
"Yes," Squall replied with a nod.  
  
"Good," the Faculty replied. "Come with me. NORG awaits your report."  
  
The Faculty spun away and strode around the dome, and Squall followed reluctantly. The Headmaster's warning sounded once again in his mind, and Squall found his hand dropping to the handle of his sheathed gunblade. He took some reassurance at the solid weight of the weapon as he rounded the corner, senses primed.  
  
Xu was standing to the south of the dome, and scattered around the area were a number of Faculty, clad in the same red robes as their brethren. Except, there was a startling difference between these Faculty and the others: they wore no hats, revealing their faces.  
  
Those faces were not those of humans. They were pale-skinned, a creamy-beige color, with thick, fatty jowls and cheeks, and hairless scalps. Their mouths were lipless, instead seeming to be slits cut into their faces, and their eyes were solid black orbs.  
  
The Faculty were all Shumi.  
  
Squall knew about the Shumi, to a degree. He had rarely encountered their species before, and that was only while he had been in Balamb, and one of their merchant ships was in port. The species was not particularly reclusive or distant, except that their lands, located in the frigid wastelands and mountains of Trabia, were difficult to access. They were excellent miners and craftsmen, and some of them acted as merchants, selling beautiful works of art and advanced technology to the humans in the warmer, southern climes. However, the normal Shumi race was much smaller, half a human's height, at least during the significant portion of their lives. After they passed a certain age, Shumi "evolved" into other creatures, many of them into the fiery Moombas, but others into an "elder" race, taller than humans but otherwise the same as smaller Shumis.  
  
"Garden's true owners?" Squall muttered as he saw them, shocked. Xu gave him a slight nod, before looking past him, up at the dome. Squall turned toward the dome, and as he wheeled, he heard a thunderous whisper of breath coming from within.  
  
On the south side, the dome was cut away, to reveal a massive Shumi, nearly four times the size of Squall, Xu, or the Faculty. It was clad in massive, thick blue and black robes as it rested back within the dome, which seemed to exist as a combination of a habitat shelter and a nerve center. The Shumi's face was lit by dozens of screens and monitors, displaying video feeds from around Garden, and other data as well.  
  
"Squall," Xu stated, nodding toward the massive Shumi, who seemed to regard him with lethargic attention, its head moving slowly down toward the SeeD. "This is NORG, Garden's owner and proprietor."  
  
"Fushurururu," NORG mumbled in what was likely its language. A split second later, a powerful, artificial tone from within the dome translated, speaking loudly and quickly.  
  
"GIVE-YOUR-REPORT-ON-THE-SORCERESS," the voice demanded.  
  
"Respond quickly," stated the Faculty who had led Squall there. "Be concise, but omit nothing."  
  
"Right," Squall replied. He sighed, and composed himself. This was going to be a sad report. "My squad confirmed the order to assassinate the Sorceress Edea at Galbadia Garden. After Galbadia Garden Master Martine attached Galbadia Garden SeeD Irvine Kinneas to our unit, we proceeded to Deling City to carry out the assassination order from both Balamb and Galbadia Gardens-"  
  
"Bujurururu!" NORG grumbled, slamming one of its massive, meaty hands on something inside the dome. "BALAMB-AND-GALBADIA-GARDEN'S-ORDERS? Bujurara! YOU-WERE-TRICKED!"  
  
"What?" Squall asked, confused.  
  
"Fushurura," NORG rumbled. "EXPLAIN."  
  
"Master NORG was well aware of the alliance between Galbadian President Vinzer Deling and the Sorceress Edea," one of the Faculty behind Squall and Xu explained. "Garden Master Martine was keeping a close eye on the situation, and reporting back to NORG, being NORG's subordinate."  
  
"The extent of the alliance was not confirmed until one of Headmaster Kramer's associates arrived a short while ago with information directly linking the two to a plot to dominate the world," another Faculty added.  
  
"Trent," Squall answered, and the Faculty nodded.  
  
"Yes," the first one said with a nod, disgust creeping into its tone. "One of _her_ SeeDs."  
  
"In any case," the second one continued. "The Sorceress and Garden are in fact very closely connected, which is why we believed that we would be a target if, or rather when, she moved. This has been proven both during the missile strike and the capture of Galbadia Garden by Galbadian troops." "How bad was the invasion?" Squall asked, and the first Faculty shrugged.  
  
"We believe they merely forced the students and faculty out of the complex and took control," it said. "Strangely enough, all of the SeeDs at that Garden were missing when the attack occurred, and Martine could not account for their absence."  
  
"With this threat against Garden looming above us," the second stated, bringing the conversation back on topic, "NORG had sent an order to Galbadia Garden telling Martine to initiate an assassination operation against Edea. A Galbadia Garden team was prepared for the operation."  
  
"Fushurarari!" NORG thundered. "BUT-THAT-WEASEL-MARTINE-USED-YOU-INSTEAD-TO-SHIFT-THE-BLAME-ON-TO-ME-INSTEAD-OF-HIM! HE-BETRAYED-ME! THAT-THAT-BASTARD!"  
  
"Then Cid didn't give the order to assassinate Edea?" Squall asked. NORG thundered once more, this time a chuckle.  
  
"Bajira," it stated. "NO. HE-WOULD-NEVER."  
  
"Martine used you and your squad because you were convenient and would redistribute blame elsewhere," the first Faculty explained. "But, that would only matter if the operation failed."  
  
"And it did," the second stated. "And now she has retaliated and begun to eliminate Gardens, one after the other."  
  
"Something had to be done to calm her," the first said. "And to that end, we had to hand over those directly responsible for the assassination attempt in an effort to show our sincerety."  
  
"But, the ones who carried out the assassination attempt were . . . ." Xu said.  
  
"SeeDs," Squall finished grimly. His hand dropped onto his gunblade once more, but he took a threatening step forward, scowling viciously as fury worked its way into his thoughts and voice. "You . . . you were going to betray us . . . ."  
  
"Fushuraruri," NORG replied. "BUSINESS-IS-BUSINESS."  
  
"Hynedammit!" Squall shouted suddenly, surprising everybody. "Coward! SeeD has the ability to fight the Sorceress, and you know it! What about everything we go through, day after day, training constantly? You just suddenly decide to hand us all over and hide in your hole?"  
  
"Bajara!" NORG thundered, smashing a fist onto something else inside his dome. "YOU-LOST-TO-HER! Bushsusususu! CID-DEPLOYED-THE-SeeDS-TO-STOP-EDEA! AWAY-FROM-GARDEN! AND-IF-THEY-FAIL,-GARDEN-IS-FINISHED! MY-GARDEN!" I-INTENDED-TO-HAND-CID-OVER-AS-WELL-BUT-MY-STUDENTS-SIDED-WITH-HIM! THEY-CAN'T-DO-THAT! THIS-IS-MY-GARDEN, AND-NO-ONE-DEFIES-NORG!"  
  
"No!" Xu responded, shaking her head. "This isn't just your Garden!"  
  
"Bajurarari!" NORG replied angrily. "THEN-WHOSE? CID-AND-EDEA'S? THAT-PATHETIC-MARRIED-COUPLE'S?"  
  
"Married?" Squall echoed, the words jolting him. Headmaster Cid and the Sorceress Edea were . . . married?  
  
"Fishurura," NORG stated, his tone, while still angry, was thoughtful as well. "WAIT! I-UNDERSTAND-NOW-WHY-WE-SURVIVED! BALAMB-ONLY-SURVIVED-THE-MISSILE-STRIKE-BECAUSE-CID-WAS-HERE! THEY'RE-WORKING-TOGETHER-TO-TAKE-MY-GARDEN-FROM-ME! ITS-ALL-BEEN-A-PLOT! THAT'S-WHY-CID-WAS-ABLE-TO-STOP-THE-TAKEOVER! THEY-PLOTTED-THIS-IN-ADVANCE! I-WON'T-LET-THEM! AND-YOU! CID'S-PAWNS!"  
  
NORG's dome suddenly hissed, and it settled back into it. The top of the dome slid shut over the Garden Master, and sealed it away safely.  
  
"YOU-DIE-FIRST."

-----------------

Ah! Such an abrupt ending, no? Heh.

I apologize for the relative shortness of this chapter. The idea I had for it originally just kept dragging on and on, and actually, if I had written the entire thing as one chapter, it probably would have been the largest yet! Thus, I split it into two.

However, never fear, for in addition to this latest chapter of Gunblade, I upload the next chapter of Synthesis as well! Thus giving you plenty of reading. Go review the funky crossover/AU/question-answering fic too! No, seriously, please. I'm getting only one review per chapter now, and while they're good, I wish more people would review it. I'm kind of disappointed....


	35. The White SeeD

_Chapter 30: The White SeeD_

Squall realized, at about the point where NORG's environment shelter sealed up and his Shumi followers scattered like leaves in a windstorm, that he was severely disadvantaged. While yes, he was armed, he had left his Guardian Force stones in his desk drawer, and therefore had no junctions. A single well-placed blast of magic or a bullet would end him, right then and there.  
  
Apparently, NORG knew this, and two panels on the front of the dome opened and glowed, their lights directed squarely at Squall's position. Squall knew it was never a good thing when someone who was out to kill him was pointing something at him, and leaped aside as quickly as possible, his movements sluggish and weak without his junctions.  
  
Rippling bolts of energy reached out at him, blasting forth from the glowing panels, and Squall was hurled away in mid-air to smash heavily into the wall opposite the dome. He impacted hard, feeling something give in his side, and the front of his shirt was instantly ablaze from the energy attack. However, a split second later the blaze was out as water began to pour from the ceiling with the intensity of a thunderstorm.  
  
Lightning exploded before Xu, expanding outward and forming into the mighty wind and lightning entity of Quetzocotl, the eyeless snake-bird gathering electricity unto itself even as it entered this world. An instant later, a concentrated stream of electricity thundered from its chest, blasting directly into the dome's cover. The two halves that shielded the Garden Master from harm seemed to peel away and explode outward, flying like cards from a Triple Triad deck, revealing the shocked and enfuriated specter of the massive Shumi beneath.  
  
"Fushiraru!" NORG thundered. "YOU-DARE!" He gestured forcefully at Xu, and magical wind and fire exploded from its massive, bloated fingers, lifting her up into the air and hurling her across the room. "YOU-THINK-THAT-YOU-ARE-THE-ONLY-ONES-TO-BENEFIT-FROM-ODINE'S-RESEARCH?" As it roared, another spell exploded, blasting Xu back and pinning her in place with a spell that froze time for her.  
  
"You have junctions too?" Squall muttered as he rose, clasping the Revolver and tearing it out of its sheath. NORG laughed mockingly.  
  
"Fisha," it stated. "I-WOULD-BE-A-FOOL-TO-PASS-UP-THIS-POWER, EVEN-IF-MY-MEMEMORIES-FAIL. ALL-I-KNOW-IS-RECORDED-HERE, SO-I-LOSE-NOTHING!"  
  
"But you forget," Squall replied, shaking his head. "We are SeeDs."  
  
"Bujira." NORG replied with sarcasm. "I-COWER."  
  
Squall did not reply, instead closing his eyes and reaching out with his mind toward NORG. NORG blinked in momentary confusion, not understanding as Squall's mind touched the energies within the massive Shumi merchant and sorted through the energies within its body, separating and dissecting the powers until he found one energy source that seemed to move and exist on its own. He touched it, calling to it, and the energy responded eagerly to his mind.  
  
NORG's heavy eyelids widened, almost revealing its eyes, when shimmering tendrils of blue light flowed from it to Squall, washing into his palm and flowing into his body, gathering into a stone that rested in his palm. He sensed the entity within the stone, and focusing, the power of the Guardian Force flowed into his mind, the alien awareness touching his thoughts with a cool, watery mentality.  
  
"Leviathan," Squall muttered, knowing the entity's name, sensing the creature's identity through the ancient and endless eternal knowledge such forces embodied. NORG thundered something in protest, reaching toward Squall with its bloated hands.

Squall opened his eyes, looking upon the massive, impotent Shumi, the selfish coward that had intended to hand them all over to save its own hide. His rage at the betrayal rose, and for once, Squall let the fury flow, allowing hiss personal anger to well forth. This wasn't like the focused rage he'd unleashed at Edea, or the desperate fury he'd launched at Rinoa's attackers. This was personal rage, directed at his betrayer, something that Squall would have never unleashed before. But NORG had intended to betray them, the very people he had raised and trained within his Garden. Something about that level of treachery sent squall's soul boiling, and his emotions to their peak. Energy, the feelings of raw fury and hate, poured into his mind and from his soul, down through his limbs and into his weapon.  
  
Time dialated as NORG reached for the controls within his dome, trying to unleash another blast of energy. Squall rushed forward, and NORG's fingers brushed a button. Destructive energy ripped forward, but it didn't touch Squall as he charged with blinding speed, leaping forward and onto NORG's pod in a heartbeat. His gunblade dove, weaved, and cleaved, the edge biting into NORG's robes and into the flesh beneath. Blood flowed, exploding from the massive Shumi's chest with each impact and slice, concussive blasts hurling chunks of the creature's flesh into the air. Squall chopped and chopped, his rage sending him into even greater fury as the blood flew and flowed, staining NORG's clothes and Squall's shirt and arms and pants as he attacked and attacked with unending fury.  
  
The energy began to slacken, but focused itself, the raw hatred funneling into Squall's blade for his final strike. He backed a step away from the shocked NORG and then charged in, his blade slicing up with a powerful cleave that split the lip of the dome in half and sliced up the Shumi's body. The energy blasted deep into NORG's body as the blade cut upwards, through its belly, up its chest, and out the top of the creature's skull. Bone, blood, and gray matter chased the blade up and out, and time returned to its normal state.  
  
NORG seemed to stay in place for a long moment, its lifeblood and other various fluid flowing from its body, pooling around it within its dome, and then it settled back silently, face (or what was left of it) locked in a state of shock as its body released its life.  
  
Squall panted for breath, his body suddenly empty from the exertion. Slowly, he stepped back, off the dome and to the blue floor. His chest heaving, he turned to Xu, who remained frozen in place by NORG's time-stopping magic. He reached into himself, using Leviathan's aid, and summoned forth a dispelling spell that restored Xu to her normal state. She blinked for a moment, looking in surprise on Squall's blood-stained form, then looked to where NORG lay in a pool of its own fluids. She glanced back to Squall, who turned around, scanning the interior of the room and the shocked and awed Shumi who had watched him so brutally tear NORG to pieces. He glared at each of NORG's followers, his blue eyes projecting his unended fury and rage, and furthermore, telling each and everyone one of them that to challenge him at this moment was to shake hands with Death itself.  
  
Finally, after a long moment of cowing the Shumi with a simple glare and his bloody body and blade, Squall turned away and stalked out of the chamber, toward the elevator, which he wordlessly recalled and used to rise out of the chamber where the Garden Master had died a most bloody death.

--------------------

Kadowaki was checking out Squall's burns in the infirmary when the door slid open, and Rinoa almost burst in, looking around. Her eyes settled over Squall, and she seemed to visibly relax at his less-than-critical condition.

"Thank Hyne," she muttered, looking him over, noticing his muscular chest exposed from beneath the shirt. "Are you okay?"

"As fine as I can be," Squall replied. "You heard about the battle?" She nodded.

"Someone said you had gone to the infirmary, and I was so worried," she started to say. "I rushed over here as soon as I heard . . . ."

"He's in fine condition," Kadowaki relied with a smile. "Even without junctions Squall's pretty tough. Those burns should be healing soon. Keep casting healings spells every six hours, and take a healing potion with them, and things should be fine tomorrow."

"Thank you, Doctor," Squall replied, standing up from the examination table.

"So, who is this young lady who was so worried about you?" Kadowaki asked, glancing to Rinoa. "Did you finally pick up a girlfriend?"

"Actually," Squall replied, glancing to Rinoa, a slight grin on his face. "She is."

"What?" Rinoa asked, turning to him, surprise - and, Squall noted - a bit of curiousity in her tone. "Really?"

"Seriously," Squall replied, avoiding meeting her eyes.

"You mean it?" she asked, and Squall finally turned back to her, meeting her eyes.

"Seriously kidding," Squall stated with a grin. Rinoa blinked for a second, and exhaled in annoyance, shaking her head.

"Wow, I suppose that is a good one for you," she replied. Kadowaki, who had been watching the exchange, chuckled.

"You two look cute together," she stated. She glanced to Squall, then back to Rinoa. "Can you give me a moment? I have to speak privately with Squall. SeeD regulations don't allow private information to be overheard by civilians, even employers." Rinoa nodded and stepped out of the infirmary for a moment, and Kadowaki turned to Squall.

"What is it, Doctor?" he asked, and she looked back to the door Rinoa had exited out of, before turning back to him.

"Squall, you don't usually come to me for more than medical advice, unlike most of the students," she stated, sitting back on her desk.

"I don't need much else," he replied easily, putting his muscle shirt back on.

"Indeed," Kadowaki replied with a nod. "You are very self-reliant. But, I want to offer you some advice freely." Squall pulled the shirt down and looked to the doctor, listening.

"Sometimes life throws you something unexpected," she said. "Sometimes its good, sometimes its bad. And oftentimes its hard to distinguish which something truley is. But, regardless of whether these unexpected developments you find are good or bad, you're stuck with them. You'll have to try to make the best out of whatever you've been saddled with."

"I think I understand," Squall replied, and Kadowaki nodded.

"If you get that, you'll get this," she added. "You'll have to make decisions sometimes on whether something is good or not so good. Many times this may be obvious, but sometimes its questionable. But always remember Squall, when something good does come your way, you'll never realize its value to you unless you recognize it. Its up to you to decide whether one of life's curves is a good thing or a bad thing. Make the decision correctly, and you'll better yourself, and maybe many others. But, decide wrongly, and you may regret it for the rest of your life. And if there's one thing that has cowed many great men, it would be that regret."

"I understand," Squall replied. "Thank you, Doctor."

"Not a problem. Also," she added, sitting down behind her desk. "Cid checked by right after he met with NORG. He wasn't feeling the best, though, and he went up to his office a little bit afterward. You should check in on him. That man works too much."

Squall nodded and left the infirmary without another word. He crossed Garden's truncated length and entered the elevator. He noted that few people were about at this time, though those that were moving around were gathered in hushed conversation, doubtless talking about the incident involving NORG . . . An incident which Squall was still having trouble coming to grips about. NORG had betrayed them, obviously, but what had he meant about Cid and Edea being married? And what had Cid meant when he stated that the "future is now"?

Squall didn't know, and that seriously pissed him off. He hoped Cid would have some answers; Squall felt as if he was being manipulated as part of some huge, unknowable scheme.

The elevator stopped at the third floor, and Squall stepped off. He entered the ornate doors of Cid's office, and once again noticed the huge central column that supported the platform high above, from where the Garden was supposedly controlled from. A quick glance around the office showed that Cid was nowhere to be found. Logically, Squall concluded that the Headmaster was probably up on the platform above, and the SeeD stepped over to the column. He tapped a panel along its side, and a single flat platform descended, lacking any railings or safety measures. Squall stepped onto it and the device rose to the top of the office and the platform near the ceiling. As it ascended, it made a faint whirring sound, one that was doubtlessly heard by Cid as Squall rose, for the older man seemed to be aware of Squall's approach as he stood in front of the control panel, staring off into the empty blue seas.

"Sir," Squall stated as the elevator acme to a stop. Cid glanced back over his shoulder, his face grimly solemn.

"NORG is dead," Cid stated, and Squall nodded. Cid looked back, away from Squall and out to the sea.

"So, Garden is finally in my hands again," Cid whispered quietly. "I feared this would happen at some point, that NORG and I would come into conflict." The Headmaster turned back to where Squall stood, and sighed.

"Undoubtedly you're wondering about all this, correct?" Cid asked. "I met NORG about thirteen years back, when I was running around trying to get the funds to build this place. He was a merchant, and a bit of a black sheep among the Shumi tribe, as he dealt in some rather unsavory practices that I only recently uncovered. He had the funds, though, and we began and completed construction of Balamb Garden. The only problem we had was that our money proved insufficient and we couldn't afford the costs associated with this place. That was when NORG suggested we hire the SeeDs out as mercenaries.

"Money came in, enormous amounts, enough to fully fund our operations and allow for the expansion of the organization," Cid continued, looking out over the ocean again. "But, with the money came a slow, subtle corruption that I never noticed until it was too late. I lost control. The higher ideals that Garden was supposed to stand for were lost, plowed under by NORG and his greediness. SeeD's true purpose was covered up and hidden from the students and SeeDs themselves."

"And what was that purpose?" Squall asked. Cid was silent for a long moment, before he finally managed to look back to Squall.

"To defeat the Sorceress," Cid said.

Squall was silent himself for a long while, digesting this fact. Mnay thigns began to fall in place for him at that moment. The esoteric training, magical usage, Guardian Force junctions, the assassination attempt, Edea's counterattack and NORG's fears . . . Much of it suddenly made sense. Garden had been intended to stop someone like Edea from rising to power. Garden was brought about to stop another horrible Sorceress War.

"SeeD will defeat the Sorceress," Cid stated, breaking the silence. "That is its intent, and its destiny. The many missions SeeDs are sent on as mercenaries are intended as training for the ultimate conflict if another Sorceress like Adel ever arises. But now that she has come forth, the true mission of SeeD has to begin. We must stop her."

"We?" Squall asked. "But you and Edea . . . NORG said that you two were married."

Cid's silence was even longer this time. The man must have known that this topic would come up. It had to be gnawing at Cid Kramer; how could he form, assemble, train, and direct a force that was now intended to destroy a woman he had, or maybe even now, loved?

"She was a Sorceress since her childhood," Cid finally whispered. "I met her while she was gathering children as part of an orphanage she was assembling after the war. We fell in love very quickly, and I married her, even knowing who and what she was.

"We were happy, myself and Edea," Cid continued, his voice becoming more even as he looked out across the sea and into his past. Something about the ocean did that for people. "We ran our orphanage together, happy to live out our days, until one day when she began speaking of something called Garden. The idea seemed to have come to her suddenly, and the idea was intriguing. I began to take on her dream and set out to construct Garden to protect the world and prevent any more orphans form being left behind due to the suffering another Sorceress might bring. But I became afraid that one day SeeD may end up opposed to my beloved Edea . . . .

"She laughed and told me that would never happen," Cid whispered again. "How ironic."

Squall stood beside the Headmaster on the platform in silence, both men looking out at the flat blue carpet of the ocean as it drifted slowly past. Neither the SeeD nor the headmaster spoke, both considering the precarious position that had been thrust on them. They were, quite literally, being asked to save the world.

The faint whirring of the platform broke both men out of their silent thoughts, and they turned to see Xu standing on the elevator platform, her face taut with concern and worry.

"Headmaster, Squall!" she stated immediately the moment she saw them. "There's a ship inbound toward the Garden, moving fast toward the Quad!"

"Galbadians?" Cid hissed.

"Or worse," Squall muttered, grasping his gunblade's handle. "It could be . . . Edea."

"What type of ship?" Cid demanded, horrified by the prospect.

"A single craft, long, sleek," Xu replied. "White hull with an unusual set of solar panels and sails." Cid seemed to relax visibly, letting out a relieved sigh. He turned to Squall, and nodded.

"We must greet them," Cid replied. "Squall, Xu, come with me. If they have come here, it must be urgent."

"What are you talking about, sir?" Squall asked as Cid stepped toward the elevator. Cid paused, glancing back to his SeeD subordinate.

"The White SeeD."

--------------------

Xu had described the ship well. The craft was long and sleek, maybe two hundred feet in length, with a narrow, tapered prow. It featured a bridge arcing over the main deck and a series of cabins in the back. On the deck appeared to be a number of crew, clad in white jumpsuits with black boots and belts, and white headbands. Squall recognized the outfit, and more importantly, the dark-haired man wearing a pair of tonfas on his belt.

"Trent!" Cid called out to the man squall had encountered on the night of his graduation. The man nodded in reply, standing near the railing of his ship, which must have been at least thirty or more feet below the level of the Quad's outermost platform, where Squall, Cid, and Xu stood.

"Headmaster!" he replied. "May we come on board?"

"Please, my friend," Cid replied with a smile. "I would not shut you out in such times!" Trent nodded and turned to a pair of associates. Then, as one, the trio of white-clad men leaped into the air, flying wards gracefully through the long distance to land easily on the Quad. Squall noted this action with more than a little interest. Did they have junctions as well?

"What business brings you here?" Cid asked. "And more importantly, how did you find us?"

"We were seeking you in Balamb, but we heard news from the residents that the Garden had taken off and flown out into the ocean," Trent replied. "We knew about Garden's secret and it was fairly easy to catch up with you, considering how far you have drifted."

"News from Galbadia?" Cid asked, to which Trent nodded.

"The Galbadian fleet is out in force," Trent replied. "We came to Balamb to recover Ellone, but with Garden afloat it will be only a matter of time before the Galbadian navy finds her."

"They're seeking Ellone?" Cid asked, shaking his head. "Why?"

"I have no idea, Headmaster," Trent replied. "But Galbadia's new general is leading the pursuit, and from the reports, they have uncovered the secret within Galbadia Garden as well, and have mobilized it."

"They have control of Galbadia Garden now?" Cid asked. "This is bad."

"The navy is combing the sea around Balamb, Headmaster," trent pressed. "They wish to find Ellone, for whatever reason. We cannot let them fall into their hands."

"I understand," Cid replied with a nod. He turned to Squall and Xu. "We need to find her, quickly."

"Ellone?" Squall asked. He paused for an instant, a flicker of memory following that name. Brown hair, warm, brown eyes, wearing blue, full of life and protective . . . .

"Hurry, Squall," Cid replied. "You should know her."

"I should?" Squall replied. He caught another flash of memory, a warm hand pressed into his, and that face . . . A face that matched that of the little girl he had seen in Laguna's dream at Winhill.

After a long moment, Squall nodded, and turned away, hurrying down the Quad. Something told him that he had to find Ellone, whoever she was, and not just to bring her back to Cid. Something deeper and more primal demanded he find her. If Squall had known what this demand felt like, he would have realized that it was a sense of security and warmth, of intimacy. It was the feeling of family.

--------------------

She was in the library. He knew she would be there, though how he knew it was unsure. Squall knew, somehow, deep down, the Ellone had loved books and reading. So it was thus that he found himself walking down the silent halls and aisles of the library, the lush green carpet and still silence of study undisturbed by disruptive noise. The library was entirely empty, save for the cadet behind the desk, but Squall knew that Ellone was somewhere.

He threaded among the aisles until he found his way to the back, along the study tables lining the curving wall at the far end of the library. And there, seated at one of the tables in the corner, idly reading a book, was a young woman.

He recognized her instantly; the brown hair and blue blouse of the woman who he and Quistis had rescued in the Training Center just a week ago. She seemed so quiet, so peaceful, almost radiating an aura of serenity, that Squall hesitated to approach, fearful that he would break the spell around her. Finally, he slowly approached, his footfall silent on the carpet yet sounding like he was beating a steel drum with each step.

The woman seemed to sense the approach of someone, and glanced up behind herself. Squall looked into those brown eyes, and a flood of feelings and emotions came back, jumbled and confused. Squall blinked and pushed them aside, instead focusing on this woman before him.

"Squall?" she asked, looking him over. Squall blinked, not understanding how she knew his name, or how he knew her. He had to know her . . . how else could she evoke such feelings in him, feelings he had pushed away so long ago?

"Ellone?" Squall asked, and she nodded. "Ellone from Laguna's dream? You know him?" The young woman smiled faintly.

"I'm surprised you don't remember,' she whispered. "Uncle Laguna . . . I really do love him."

"Do you know what it is I've been experiencing?" squall demanded, and Ellone nodded.

"The past," she replied, looking away, as if turning aside the veil of time and space and looking into a distant place, her eyes flicking around as if analyzing a scene frozen in time. "Its hard to explain, Squall. Even I don't understand."

"Then its real," Squall muttered, and she nodded. "Laguna is real." Ellone was silent for a long moment, and finally she stood.

"Then why?" Squall asked as she did so.

"Squall," she whispered. "You can't change the past, but if you could, wouldn't it be worth a try?"

"Changing the past?" he asked, confused. "What are you talking about? Are you the one who . . . ."

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I need you for this. You're the only one so closely connected to him anymore."

"Its not my problem!" Squall snapped. "Leave me out of it!" He stepped back, and sat down in one of the chairs nearby.

"Don't count on me," he muttered. "I don't want to bear your burden."

Ellone stood silent for a long time as Squall sat there, looking up at her. He was honest; he didn't want to bear her burden, at least, not yet. He had so many other concerns on his mind, not the least among them being protecting Rinoa, the fate of his comrades at the missile base, and this war with Edea. It was too much for him.

"Squall, I'm sorry," she whispered, stepping past him. She stopped beside Squall, dropping a warm hand onto his bare shoulder, the shirt still charred from the battle with NORG. She bent down close to his ear.

"But . . . Squall, you're my only hope."

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Whoo. Now THAT chapter was fun. I especially loved Squall's "OMGZ DIE NORG DIE" thing.

And now, without further ado, I present to you, by popular demand, the new and (not really) improved shout-outs! I don't have much time left before this update, so I've only got time to hit the reviews for the last chapter. Ask away with your reviews for the next chapter, and ye shall be rewarded with a delicious shout-out.

Prodigy: Once again, the man. Military exams suck, though I haven't gone through any lately. Sorry I haven't reviewed your work lately, its just that with all this ROTC work, compounded with a job, college, and writing fanficcery that I don't have time to read much. I've actually been hitting Peter Marcroft's work, though, and it is very, very good. Thanks for referencing me.

DBZ Fanfiction Queen: Glad to see you liked the chapter. One of my favorite parts was writing Squall remodeling his gunblade into, yes, you guessed it, Lionheart.

The reason why (I, at least) have Fujin and Raijin tin the Garden is simply becuase unlike Squall, they aren't SeeDs, just cadets, at least from what I gathered. I guess cadets get sent on missions as well from time to time, even if it is just a carrier run.

This chapter should have answered some of your questions about the scene in the library. I cut out the extra bit in the last chapter because I wanted to get to NORG and kill his fat ugly ass, and the scene didn't really fit in well with the chapter structure in any logical sense. Thus, it got axed.

Kaiser-Kun: Fine, here's your stupid shout-outs. Happy? HUH? Also, I'm not Army, I'm Marine. We jarheads take that as a sign of pride, darn it.

Daniel Wesley Rydall: Sorry Xu didn't kick as much ass as you owuld have wanted her to, but she is going to play a role in the FH arc and also the Battle of Centra.

OniRazz: Haa! cliffhanger! Also, I've already stated this in Synthesis, but yes, Sephiorth, along with Red XIII, and two other major characters from FFVII will be playing important roles. Cloud will not. (actually, Cloud is my least favorite character from FFVII, believe it or not)


	36. Over the Horizon

_Chapter 31: Over the Horizon  
_  
She had gone within minutes, leaving Squall alone in the library. Somehow she had known about the White SeeDs coming to take her away, and Ellone had apparently wanted to leave Squall alone before her presence caused him anymore turmoil. Not that that would help any. The resurgence of someone whom he had known from his past, someone whom he still had strong feelings toward had caught him completely off-guard, even moreso because the feelings he was experiencing were ones that had been so distant as to be entirely alien to the hardened mercenary.  
  
Squall had numbly returned to his dorm room, dimly aware of students talking about the mysterious ship's immediate departure to the south after Ellone had boarded. He paid them little attention, instead trying to sort through the turmoil of his returning emotions and the burden Ellone had placed upon him – one that was even more poignant because he didn't know what she wanted from him, or why she was sending him back in time to Laguna's period.  
  
He flopped onto his bed and closed his eyes, trying to find some solace and peace, wanting to consign himself to the temporary oblivion of sleep. But as his eyes closed, he saw her face again, followed by that reflected image of Laguna in the Timber pond, and the images of Kiros and Ward standing stalwartly beside their friend. He saw Ellone again, as a little child, and the image of Raine . . . an image that seemed familiar but at the same time, not so.  
  
Squall rolled over, trying to banish the images and find peace. Why was Ellone depending on him? He didn't want her burden. Squall prided himself on being able to survive on his own. After all, in the end everybody was on their own. That fact was what drove him to distance himself from others, both so he wouldn't be caught with his guard down if they failed him, and so he wouldn't be hurt if they were torn from him. He lived the life of a soldier; death always hovered over one's shoulder, and especially now, considering the threat he and his fellow SeeDs and cadets were up against. Alone, cut off, no other Gardens or support available . . . they had to survive alone.  
  
Squall found himself reflecting momentarily back to his childhood. Back then, he'd been helpless. He couldn't dredge up the memories – he guessed he had repressed them – but Squall knew he had not been able to take care of himself when loved ones had been wrenched away. But now, he was an adult, and could handle himself. He had depended on others to reach this point, but now, he could stand on his own.  
  
Couldn't he?  
  
Squall was proud of himself, but not so much as to deny others' contributions. He was among the first to admit that he had gotten here because he had stood on the shoulders of so many others: Quistis, Dr. Kadowaki, the Headmaster, the research of Doctor Odine in Esthar, even NORG's funding. He was fine by himself now. He had the skills to survive and stand on his own.  
  
Squall rolled over again in the bed, understanding even as he thought that that it was wishful thinking. Even now, he was confused, lost, uncertain. The Sorceress, Rinoa, Ellone, the team he had sent to the missile base, NORG . . . all of it was a confusing mess that he couldn't sort out. Not by himself at least. He needed someone to help him through this.

There. Yes, he had admitted it, he needed others. He'd have to depend upon others after all.  
  
Something about that thought angered him, but at the same time, brought a strange sense of relief. While he didn't want to have to rely on others, somehow, knowing others could accept the burden was comforting. Not that Squall would let them. Just as he refused to get involved in others' troubles, he refused to involve others in his problems. He had to pull his own weight. He would have to sort this out by himself, dammit. He closed his eyes, thinking back to Ellone and trying to understand what she wanted. Changing the past? What had she meant?  
  
Squall considered his own past, and thought back to one memory he still held onto dearly, one that provided him to conviction to stand alone. He had been standing out in the middle of a rain storm, barely old enough to speak words. Someone had vanished, someone he cared for dearly. What had he called her?  
  
Sis. Yes, that was it. Squall had called her Sis. She was gone, just vanished from his home, and he had promised himself that he would find her. When didn't find her, he had grown angry at himself for being unable to, and, in the middle of the rainstorm, Squall had determined that he would be strong. That he could stand on his own . . . and that someday he'd find his Sis again.  
  
The thought was a strong one, a comforting one, and one that relaxed Squall to a degree. Yes, he would stand on his own. Of this he swore. This war had just begun, but he intended to be the one standing at its end. With that though, Squall found oblivion creeping up on him, and he welcomed its embrace. He drifted off to a needed sleep.

--------------------

A shadow was towering over Squall, blotting out the sunlight as he drifted back into the realm of the awake and mobile. He blinked once as he noticed the person standing over him, then jerked in surprise as his mind caught up with what it was sensing.

"You look so peaceful when you're asleep," Rinoa commented as Squall blinked away sleep. She was in his room, _again_. He figured that this was what happened when he left his door unlocked; Squall made a mental note to start bolting it when he wanted to be left alone.

"What do you want?" he asked immediately. Rinoa blinked once in surprise at his tone, and he immediately regretted his snapping question. "Sorry. What is it?"

"Cid asked me to find you," she replied. "I was talking with him up in his office when we came into sight of Fisherman's Horizon, which we were drifting directly toward."

"How far are we from it?" Squall asked, and Rinoa seemed to smile faintly and pointed toward Squall's window. He frowned, rose from his bed, and stepped over to it, looking out. For an instant, he was confused, for directly beyond the window was a wall made of largely rusted metal. It wasn't until he noted the stenciled writing halfway up the wall that identified the structure as a water processing tower that he realized just what was happening.

"We slammed into FH a couple of minutes ago," Rinoa explained as he looked back at her. "Garden wasn't moving too fast, but with so much mass behind it we hit pretty hard. Haven't heard any reports about damage or injuries, though we did see a fisherman on the tower who almost had a heart attack when he saw we were coming in."

"The headmaster wants to see me immediately?" Squall asked, digesting the situation. Rinoa nodded. Squall threw on his freshly-cleaned jacket and headed out immediately, Rinoa trailing in his wake. They made their way to Cid's office, where the Headmaster and Xu were conferring. He spotted Squall as soon as he and Rinoa enter the office, and nodded.

"Good," he said, turning toward them. "Squall, I'm sure Rinoa has informed you of the situation, correct?" Squall nodded. "We're currently docked along the southwest side of Fisherman's Horizon, pressed up between two water processing towers. The front gate doesn't lead anywhere, but one of the outside balconies connects directly to a catwalk between the two towers. Head out that way with Xu and Rinoa and meet with the officials of the town and offer them our apologies. Once you've met with him, Xu is going to see about purchasing supplies and getting help from their engineers."

Squall nodded an understanding of the orders. Fisherman's Horizon had been founded by engineers from Esthar who had fled and settled on the original construction rig that had been used to build the Horizon Bridge spanning the western continent and Esthar. The rig had been a large, floating facility halfway between the continents, and had been abandoned after the project was completed.

"I'll see to it," Squall replied with a quick salute.

"And while you're there, take a look around town," Cid added. "SeeD may be intended for military purposes, but I want everyone to broaden their horizons. This is a fitting place for it. Also, while you're doing that, check to see if they don't mind Garden's students being allowed to leave and enter the town. We've been floating for a while, and I'm sure the cadets and SeeDs wouldn't mind being able to leave, if only for a bit."

"I understand, sir."

--------------------

The door to the second floor balcony slid open, and Squall stepped out into the salty air that he had grown accustomed to over the last couple of weeks. Rinoa and Xu trailed him as he stepped out, and the SeeD noted a long, folded metal arm had been extended out to touch the balcony. Standing on it were a trio of civilians, chatting quietly to themselves as they surveyed the damage. They spotted the group coming out and immediately turned toward the trio.

"That's them alright," one of the men said, and the others nodded. The first man stepped forward. Squall noted he wore some type of patch on his jacket, something that indicated he was a policeman, though he had no weapons or other gear on hand befitting an officer.

"Before we say anything else, we've come to warn you that Fisherman's Horizon follows a strict policy of pacifism," the man stated bluntly. "We will not tolerate any belligerence or violence within our city. If you do commit any acts of violence you will be asked to leave, immediately."

"Understood," Squall replied, and the others nodded. "We are representatives of Garden and come in peace." The police officer visibly relaxed, and even smiled.

"Glad to hear," he said. "And welcome to Fisherman's Horizon. Name's Eberle, I'm with FH's mediation and peacekeeping force. Sorry for the rude welcome, but when someone like you guys come knocking out of nowhere, it gets us a bit worried."

"Man, look at this mess," one of the other men commented, adjusting a hat that looked like it bore the patch of a mechanic. He peered over the arm at the spot where Garden had impacted the city's perimeter, along the Quad.

"We're sorry about this," Xu replied. "We didn't have any control over Garden, so it was kind of inevitable."

"Ah, don't worry," the mechanic replied with an easy smile. "What's important is that nobody got hurt, except the old master fisherman's daily catch. We love fixing stuff anyway. Kick back and enjoy your stay."

"The mayor was wanting to meet with your representatives anyway," the third man added. "But as long as your people remain behaved within our city, they can come in and relax. We're not about to shut you guys out, and to tell the truth most of the people around here would love to see some new faces."

"That's good to hear," Squall replied. He turned back to Xu, who immediately nodded.

"I'll pass the word along to the headmaster," she replied, then stepped back into Garden. Squall then turned back toward the envoy.

"Where is the mayor?" Squall asked, and Eberle hooked a thumb back over his shoulder.

"Center of town, in the middle of the solar power plant and in front of the old landing pad for choppers and other aircraft," he said. "I'll take you there while Willis and Geoff have a look at the damages." The officer turned and began to head back down the long mechanical arm, and Squall and Rinoa followed.

"Just curious," Eberle added as they descended, stopping next to an elevator platform and taking the device down toward one of the water processing towers. "How did Balamb Garden get here?"

Squall hesitated, but then related an abbreviated version about the Galbadian missile strike. The officer listened intently, nodding as he did so.

"Yeah, we heard about the assassination attempt. You guys may have been out of touch, drifting along on the ocean, but Galbadia's military is mobilizing. Heard rumors that they're starting intel ops aimed at getting info on Esthar." Eberle shook his head. "Damn warmongering pigs. Especially with that Sorceress involved." The elevator ground to a halt in front of the tower and they stepped off. Eberle led the way along a catwalk around the tower, and then squall got his first look at Fisherman's Horizon.

The city was massive and circular, ringed by train tracks and various towers and processing facilities. To the south, Squall could see a massive terminal set up along the long, huge structure known as the Horizon Bridge, the great project intended to link the two continents via train lines. Further in, the city descended, like a massive bowl shape, various homes and businesses scattered along the various levels. Everything was constructed out of a blue-gray metal, but rather than seem dead and lifeless, people had gone out of their way to decorate and enhance upon their surroundings, growing gardens and the like, adding color to the city.

However, the most notable feature of the city was the center of the huge, wide bowl, taking up over a third of the city's space. Line after line of shining solar collection panels, their surfaces glowing blue in the clear midday light, progressed down the bowl to the very center, where there was located a small, almost innocuous house, and beyond that, a large landing platform for aircraft. Squall estimated that the small city had enough panels to power a full-sized city like Deling.

"Impressive, ain't it?" Eberle asked, and Squall nodded. "FH is positioned precisely between certain prevailing winds, so we almost never get hit by many clouds or storms, and we have batteries storing energy in case we do have either of those. That's why our solar plant is so reliable. We actually make a tidy profit selling electricity to places like Timber and Balamb. You can see Mayor Dobe's house down there. He's the one who taught us nonviolence. Used to be an engineer in Esthar under Adel, but he was one of the defectors who founded this place. I'm sure he wants to have a chat with you."

Squall and Rinoa nodded their thanks to Eberle and toward the bowl-shaped power plant. There was a long, narrow walkway between the rows of panels, leading down toward the mayor's house. They followed the path down, line after line of massive reflective panels rising up around them, until they reached the bottom. They approached the mayor's home and entered the front door of the large, metallic structure.

Squall expected to see a living room with comfortable, cozy furniture and carpets and other amenities, but was instead struck by walls that were covered with machinery and monitors of all kinds. A few corridors branched off of this room, but they seemed to be similar in design, covered with metallic instruments and equipment. A staircase nearby led up to the next floor, and, not seeing anyone present on the lower floor, Squall stepped onto the stairs. He ascended up into a large chamber of similar design to the lower floor, but this one made an effort to be somewhat comfortable, with some furniture and a thick mat laid out in the center of the room. A huge skylight and a window overlooking the landing pad provided all the light necessary.

An elderly man wearing a tropical shirt and shorts was sitting on the mat. He nodded toward Squall and Rinoa as they entered, and managed a slight smile, despite the tautness of his features. He gestured to the spot in front of him.

"Welcome," he stated. "Please, have a seat." Squall and Rinoa obliged him, sitting down on the surprisingly comfortable mat.

"Allow me to get to the point," Mayor Dobe stated immediately. "When is Garden going to be leaving?" Squall frowned slightly. He wasn't wasting any time.

"We'll leave as soon as Garden is capable of moving, if you want," he stated.

"Any idea when that will be?" Dobe pressed. Squall shrugged.

"We only discovered that Garden was mobile a short while ago," Squall stated. "The controls are beyond our understanding. So, obviously, we don't know how to move it. The controls are based on old Centran technology."

"If that's the case," Dobe replied with a nod, "we should be able to help. There are a number of former Estharian engineers here, as well as some scholars who understand the old language of Centra. They should be able to repair and service everything. How does that sound?"

"We'll have to let outsiders into Garden," Squall replied. "I don't have the authority to permit them, but Headmaster Cid Kramer does. I'll have to talk with him."

"Then you should go meet with him, quickly," Dobe added.

"Excuse me, but why do you want us out of here so badly?" Rinoa asked. Squall glanced at her, not too happy that she had butted in. They had their reasons, and he didn't want, nor cared, to know why.

"We don't want military organizations in our city," Dobe replied. "Military organizations rely on violence and conflict to solve problems. That is against our principles here. We believe that any problem can be solved through discussion and understanding. If there is mutual understanding, then there is no need to fight." Squall nodded along with his points, understanding them, but not exactly agreeing with his notions.

"Violence will only lead to more violence," he added. "Your presence here will only attract further violence, especially considering your conflict with Galbadia. That is why we wish for you to leave as soon as possible."

Squall nodded.

"I'll talk with the Headmaster and see about allowing the engineers inside." With that, he and Rinoa rose and left the mayor's house.

"He wasn't too friendly," she commented, to which Squall shrugged.

"Can't expect everyone to welcome us," he replied, before pausing. He looked up into the air, and turned a slow circle around, scanning his eyes up at the rim of the city.

"What is it?" Rinoa asked, catching onto his odd movements. Squall shook his head, then spun toward the southern end of the city, near the tracks of the horizon Bridge. He saw something rising up along that end, a black, oily film.

"Something's wrong," he muttered quietly. He drew his gunblade slowly. Then, in the distance, he heard a faint but all-too familiar sound. Gunfire.

"Mayor!" came a shout from about halfway up the line of panels, and Squall looked up to see Eberle rushing down the path, waving his arms. Dobe must have heard him and came rushing out of his home, and the elderly man quickly discerned the cause of alarm.

"What's going on?" he demanded, and the officer pointed to the south end of the city.

"Galbadian soldiers, mayor!" he cried. "They landed ships outside the train hub and are combing the city. I think they're looking for . . . ." He paused, glancing at Squall, and even more pointedly, at his drawn weapon.

"If they're here for us, we'll have to deal with them," Squall replied immediately, setting his teeth grimly. So, the Sorceress had finally caught up with them.

"No," Dobe replied adamantly, rushing between Squall and the path back up, interposing himself between the SeeD and the route. "You know of only one way to solve this, and that is through bloodshed. I cannot tolerate that within my city. We must solve this our way."

"Talking with them?" Rinoa asked dubiously. "I know the general attitudes of my own country's soldiers, and negotiating is going to be the last thing on their minds."

"I am a friend with Vinzer Deling," Dobe replied. "They will have to listen to me." With that, Dobe spun around and began to ascend the path. Squall shook his head as the man walked off to his doom.

"Deling is dead," Squall muttered, though the old man was out of earshot. "You might as well jump off the side of your city for all the good it will do you."

"Are you going to help him?" Rinoa asked, to which Squall reluctantly nodded. He didn't enjoy the notion of saving the stupidly stubborn from themselves, but he couldn't bring himself to not do so.

"Don't," Eberle began to plead, and Squall glanced back to him, shaking his head.

"I have to," he replied, raising his gunblade. "Its all I can do. I'll try to minimize the damage. How far have the Galbadians gotten into the city?"

"Just to the rail station," Eberle replied. He shook his head. "They seem to be setting up for a search. There's ships on the south side of the bridge, but they haven't docked yet." Squall nodded and turned to Rinoa.

"Get to the Garden and let Xu know about the enemy," he said, and she nodded. "Tell her to take a SeeD team around the outside of the city and do what she can to prevent those ships from docking. If we can cut off reinforcements, we may have a chance."

"What about you?" she asked, to which Squall nodded toward the smoke.

"If they haven't established enough of a beachhead, I'll try to drive them off," he stated. "FH is pacifist, so they shouldn't have sent many soldiers here in the first place."

"But that's suicide," Eberle muttered, shocked at Squall's fearlessness. Squall shook his head adamantly.

"No, its just desperate. And it's the only way to save Dobe from himself." He gave both Eberle and Rinoa a quick salute and then turned, running up the path between the solar panels leading closest to the black smoke. His gunblade rested in his hands, and he narrowed his eyes as he set his teeth firmly. Despite what he had said, this was not going to be easy or simple.

Within moments Squall had neared the top of the solar plant, at the edge of the smoke. He estimated he was perhaps a couple hundred feet from the Galbadian entry point at the train station. Just ahead was a wide set of train tracks that curved up and to the left, beneath a residential tower. Homes and businesses lined up along the left side of the tracks, and a large reservoir of water was positioned to the right of the tracks, which seemed to serve as a street along this segment of the city. A couple of smaller train lines turned off over the reservoir toward more homes perched atop various municipal structures along the edge of the floating city. Squall imagined that on a normal day he would see plenty of people moving about, but today all he saw was a platoon of Galbadian soldiers firing rifles into the air and running the citizens off. A squad moved ahead, near to where Squall was positioned, and cordoned off the area while the others fanned out, beginning a search.

Squall glanced back to the north, and saw that Garden was safely hidden behind the pair of water-processing towers, almost invisible to anyone on the south side of the city. The Galbadians probably didn't even know that Garden was docked. But if they didn't, then why were they here?

Squall banished the thought from his mind; he didn't have time to consider. He just had time to eliminate the enemy. There was a lot of them and only one of him; he was going to have to play this smart and stealthy. He returned his gunblade to its sheath and drew one of his knives, and pulled a concussive shell from one of his leg bandoleers. He crept forward, taking cover behind a nearby, empty train car that served as a makeshift home, as the squad that was cordoning off the area moved closer. The SeeD's wrist flicked and the shell flew past the group of men, bouncing off one of the rails of the train tracks and catching their attention. They whipped around, leveling their rifles at the sound.

"What was that?" one asked.

"You three, check that area," another soldier, this one with the rank insignia of a sergeant, stated, pointing toward the reservoir on the right side of the tracks. Three men stepped away from the group, sweeping the area with their rifles.

The other men began to slowly turn back around, scanning their surroundings, when a hand snaked around a soldier's neck, closing over his mouth. Squall pulled his arm back, exposing the man's neck, and slit his throat with his knife. One of the Galbadians turned back, and saw his comrade toppling to the train tracks. He managed to open his mouth before Squall stepped past him, his knife taking that man in the throat as well.

The clattering of the first dead soldier hitting the tracks caused the whole squad, all six remaining men, to spin around, but by that point another soldier was already dying, his neck sliced open as Squall waded in. Another unfortunate soldier took the blade his windpipe while Squall planted a hand against the chest plate of the sergeant, discharging a blast of fiery magic that blasted him off his feet and into the realm of death.

The SeeD tore his blade free of the other soldier's throat and flipped it over, catching it by its tip and hurling it at one of the remaining three men, the trio who had been checking out his distraction in the first place. The blade buried into that man's opening mouth, lodging in the back of his throat, and then Squall was closing in, drawing the Revolver. The two surviving soldiers barely managed to raise their blades in defense before he was upon them, his weapon striking rapidly, dancing between their swords. The revolver blasted one blade out wide with a powerful arcing cut, and Squall stepped in toward the other soldier, his gunblade swinging around and catching that man's weapon and holding it in place. Squall slammed hard into that soldier with his shoulder, the power from his junction-enhanced muscles blasting him backward and into the water of the reservoir. He began to flail desperately, but the heavy armor he wore pulled the man under. Squall spun toward the other man, gunblade cleaving, and the heavy blade knocked aside the soldier's sword once more. Squall stepped forward, crouching and slashing upward with his weapon. The gunblade met his opponent's sword again as the soldier desperately tried to defend himself.

Squall rose as the blade was parried and thrust out, a straightforward attack that the Galbadian had no trouble turning aside, but as the swords swept out wide, Squall's left hand jabbed forward, taking the knife he had torn from the dead body while crouching and jabbing it forward into the man's neck. The soldier froze for an instant in shock at the maneuver, and then fell back, dropping his blade and grasping at his penetrated throat.

A splashing sound behind Squall got his attention, and he turned around to see the soldier he had pushed into the water flounder up, managing to get to the surface after unstrapping his torso and shoulder armor and ditching his helmet. The man pulled himself up out of the water, and was the hauled up by Squall as the SeeD grabbed the front of his uniform.

"Where's the old man?" Squall demanded. The soldier blinked once, not understanding. "The mayor," Squall clarified, and the soldier looked to the south.

"Train station," he managed to say, gasping for air. "A squad escorted him to the major. Probably going to ask him about Ellone."

"Ellone?" Squall demanded, and the soldier nodded.

"We were sent here to find her," he replied shakily. Squall scowled, recalling Trent's words, and nodded.

"Thanks," he stated, before decking the soldier with a right cross. Squall then turned away and moved off to the south, looking for a way around the remainder of the Galbadian force in this area.

-----------------------

Eberle had watched in stunned awe at Squall's almost casual disposal of the Galbadian soldiers, and shuddered slightly in fear. He knew SeeDs were quite capable killers, but the image of Squall's brutal dance of death put any fantasies he'd had about their lethality to shame.

A tap on his shoulder made the man jerk, and he spun around, to see the dark-haired girl, Rinoa, accompanied by Xu. Behind her was a quintet of other SeeDs, all brandishing weapons. He took a momentary step back, a bit unnerved by the presence of more of the well-trained killers in such close proximity.

"We need a boat," Rinoa said immediately. Eberle hesitated for a moment, and then pointed toward the east side of the city.

"Docks are up there," he stated, and then paused, noting a collection of what looked like rocket-propelled grenade launchers being distributed among the SeeDs by a group of cadets who had arrived moments ago. "What are you going to do?" he asked warily as the SeeDs checked the large, boxy green launchers or looked over their own weapons. Another cadet arrived, carrying climbing gear, and handed it to Xu.

"We're going to stop them," she replied, handing out the gear to the other SeeDs. The members of the group strapped the launchers and extra grenades to their backs and took the gear. After a quick final check, they nodded toward the woman and gave her a unified salute.

"Move out!" she ordered, pointing to the north end of the city, and the SeeDs spun smartly before charging off. Xu followed an instant later. Rinoa hesitated, turning back to Eberle, and giving the officer a wink.

"Don't worry, they'll do fine," she assured him, then ran off after the squad. Eberle watched them go, and shook his head, before glancing back to the dead bodies.

"Never said they wouldn't," he muttered to the empty, salty air.

---------------------

Two more soldiers had to die as Squall moved up, creeping between metal homes and scaling over rooftops before dropping back down. At one point he'd even had to hang off a ledge, crawling along on his fingertips to a line between two buildings, which he'd then slid down to get to a shadowed spot behind a power transformer. A pair of Galbadians had wandered past, oblivious, and Squall floated past them unheard.

He'd almost made it to the train station when he encountered an armed checkpoint along the only route leading to the hub, manned by a quartet of blue-clad regulars and a strange war machine, which looked nothing less than a huge, man-shaped bipedal lizard with a pair of three-barreled, twenty-millimeter vulcans mounted on its shoulders. He frowned and edged closer, hiding in the shadows of another building, and got a closer look.

Its "skin" was a sky blue, painted the same color as its mechanical parts. The cannons on its shoulders, its head (and a pair of huge, blade-toothed jaws) its back, and its long tail were all metallic, mechanical parts. Its torso, arms, and legs were organic, excepting the claws on its feet and hands, which were as sharp as its teeth.

Some type of cybernetic war machine, Squall mused. Must have been a new model, one he'd never encountered before. He'd have to be very careful; doubtless its sensors would be superior to a human's, though it was probably lacking advanced artificial intelligence. Then again, maybe not. That biology couldn't just be there because of a lack of scrap metal . . . .

Squall assessed the situation for a moment longer, before rising. He didn't have time to try to sneak around the group, nor did he see any really viable way to pass them. There probably was, but if he couldn't see it with his quick scan, then it would probably take to long to recognize and take advantage of. Dobe was probably looking down the barrel of a Galbadian rifle right now; he didn't have the time. Stealth be damned.

Squall reached into his mind and touched Queztocotl.

--------------------

It was a small skiff, about maybe forty feet long and crewed by a quintet of aqua-clad soldiers wearing light flak jackets and goggled helmets, as opposed to the metallic armor and heavy sensor-laden helmets of the regulars. They were probably just members of the Galbadian Navy, as opposed to the Army, and they way they easily sidled up toward the fishing boat Xu and Rinoa had commandeered, they knew what they were doing.

"Cut off your engine," the captain of the patrol skiff shouted from the bridge, as his pilot moved the craft closer to the larger fishing vessel. Two sailors carried rifles, and the last man stood behind the heavy machinegun similar to the ones the SeeDs' own Salamander vessels sported.

Jofey, seated behind the steering console of the vessel, glanced at Xu, who nodded. She glanced down to her procured fisherman's jumpsuit and nodded at the disguise.

"We're close enough," she stated, looking outside to the huge support pillar holding up the Horizon Bridge, a mere fifty feet off the port side of the ship.

"Ker-splode?" Elain asked, glancing to her grenade launcher. She, too, was clad in the ugly fisherman's jumpsuits, as were the remainder of the SeeD force and Rinoa. Xu shook her head slightly.

"I think those Galbadians look tired, don't you?" she asked, and the SeeDs chuckled, understanding their implied order. Xu stepped out of the cabin, along with the rest of the SeeD force, excepting Jofey. The patrol skiff drifted along side their ship, and the captain, along with his two rifle-bearing sailors, hopped aboard the fisher.

"Are you the captain of this vessel?" he asked Xu, who nodded. "This city is now under martial law, and the protection of the Galbadian military. Until you are given further notice, you will have to return your ship to port. Do you understand?"

"Absolutely," Xu replied with a nod, hiding her grin.

"We will need to conduct a search of your vessel," the man added. Xu blinked, then glanced back to her people, and all of them nodded. It seemed as if she was asking for their consent, but in reality, it was just a check to see if the proper magic was waiting at their fingertips.

"Of course," Xu responded to the man, turning back. She put on a sweet smile. "After you have a nice long nap."

The captain and his crew never got a chance to respond, the three sailors on board dropping where they stood as waves of sleep-inducing magic washed over them. The machine-gunner toppled as well from his post, leaving the weapon unmanned. Xu didn't even pay attention, instead rushing forward and leaping to the skiff, her junctions propelling her clear over the top of the small bridge and landing right behind the last sailor, who had been shielded from the spells by the bridge structure. The man spun toward her, pulling a pistol, but her sai were out in an instant, pulled from the deep pockets of the jumpsuit. They crossed once, striking on opposing sides of the pistol; the impacts flipped the weapon clear out of his shocked hand. He lunged forward as the weapon fell away, trying to tackle her, but she danced to the side, slapping him with the flat of the sai as he fell forward, off-balance. The sailor dropped to the deck, and Xu put a foot on his back and a sai to his neck. He froze in place.

"Good boy," she stated, hitting the man with another sleeping spell. Behind her, the fisher started up anew, and she glanced back to see Jofey already maneuvering the vessel a little closer to the support pillar. He stopped it at twenty feet, and the SeeDs fastened their launchers onto their backs and readied their climbing gear.

"Its one hundred and thirty-five feet to the top of that thing!" Xu called, leaping back and picking up her gear.

"And from up there we shouldn't have any trouble getting good shots at their ships," Elain added, grinning darkly.

"Umm, aren't those a little small?" Rinoa asked, nodding to Xu's RPG. She looked over her shoulder and then back to Rinoa, offering a shrug.

"The Galbadians have only sent troop transports and maybe a destroyer," Elain replied. "Concentrated fire on the cannons should wipe out the destroyer's weapons, and then the troop transports will be easy pickings."

--------------------

The cyborg creature screamed in absolute fury and rushed at Squall, the heavy vulcans on its shoulders smoldering and half-melted by the electrical blasts. Squall stood still, gunblade clenched tightly, and then skittered to the side as the war machine closed to within arm's reach. The thing spun, but its heavy weight caused it to overbalance on sparking and shorting electronics, and the thing toppled over on its side. Not bothering with the gunblade, Squall sent a bolt of lightning into its side, finishing the damaged cyborg, and then ran past, hopping the charred corpse of one of the dead Galbadians. Behind him, the SeeD could hear distant, infuriated shouts from the surviving Galbadians behind, but he ignored them and pushed on, dashing up along the train line. No other resistance showed itself as he did so, bounding up the tracks as they curved up and to the left. Within moments he was within sight of a large plaza just outside the train station.  
  
A squad of Galbadian soldiers ringed a trembling, terrified Mayor Dobe, who was sitting on the ceramic tile of the plaza, a red-clad officer towering over him.  
  
"But we don't know anything about this girl, Ellone," the mayor protested. The officer shook his head.  
  
"You sure?" he demanded, and the mayor nodded in terror.  
  
"While we may be pacifists, we do document anyone who enters or leaves our city," the mayor explained. "And we've never encountered anyone by that name, especially not over the last few weeks."  
  
"I see," the officer replied, nodding. He tapped the side of his helmet, activating a short-range burst transmitter that could cut through the radio interference. "Okay then, looks like this is a bust. Call in the reinforcements and begin combing the town, just in case she might be hiding here. Once we've finished the search, blast this place apart."  
  
"No!" the mayor protested, rising immediately. "We've complied with your demands!"  
  
"Yeah, well, that's not good enough," the officer barked, bellowing out a laugh. "Edea's orders. We're to burn this town if she isn't here." The man slowly reached over to his right forearm with his left hand, and slid the action for his arm-mounted machinegun, a smile forming on his lips. "You'll be first."  
  
"Hands off," Squall shouted suddenly, stepping out into the plaza. The Galbadians whipped toward him, raising rifles and swords, forming up smartly into a quick curving line, riflemen out on the sides while the swordsmen were in the middle. The officer looked up from Dobe, his grin turning into a sneer.  
  
"Looks like not all of you pathetic peace-lovers are as weak as we presumed," the officer growled. Dobe, momentarily forgotten, scrambled away.  
  
"Kill his ass," the officer ordered. Squall raised his weapon, legs tensing for a twitch of motion that would send him into the enemy ranks, when a thunderous explosion sounded from the south side of the city, just beyond the train station. The soldiers and the officer seemed to hesitate for an instant at the unexpected sound, and then Squall was upon them, his gunblade biting into and blasting the lungs one of the riflemen at the left end of the formation.

-------------------------  
  
"I think that was an ammo magazine!" Jofey proclaimed as he looked down at the destruction along the foredeck of the Galbadian destroyer. The craft wasn't extremely long, barely over a hundred and fifty feet in length, and most of that taken up by an array of five-inch cannons, .50 caliber anti-ship and anti-aircraft machineguns, and a large missile rack in the back. The ship was designed for quick maneuvering in battle and putting a lot of firepower where it needed to be. Their sudden attack, each of the six SeeDs firing their RPG's in rapid succession, had all but annihilated the five-inch guns and most of the machineguns along the foredeck, and whatever was not destroyed by the initial barrage had gone up when one of the grenades had penetrated the ruptured deck and detonated an ammunition magazine belowdecks.  
  
Rinoa, perched beside Xu and the other SeeDs, scanned the waters before them with a degree of concern. The annihilation of the forward weapons on the destroyer had been quick, and while that was good news, she couldn't help but be worried as she saw what looked to be a dozen or more troop transports scattered below the bridge, each of them carrying at least four platoons worth of men, perhaps more. At least fifteen hundred soldiers were below, possibly upwards of two thousand or even more. Even the SeeDs she was with would have to be a bit put off by such a disparity in numbers.  
  
To make matters worse, their position was tentative, the SeeDs and Rinoa crouched among the support girders along the underside of the bridge. While they were virtually invisible up there, they also would have a hard time pulling out if things got nasty. And the destroyer still had its rear guns and the missile launchers. No doubt the Galbadians would be able to tell where the grenades had come from, judging by the trail of exhaust the explosives had left.  
  
"Reload and prepare to fire on the rear of the destroyer!" Xu shouted. "Ready all junctions to defense and brace yourselves for return fire!" The SeeDs nodded, pulling out spent ammo racks from their launchers and loading new ones in their stead. Each launcher held four RPGs, and the combined fire of twenty-four of the grenades would be more than enough to rip apart the weapons on the ship's rear. The only problem was that, with the angle of the ship far below relative to their position, the craft's superstructure was between the SeeDs and the rear weapons. The ship would have to rotate to bring the weapons to bear, which would also expose the weapons to their fire. However, the second they both had clear shots at each other, they would fire, making this effectively a quick-draw contest to see who could shoot first.  
  
But that method was suicide. There was no way the SeeDs would be able to hit and destroy the rear weapons before they could return fire, and Xu had to have known this. Even with junctions, the missiles and cannons of the destroyer could tear them apart with casual ease.  
  
"No, wait!" Rinoa shouted as the destroyer turned. "Fire on the bridge! Stop them from turning!"  
  
"We can't!" Xu replied, shaking her head. "Even if we take out the bridge they'll still have fire control and can still rotate." Below, the destroyer was halfway through the turn, the weapons on the aft of the craft becoming visible.  
  
"There's gotta be some other way, this is suicide," Rinoa protested, scanning the ship. Xu shrugged helplessly.  
  
"Its too heavily armored elsewhere to sink it, excepting . . . ." Xu blinked, her expression suddenly shifting to that of someone who had just realized the obvious.  
  
"New target! Shift to the bow, aim for the ammo magazines in the forward hold!" The SeeDs responded immediately, shifting slightly as the ship turned, aiming for the foredeck and the hole that had been punched in it. Xu couldn't believe she had forgotten; while they had detonated an ammunition magazine stored below the forward deck, there were still plenty more magazines stowed in armored compartments, protected enough so that if a magazine was destroyed in battle, then it wouldn't start a deadly chain reaction. But, the armor was only on the bulkheads, not on the ceiling of the magazine storage compartments. Their assault had already badly damaged the top of the foredeck, enough so that another barrage of missiles could punch through the top and hit the remaining forward magazines. The armored bulkheads were not designed to be able to withstand the simultaneous detonation of all the magazines.  
  
Six, then twelve, then eighteen, then twenty-four streaks of exhaust leaped from the underside of the Horizon Bridge and toward the blasted foredeck of the destroyer. The first two sets exploded across the devastated armor, but the last dozen went straight in, blasting into the magazines stored belowdecks.  
  
Instantly, the Galbadian destroyer was blasted backward and up, its bow vanishing in a searing flare of light as every shell and explosive stored for the forward guns detonated instantly. Debris from the bow slashed outward, one chunk ripping into a troop transport and almost slicing it in half. The destroyer's rotation was ended instantly, and it began to immediately dip below the surface, water flooding into the massive rip left in the absence of the ship's bow. The missile rack and the rear guns did come into view, but they did not fire, their crews instead abandoning their stations to rush to the nearest lifeboats.  
  
"Now that's what I'm talking about!" a SeeD crowed, pumping his fist in triumph as the warship sank beneath the waves. The man had to duck back behind cover as bullets struck the metal near his head.  
  
"They have hoverfoils!" Elain reported, taking a quick glance. "Damn, one of those transports must have had paratroopers on it." Xu paled at the mention of paratroopers, and quickly reloaded her RPG.  
  
"Get those weapons loaded, now!" she ordered.  
  
"What is it?" Rinoa asked. Xu glanced up to her, shaking her head as she slid a new grenade magazine into her weapon.  
  
"Galbadian paratroopers," she explained. "They're Garden's washouts. Galbadia Garden runs a program that allows those who don't make SeeD to get into the Galbadian military as special forces. Galbadian paratroopers."  
  
"SeeD-trained soldiers?" Rinoa asked rhetorically as she heard the sound of ascending hoverfoils below.  
  
"Don't let them land!" Xu shouted, taking a glance of her own. "Damn, they outnumber us at least five to one." She had to duck back as more bullets struck her position, and cursed again.

"They're going out wide! They're trying to get behind one of the pillars!" Elaine shouted, and Xu frowned, momentarily puzzled, before her eyes widened again.

"They're going up top onto the bridge!" she replied. "They'll drop down on top of us!"

"Not if I can help it," Elain growled, rising up slightly and raising her RPG. The weapon flared and a rocket lanced out, striking one of the hover foils in a flash of blinding light accompanied by a intense roar. Chunks of warped and molten metal and flesh rained to the sea below.

The remaining hoverfoils countered with staccatos of gunfire, and the SeeD had to duck back. She glanced to Xu and grinned.

"Got one!"

"Thirty more to go," Xu replied, smiling as well.

"They're splitting," came another shout from one of the SeeDs further down, who risked his head for a peek. Rinoa glanced as well, and saw he was right; most of the hoverfoils and their green-clad pilots were breaking off and trying to put the nearest pillar between themselves and the SeeDs, but the remainder, about eight or nine, were moving directly toward the SeeDs, ascending toward their position.

"They're providing cover fire," Xu muttered, and Rinoa nodded an instant before more bullets bounced around their position. This close, they could see the weapons mounted on these hover foils: a swiveling machinegun that was mounted beside and above the pilot's head, and rotated with the motion of the soldier's helmet. Right now, the soldiers were looking directly up at the SeeDs' position as they fanned out, maneuvering to pin them in place for their comrades.

"Not if I can help it," Rinoa said, and Xu nodded in agreement. The SeeD hefted her launcher while Rinoa focused, calling up her magical energies. Then at the same instant, both women rose, and a bolt of lightning, chased by an almost as fast moving rocket, screamed down into the hover foils. One craft exploded, and another spun away, its engines shorted out by the lightning bolt. The vehicle smashed into one of the support pillars and dropped into the ocean, carrying its pilot with it.

All around the pair, more roars of launched rockets and whines of unleashed magic could be heard, and similar attacks ripped into the covering hoverfoils. At the end of the barrage, five of the nine vehicles were gone, and another was dropping out of control into the ocean, the pilot unstrapping himself and leaping free. Of the other three, two trailed smoke and were following the last one in a rapid but controlled descent to the relative safety of the fleet below.

Xu followed them with her eyes, and noted how close the transport fleet was to the city, and pointed.

"Jofey, Rinoa, stay on watch and shout if you see those other paratroopers coming. Everyone else, sink those ships!"

Shouts of acknowledgement and streaks of rocket exhaust answered her orders as one of the transports reached the city docks. A panel opened on the outside of the bulbous craft and what looked like a massive tank rumbled out, its armor plates scored with burns and charred metal. Dozens of soldiers followed it out and began rushing into the city.

-------------------

Squall walked his way up the line of soldiers, his weapon arcing and parrying before slicing and gutting another swordsman. All of the riflemen on the left side had been killed or maimed too badly to continue the fight, and the survivors' screams of pain and the standing soldiers' cries of fear were having an effect on the remainder of the force.

Another soldier's helmeted head went skipping away on the pavement, and Squall rushed forward, kicking the decapitated soldier hard enough to launch him into a crowd of his comrades. They all fell back under the weight of the corpse. Another soldier leaped over the tangle of arms and legs and jumped at Squall, screaming in rage and fear as he raised his sword in an overhead chop. Rather than parry, Squall quick-stepped forward and to the man's left, jabbing his left arm straight out to the side in a clothesline that caught his attacker in the gut. The man's momentum sent him spinning over the arm and crashing to the pavement. Squall spun, thrusting his gunblade one-handed down at the man as he hit face down, and the weapon dove into the soldier's thigh. The man cried out in pain, and the scream multiplied tenfold as a concussive shell blew his leg clean off.

Squall's free left hand pointed behind him, to the few remaining, terrified soldiers, and a blast of fire ripped into their ranks, hurling one man down and blackening the armor of another soldier.

Squall spun toward them, bits of gore trailing his rising gunblade, and he rushed them, his impassive, grim face one that promised death. Faced by this killing machine the soldiers did the only sensible thing.

They fled, a couple throwing their weapons away as they retreated. Those still untangling themselves from the dead corpse Squall had kicked at them joined them, leaving an enraged and bewildered officer standing there among the corpses and squirming bodies of his dead and dying soldiers. Squall turned toward him, advancing dangerously, when the doors to the train station beyond burst open. The fleeing soldiers scattered as a huge war machine rumbled through, carbon scoring along its armor plating and dozens of soldiers flanking it.

"Ha!" the officer barked. "Its over now! Bring the Iron Clad over here! Kill him!"

The massive armored tank rumbled forward, directly toward Squall, and the Galbadian soldiers, two or more entire platoons, charged in a rumbling advance, raising their weapons and screaming for vengeance.

Squall lowered his weapon, and then closed his eyes.

--------------------

The fires on the third transport to near the docks were still burning as Xu rolled under an accurate sword swipe that would have cleaved her head in half. She came up beside the paratrooper, sai stabbing. One of the short blades was intercepted by the returning sword as the Galbadian paratrooper spun back around, but the other jabbed into his knee, just between the armor on his shin and the kneepad. The man grimaced slightly but came on, slashing hard across at Xu.

She saw the straightforward attack for what it really was and brought her sai together on her opposite side as the soldier reversed. His sword slashed around on the other side, and was intercepted by Xu's blades. She flicked one wrist, pressing one sai down atop the blade to keep it pinned for the instant she needed, and the other weapon rose and slashed across, taking the man's throat.

He dropped the sword, reaching up for his lethally damaged throat, and Xu ducked around behind him, kicking out against his back. The dying soldier slammed into two more paratroopers as they swung down around the top of the bridge, and all three went tumbling down into the sea below.

Behind her, another SeeD crossed swords with another paratrooper as yet more of the Galbadian special forces rappelled down the side of the Horizon Bridge and swung toward their position. They were probably expecting the group to be ordinary soldiers or militant citizens of Fisherman's Horizon, because they certainly weren't expecting to be facing SeeDs. The Garden warriors were faring well, thanks to a timely warning by Jofey and Rinoa, who had spotted the dangling ropes of the descending soldiers a moment before they had begun to swing down around them. Several enemy paratroopers had not even hit the girders the SeeDs stood upon before magic and blades had struck them down.

A paratrooper landed in front of Xu, already drawing his sword as he landed. It thrust out at her, and she parried with one sai, the other weaving around for a thrust at his head. He hopped back, grabbing onto his rope with one hand and swinging out. He was probably planning to come back further down and continue the battle, but a shard of ice exploded in his chest and thousands of needle-sharp pieces of frigid shrapnel buried into the paratrooper's chest. He fell from the rope, mouth open in surprise as he tumbled to a watery grave.

"Thanks," Xu said to Rinoa, who nodded and called up another blast of magical energy, picking off yet another descending paratrooper that was coming in at Jofey's back. The Galbadian was blasted off his rope, but managed to reach out, trying to grab onto the girder to save himself. Instead, he ended up grabbing the very paratrooper who Jofey was battling and pulled him off the girder as well. Both men plunged below.

The remaining paratroopers understood their defeat and began to retreat to their ropes, climbing back up. Those that couldn't opted to leap off the edge of the girder and try to swim to the other transports.

"Let's give them reason to run!" Xu shouted, rushing to one of the RPG launchers, and the SeeDs, as they finished chasing the remaining enemy paratroopers away, shouted acknowledgments. 

"Hold your fire!" Rinoa suddenly called as she looked below. The Galbadian transports were backing away, starting to pull away from the city. "I think they're running!"

"They are," Xu replied after a moment, nodding. With the exception of a single transport remaining behind to pick up a few Galbadians who were fleeing the city, the others had begun to pull out. "I wonder why they're running so early?"

"We need to get back into the city," Rinoa stated, and after a moment, Xu agreed.

"Agreed," she said, and turned toward her subordinates. "Jofey, Elain, you two take over here and keep station up here. If any transports start moving toward the city again, take them out. I'll go with Rinoa into the city and see what's happened."

---------------------

The soldiers believed that their enemy was accepting his inevitable death as they came on. Behind them, the Iron Clad advanced, and its vulcan machine gun, the only part really operating, began to spin. The machinegun roared, and hundreds of bullets blasted forward.

Blasted forward into the Galbadian ranks.

A dozen and more men fell instantly, screaming as the bullets shredded their bodies, and the other soldiers spun in shock and confusion, looking to the source of the attack as the tank began to turn. More soldiers, still confused by their suddenly treacherous war machine, were cut down before they could react. Other soldiers began to back away, while a couple actually rushed around, trying to get at the machine's melted and fused hatch.

Up until a shimmering circle of blue formed above Squall's head, that was. From this circle came an equally shimmering line of aquamarine and deep blue energy, snaking and twisting in a graceful curling that made the charging men pause in awe. The line resolved itself slowly, taking on the form of a serpent as it curled above Squall's head, and then the watery energy exploded away like a snake's skin that had been shed.

Where the energy once had been was a graceful, aqua-colored serpent with shining blue eyes, large, elegant fish-like fins along its side. The serpent opened into mouth, crying out an unearthly high-pitched wail, and from nowhere a river of water simply appeared, unleashed by the Guardian Force. It roared around Squall's position as if he were an unmovable boulder and smashed heavily into the soldiers, the officer commanding them, and the war machine. Iron Clad was pushed back as the soldiers were swept away, along the plaza and over an edge into the ocean far below.

Iron Clad did not fall over, but rather came to a stop at the edge of the plaza. Squall focused on the weapon as Leviathan, the Guardian Force he had taken from NORG, vanished like morning mist, and he prepared to call up another Guardian Force to finish the battle. One more hit would do it, he judged.

Then a segment on top of the Iron Clad exploded outward, followed by a shout from within. Squall heard an intense pounding, and one of the armor plates peeled away, smashed outward by someone within.

Wait a moment, Squall thought. He recognized that shout!

Squall's suspicions were confirmed an instant later as a familiar, tattooed head poked out of the smashed plating.

"Yo, Squall, lay off man!" Zell shouted as he pulled himself out of the tank. He flipped forward, landing easily, and blinked at the shocked and bewildered look on his comrade's face.

"What?" he asked. "Oh, yeah, I know we're late. Selphie had to take the scenic route."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Phew. That was fun. Took me longer than I expected, too. Darn it, it's a day late! I had this idea in which I could involve Xu, Rinoa, and some other SeeDs in the effort to save Fisherman's Horizon. It started out small, but then it steadily grew into the big battle above. It was pretty fun to write, too. I also thought it would be interesting to have Squall do some Solid Snake/Sam Fisher-esque sneaking. There aren't many other points in the game or story that allow for it. Also, I took this as an opportunity to introduce the paratroopers, whoa re going to play a big role in the Garden battle later on.

Oh, yeah, and Iron Clad's still intact. Spur-of-the-moment decision I made that promises some interesting developments.

There were also some naval references in this chapter, though real destroyers are a lot larger than the one in this chapter. In case you don't know naval terminology, "bulkheads" are walls, "aft" is the rear of the ship, and the "bow" is the front. The "superstructure" is the big thing that sticks up, holding all the communications gear and the bridge and all that stuff. "Deck" is any floor, not just the topside deck. I don't remember the term for ceiling.

Oh, and the name of the police officer, Eberle, is the same name as one of the guys from my ROTC unit. I just snatched one of those names when I couldn't think of one myself. The officer actually doesn't act like the real Eberle I know.

I can't wait to get to next chapter! One of my favorite sequences in the game!

Anyway, shout-out time!

Daniel Wesley Rydell: Xu has kicked much ass this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it.

OniRazz: interestingly enough, you're not far off the mark there.... :D

DBZ Fanfiction Queen: Writing NORG's death scene was excessively fun. I really got into that. Darn it, Hellsing, stop making me like blood and death so much!

You're actually asking a pretty good question. I think they were handing over orders from Cid, but what orders? Hm. But I don't think it was orders to use Squall's team, as that doesn't make much sense. Maybe they were just orders from NORG that they believed were from Cid? Keep in mind, Martine was the one who used Squall's group; it was originally going to be a Galbadia Garden team.

Well, obviously, you did get to hear Squall's "final thoughts" at the beginning of this chapter. You will get to see my take on the "date" next chapter. I guarantee it.

Dragoon Swordsman: Well, Squall didn't so much as forget them as he did not carry them because he was not going into a combat situation. Kind of the same way a soldier usually doesn't carry a sidearm unless things may get hairy. But hey, Xu's there to pull his ass out of the fire, eh? XD

Rusty Knights Productions: Detail is what I live for. When people tell me I've made the world of FFVIII into a real, breathing world that seems real, I know I've succeeded.

Kaiser-kun: I agree that FFVIII is much more sci-fi than fantasy. That is part of the reason I like it and FFVII more than any other FF to date. There are plenty of fantasy elements, though, and I like that. Sci-fi/fantasy is always good, combining advanced technology and fantastic elements. Maybe that's why I'm a big Star Wars and Hellsing fan. Science plus magic is badass. (and we Americans pronounce it "sai-fai", though I can understand why you would pronounce it "say-fay" with the way vowels sound in Spanish)

I really hope you do well in your writing career. From what I have seen, you'd do a brilliant job.

I hate snuff films. They're terrible, people getting off watching others die. There was actually an episode of Hellsing that involved those kind of films. Very interesting.

And yes, Marine. Never get it wrong, though I may end up having to go Navy instead of the Marines for medical reasons. Which kinda sucks, because their uniforms are funny-looking. XD


	37. Burdens of a Hero

_Chapter 32: Burdens of a Hero_

Squall looked - and felt - as if he could have been knocked over by a slight breeze as he stood there in shock, watching Zell help Quistis climb out of the hole in the side of the Iron Clad. Selphie seemed to explode out of the hole immediately afterward, and Irvine followed, tossing his hat out first and scooping the headgear up when he landed on his feet.

"Squall!" Selphie cried, and then bolted across the plaza, glomping him where he stood. The others' responses were slightly more sedate, but they too were overjoyed to have encountered one another again so suddenly. It took Squall along moment to wade through the sea of voices and questions, and a recurring theme was inquiries about the safety of Garden.

"Garden is safe," he managed to finally reply, to cheers from Selphie and Zell. "In fact, its better than safe. Its right over there." He pointed to the north, and was met by confused looks. After a moment he shook his head.

"Long story," he explained. "I'll tell it to you later. Right now, though, I'm just glad to see you're all safe." His words were quite sincere, and he was surprised by confused looks from Zell and Irvine, as well as a furtive smile from Quistis and a much more obvious one from Selphie.

"What?" he asked after a moment, but any response was cut off as another pair, this one consisting of Xu and Rinoa, entered the plaza, and an equally enthusiastic reunion followed. Squall backed away for a moment while Selphie assailed Rinoa with questions and another glomping hug, and she returned the questions right back to the group. He watched it all, feeling surprisingly happy to see his comrades reunited, and a powerful wave of relief now that they were safe. More than once he managed to catch Rinoa's eye, and she, too, shared that furtive smile that Quistis had developed, and even whispered something to the blonde SeeD, making both of them laugh faintly.

Squall let them continue to talk, and broke away from the group when he spotted Mayor Dobe crouching near the plaza, looking upon the damaged stones of the city center and the equally damaged train hub. Overall, not much damage had been inflicted upon his city, but he seemed quite . . . resentful.

"I'm sorry," Squall explained to the mayor as he neared the man. "I had no choice but to draw my weapon."

"I know," Dobe replied, his tone filled with remorse. He did not meet Squall's eyes. "I wish that this hadn't had to happen. But do not think that I'm condoning what you've done. Blood has been spilled in my city, but without your aid, we would all have been dead or homeless."

"I regret having to do it," Squall replied. "I never enjoy the killing."

"That is one thing we have in common," Dobe answered. "Perhaps you're a stronger man for being able to face what you hate. But still, it violates our ethos and our way of life. We live because you fight, yet now we live because of something we hate having passed."

"All I know is war," Squall stated with a shrug. "I can't live in your world of peace, but what you've built here, your beliefs and ideals are an incredible thing. No other city has been built in this world without war. Even Balamb has had to fight for its independence, a long time ago. Your city is unique, and I wish that your ideals would spread elsewhere." He paused for a long moment, before finishing up.

"I hope the world can accept your ideals," he stated. "But until it is, I'll be here to fight those that would take from those who cannot defend themselves." Squall offered the man a salute, but Dobe did not reply, merely staring out over the ocean and his plaza, lost in thought.

Squall turned away, to still see the group of his comrades talking excitedly, Selphie waving her hands as if indicating motions. He watched them for a long while, before he realized that he was, to a slight degree, smiling. This immediately killed his expression as he realized what had so amused the others.

--------------------

It was an hour later, and Squall, Xu, and Selphie had finished giving their reports to Headmaster Cid. What was most interesting was Selphie's escape. Having noted how incredibly durable the Galbadian war machine known as Iron Clad had been during their battle, she had opted to have her team take cover _inside_ the vehicle to escape the explosion. Her judgment had been correct, as the weapon had indeed survived the detonation of the missile base, but in the blast the hatch had been sealed shut. A Galbadian survey team had arrived at the base within the next few hours, and had externally tapped into the vehicle and remotely moved it aboard a train and across the continent. Apparently, no one had bothered trying to open the hatch or otherwise get into the vehicle to assess the electronics, and the damaged but functional war machine had been loaded aboard a transport and assigned to a squadron being sent to find someone named Ellone. The team had managed to override the remote control but had kept their command of the machine a secret up until they saw the battle between squall and the Galbadian military. The rest was history.

Selphie's information, combined with Squall's testimony from both the conversation between Dobe and the Galbadian officer and his interrogation of the surviving Galbadian soldier, Cid concluded that the Galbadian military was hot on Ellone's trail. Trent had been right all along.

Cid had then given Squall and Selphie strict orders: rest. Both had done a lot of work and sincerely deserved a break, Selphie most of all. She didn't admit it, but all the stress had really gotten to her. In fact, the moment she had finished her report, she had returned to her dorm and had virtually collapsed into a deep sleep. Squall couldn't help but agree with her, and had been on the way back to his own room when he encountered Rinoa. He sighed tiredly as he saw she was standing between him and his door.

"I'm glad you're safe," she commented. "And everyone else is too. I was worried about them for a while."

"Me too," he replied with a nod.

"You surprised me out there," she added, leaning against the wall slightly, arcing her head to the side a bit, as if looking at Squall from a new angle. "You sounded so happy to see them. It was the first time I saw you so . . . honest. I thought it was sweet."

"Sweet?" he echoed, and she giggled slightly.

"They were my responsibility," he replied defensively. "I was worried about them, that's all."

"Is that it?" she asked, surprising Squall. What did she want from him?

"Be honest," she pressed. "Just like you were in the plaza." He considered that for a long moment, and remembered the honest feelings he'd had when Selphie and her team had been returned to him.

"I _was_ happy to see them," he admitted. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"No, no!" she replied, smiling. "They're your comrades, but even more importantly, they're your friends."

That rocked Squall for a moment. He'd never called any of them friends. He didn't admit he could feel that way towards anyone, but the fact that he had worried about them . . . Did he consider them friends?

"Tell me, Squall," she continued. "Would you have been as worried about me if I was with them?"

She kept surprising him, and Squall found himself off-balance again. He considered her question, and the way it was phrased, curious, but at the same time colored with a bit more, some other emotion he couldn't exactly place. What was she getting at with this line of questions?

Rinoa reached up and covered her mouth with one hand, shaking with laughter.

"Your face is turning red!" she muttered. "Did I embarrass you?"

Squall was suddenly aware of the heat flushing his face, and that warmth only grew as she continued.

"Okay, I'm sorry," she said after a moment, finally suppressing her laughter. "I'll see you later, okay?" Squall managed to nod before she turned away and left, but before Rinoa passed out of view, she did glance back and throw him a wink that enflamed his face again. After a long moment, Squall managed to calm down, and shook his head, before stepping toward his door.

"Not bad," came a voice behind him, making Squall jump. He spun, to see Irvine standing behind him, leaning against the wall. He tipped back his cowboy hat, and looked down the hall to where Rinoa had disappeared.

"You know, I think she's sweet on you," the sharpshooter commented. Squall frowned and looked back to where she had gone. He didn't deny it. Rinoa did seem to be edging toward him, but why he wasn't sure. He hadn't done much to engender such feelings.

_Except to save her life, _he reminded himself after a second. He looked back to Irvine, who was smiling faintly, apparently having understood what he was thinking about. Dammit, did everyone seem to know what he was thinking?

"Anyway, didn't come down here to give you commentary on your love life, or whatever passes for it," Irvine continued. "Just asking for a favor."

"What?" Squall asked.

"Well," the cowboy said, straightening his hat. "Selphie had been working on building a stage for the Garden Festival, but with the takeoff and crash it seemed that all her hard work was smashed to pieces in the confusion. Its probably gonna break her heart if she finds out. I was wondering if I could get some of the FH engineers to do a little repair work? It would mean a lot to her."

"Why ask me?" Squall asked, and Irvine shrugged.

"Cid told me to," he replied. "Not sure why he's delegating authority to you, but he said 'See if Squall has any problems with it'."

"Why me?" Squall repeated, but then shook his head. "Forget about it. As long as it doesn't interfere with the repair work, I'm fine with it."

"Thanks!" Irvine said with a wide grin. "I'll get on it!" He then spun quickly and strode off, a bounce in his step. Squall watched him leave, and then shook his head. His comrades - no, _friends_ - were getting weirder and weirder.

--------------------

Squall awoke the next morning, somewhat refreshed. He showered, dressed, ate a quick breakfast, and was in the middle of performing routine maintenance on his gunblade when someone knocked on his door. He opened it to see Xu standing outside. She nodded to him, offering him a slight smile.

"The Headmaster wants to speak with you in a couple of hours about the plan of the day,' she told him, and he nodded, though not without a confused frown.

"Why me?" he asked, confused and thinking about Irvine asking for permission to use the engineers' help yesterday.

"He didn't say," Xu replied. "But he wanted to check with you about it before he made an important announcement."

"Alright," he said with a sigh. "I'll be up in his office in a couple of hours."

Squall finished his gunblade maintenance and spent the next hour afterwards doing calisthenics in his room, working his muscles with push-ups, sit-ups, leg-lifts, and bodybuilders, before heading up to meet with the Headmaster for whatever reason he needed.

Cid was standing atop the platform in his office, and Squall was surprised to see the old, rusted control panel was replaced by a huge, fin-shaped lever set into a large hollow. Beside this lever was a series of holographic protestations, showing various feeds and information about Garden, particularly navigational data and terrain. It even included a sonar image.

"Ah, Squall, good to see you," Cid commented as he looked over the equipment. "The engineers handled this remarkably quickly. We've already completed the steering mechanism, and its only a couple of days before they have everything in order to sail us out of their city." The older man was practically beaming.

"You wanted to go over the plan of the day with me, sir?" Squall asked, and Cid nodded, his smile widening.

"Once we are underway, we will be seeking to stop this war before it begins," Cid explained. "The Sorc . . . Edea had ordered her men to destroy FH regardless of whether Ellone was there or not. What does that say?"

"They wanted to deny her a place to hide," Squall replied, understanding the simplicity of the tactic.

"I fear that she has already done this elsewhere," Cid stated with a grave nod. "Its clear that, for whatever reason she is seeking Ellone, she will burn everything in her path. We cannot allow that." Squall nodded.

"However," Cid continued, "Garden has been weakened lately, with the death of NORG and a significant number of our SeeDs deployed. I intend to begin picking them back up, and have started sending codes messages out through Fisherman's Horizon to the scattered cells to return to Garden if able. In the meantime, we will be seeking out a means to stop Edea."

"That sounds good," Squall replied with another nod.

"However, there is the possibility that we may become involved in a battle before we are ready to engage her," Cid continued. "And even after we have replenished our ranks we'll still need someone to command the troops."

"Xu should be able to handle that," Squall stated, and Cid nodded after a moment.

"Xu could, but she has other skills that could be more useful, particularly with acquisitions and training the cadets," Cid continued. "We need someone who is experienced in tactics and who has a flawless record in battle. And even moreso, someone who has the respect of Garden's population. A strong commander, a respected and loved commander, can have a critical effect on his men. And who has had firsthand experience fighting Edea."

"I don't think we have anyone who fits that description," Squall replied, but he noticed the way Cid was looking at him in particular. The older man strode across the platform and put a hand on Squall's shoulder.

"We do," Cid replied. "Squall, I want you to take command of Balamb Garden's military forces."

"Me?" he asked, shocked. He was setting a record for how many surprises he was being hit by in such a short period of time. Cid wanted to place that level of trust in him? Squall would have wanted to sit down, but the platform lacked any real furniture to support his weight.

"Yes, you," Cid replied. "You may not realize this, but you do have what it takes to lead Garden into the future. Your leadership skills are magnificent, and nearly everyone in Garden looks up to you, whether you'd admit it or not. Even the elder SeeDs admit you are one of the best we have. Its your destiny to lead Garden in this war."

"No!" Squall snapped suddenly, shaking his head. "Don't talk about this like its been decided since my birth!" He calmed slightly. After a couple of moments, he continued.

"But, Headmaster, if that is what you want," he stated through clenched teeth. "If that is your order, I will accept this position."

--------------------

Headmaster Cid made the announcement within a couple of hours. Garden, he had stated, was going through with its mission to defeat Edea. Regular administration would be handled by the staff and the Headmaster as usual, but when it came to tactical and strategic situations Squall would have command of the Garden. He added that any SeeDs or cadets that did not wish to participate in the coming war could leave at Fisherman's Horizon.

No one left.

Squall heard the announcement from within his dorm room, and spent the next hour or so considering his future as he lay back on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

It was easy enough: just command Garden in battle. He would decide their destination and objectives, where they went and how they conducted battle. He didn't mind having to fight her; it was inevitable as long as he served in SeeD. But what if his decisions were wrong? What if he made a mistake? He didn't want anyone to die unnecessarily.

But still . . . His responsibilities were unclear. Was he supposed to handle all the burdens of command? Or just in combat? Did he have to take care of all the cadets as well? There were so many aspects of war that did not consist only of battle . . . .

Somewhere in the middle of his musings, Squall found himself drifting off into an uncomfortable sleep.

--------------------

"Alrighty, everyone," Irvine stated, looking over the quintet standing around him. To their left, in front of the helipad behind Mayor Dobe's house, a small squadron of SeeD mechanics and Fisherman's Horizon engineers were hard at work finishing up the large stage that Selphie had designed back when she had first taken over as head of the Garden Festival Committee only a couple of weeks ago. It felt like years past.

Behind him was piled a set of instruments around a large grand piano. One could see three different types of guitars, as well as a few woodwind instruments, a violin, and a saxophone, as well as piles of sheet music in books scattered across the top.

"So, ya'll called us down here," Zell stated, looking around at Rinoa and Quistis, while Selphie sat back on the piano. "So what's the deal?"

"Simple," Selphie replied, positively beaming. "The Garden Festival is supposed to be later this year, but Irvine and I have decided we should go ahead and throw a concert tonight before we head off on our new mission."

"Not too bad of an idea," Rinoa replied. "But I'm guessing you two have something extra planned?"

"Oh, you guessed it," Irvine stated with a smile equaling Selphie's. "This is more than just a final party before we head off. This is also to celebrate Squall's new promotion, and hopefully to cheer him up."

"The promotion is definitely making him stressed out," Quistis agreed. "Maybe we can get him to loosen up tonight?"

"That'll require gene therapy," Zell quipped, eliciting a chuckle all around.

"Not quite," Selphie replied, bending over and scooping up the electric guitar. She palmed a pick and began strumming it quickly, playing off a rapid-fire series of notes. "They say music is the universal language, and I think even Squall might understand if we play for him."

"You want us to help you put together a band?" Quistis asked dubiously, and Irvine laughed.

"No, we won't need to!" Selphie stated. "We have our band right here!"

"Hold on a second," Quistis protested holding up her hands. "You can't be asking me to play. I have no talent whatsoever!"

"Nonsense," Irvine said with a grin as he picked up the saxophone. "I got just the song, easy to learn and easy to play. Not to mention its pretty romantic, and if you need any help, I'm sure Rinoa can back you up."

"Me?" Rinoa asked, and then her eyes widened. "You mean . . . my mother's song?"

"Bingo," Irvine replied. "I don't think anyone knows 'Eyes on Me' better than you, Rinoa. And it just so happens that three of our potential band members are already pretty good musicians." Irvine glanced to Zell, who shrugged. The sharpshooter bent over and hefted the heavy bass guitar and handed it to the brawler.

"Ain't played this thing in a while," he stated as he skillfully tuned the guitar. Not bothering with a pick, he plucked a few notes and nodded. Irvine tooted a few times on his sax before being satisfied.

"You can play saxophone?" Rinoa asked, and Irvine smiled, pulling his hat down low.

"Not very many women can resist a man who can make beautiful music," he replied, before putting the sax to his lips. He played out a short melody of low tones and notes, a short jazz piece.

"And Quisty just needs to play the piano to finish it up," Selphie added. Quistis' eyes widened, though whether from the suggestion she actually play or from the pet name that Selphie had saddled her with was unknown.

"Don't worry," Rinoa replied before Quistis could protest, and laid a hand on the blonde SeeD's shoulder. "I'll help you with it. I'm not that bad of a piano player myself." She glanced to Selphie.

"I don't need to guess that you have something extra planned for me, since this _is_ partially for squall, right?"

"Smart girl," Irvine replied, bearing a grin that looked like it belonged on a shark.

--------------------

Squall dropped to a crouch, planting his hands on the floor. He kicked out behind him, his toes reaching out and touching the floor, dropping him into a push-up position. He snapped his legs out wide, held them for a second, and closed them up. Then he lowered himself to the floor and pushed back up. He repeated the push-up twice, then snapped his legs back underneath him and rose.

"Twenty-two," he muttered, then dropped back down to another crouch. He repeated the twelve-count bodybuilder exercise again, rising up to his twenty-third repetition, when someone knocked on the door. Squall rose from his crouch and glanced at the clock. Damn, it was already middle of the evening, after 2000 hours. He strode across the room and unlocked the door (no more interruptions for _him_ he'd finally decided) Squall opened the door, then blinked once, and mentally checked to see if his mouth had fallen open.

Rinoa was standing outside his door, but rather than her blue coat and black tank top and shorts, she was clad in the pure, angelic white evening gown he had seen her don at the party when he had been named a SeeD. She looked positively gorgeous.

"What's the occasion?" he asked tiredly, wiping a bit of sweat off his brow as he looked her over.

"You know about the concert, right?" she asked, and Squall blinked again. No one had told him anything. But then again, he hadn't left his room since Cid's announcement that morning.

"Apparently not," he replied.

"Selphie and the others are throwing it," Rinoa explained. "A send-off before the new mission we're going on." Squall caught Rinoa's use of the word "we," which struck him as odd, somehow.

"I'm sorry," he replied after a moment, shaking his head. "Not in the mood."

"Why not?" she asked, pressing, She leaned against the doorframe as she asked him.

"I'd rather not talk about it," he said, but she was nodding before the third word.

"Quistis was right on," Rinoa murmured, smiling. "You're so predictable." Squall's eyes widened slightly, and he crossed his arms.

"Try me," he challenged.

"First off, she said you wouldn't be in the mood," Rinoa explained, and began to tick things off on her fingers. "Obviously, it's the Headmaster putting so much on you. But also, you're not the type to socialize and you don't really want to go outside because you still need to sort through your newfound responsibilities." She paused and then her smile widened. "And you still need to get to at least thirty repetitions."

Squall scowled, but it was either that or let out a tired laugh.

"I should never have let you two meet," he commented with a helpless shake of his head.

"Are you coming or not?" she asked. "We thought it would be good to help you unwind, and I wanted to talk to you about something."

"We?" he asked.

"Who else?" she replied. "Me, Selphie, Zell, Irvine, and Quistis, of course. Come on, please? For me at least?"

Squall sighed. She was so damn insistent, and he was so tired. Not physically, but mentally. But maybe . . . Maybe he was tired because he couldn't let himself lighten up. It might do him some good.

"If not, I'll keep bugging you and chanting 'concert, concert, concert' all night long until you give up and come," she added, and somehow, Squall honestly believed she'd be mean enough to do just that. He gave her a look that accused her of cruel and unusual punishment, and she laughed out loud.

"Its already working, I see."

"Fine," he finally said with a tired nod. "You win. Give me a moment to clean up."

--------------------

His normal jacket and pants combo weren't appropriate for this, not to mention he'd look terrible next to Rinoa in her dazzling gown. Instead, he rifled through his small wardrobe and picked out a uniform. Not the SeeD dress uniform; that was too formal. Rather, he picked out a well-cut jacket, designed for semi-formal occasions, and a pair of black slacks. He did take the dress shoes for his uniform, and put on a button-up white dress shirt underneath the outfit. He added his gloves to the mix, and then checked himself in the mirror. Not bad, he thought, and when he stepped out of the door, Rinoa smiled.

"Hm, looking good, Squall," she commented. She put a hand through his elbow, surprising him, and gently led him outside the dorms.

Soon they were beyond, standing outside Garden and looking over Fisherman's Horizon. Barely visible down below on the helipad was a massive, multi-platform stage complete with spotlights projecting into the night. Squall could faintly hear cheering and saw hundreds of people gathered around to watch, some standing around the pad, others on the rim atop the power plant and overlooking the stage.

"You five went all-out, didn't you?" Squall asked, and Rinoa simply laughed again as she led him down to the rim around the power plant. Waiting for them there, a shining brass saxophone in hand, was Irvine, resplendent in a stylish white coat with an equally white hat. He grinned like a cat as they approached.

"Hey, hey, so you convinced him to show, eh?" Irvine asked, and Rinoa nodded. 'Good! Selphie and Zell put on a helluva show a bit ago. They haven't needed me just yet, and after this next song we're taking a break and gonna let some other people give it a shot. Selphie had them rig up an awesome sound system. Niknil Koen is up after us, they're a pretty badass rock band based out of FH here. Oh, yeah, and I found a nice spot for you two. Left something there to mark it. I might be by with a special someone later on." He grinned again as Selphie shouted something down below.

"And there's my signal!" He tipped his white hat and turned away, running down the ramp leading far below. Squall shook his head.

"Come on, we can't let them be waiting," Rinoa said, tugging his arm. "They won't play until they see us!"

Squall and Rinoa made their way down, pushing through the crowd, which often parted pretty quickly when they realized who was passing through. They soon reached the front of Dobe's house and circled around to get the stage into sight.

Squall shouldn't have been surprised, but he was, seeing Selphie standing atop the lowest of a series of platforms, an electric guitar slung before her. Unlike the others, who had dressed up, she wore her traditional yellow sun-dress. Behind and to her left was a smiling Irvine, saxophone in hand, and to her left was Zell, dressed up all in black vest, shirt, shorts, and boots, with a white baseball cap on his head turned backward as he held a bass guitar easily in his hands. And behind and above Selphie sat a nervous Quistis, dressed in her SeeD uniform, seated behind a piano. Selphie almost squealed when she saw squall, hopping up and down excitedly. Zell pumped his fists into the air as well, cheering, and Selphie grabbed a nearby microphone stand, pulling the mic off.

"Squall, you big stud!" she shouted, her voice reverberating around the concert arena. "This one's for you! Don't let him get away, Rinoa!"

Squall's face burst red in embarrassment and Rinoa, the improvised band, and a portion of the audience burst out laughing, followed by cheers and some rooting by the SeeDs and cadets. Above, Irvine began the song with a slow saxophone beat, and Zell stepped in with equally low bass beats and notes from his guitar. Quistis nervously followed with the piano, and Selphie joined in finally with her higher-pitched electric guitar. As the music began to play the classic Rinoa's mother had written long ago, she pulled Squall aside, out of view of the crowds and toward the edge of the platform. A magazine lay nearby, one with decidedly adult content, and Rinoa couldn't help but laugh at Irvine's choice of a marker.

"Probably came from his personal collection," she commented as she sat down on the edge. Squall joined her, hunched over a bit as he did so.

"You wanted to talk about something, right?" he asked, and she nodded.

"Well, its about your promotion," she began. "You're probably going to have a tough time." Squall nodded, but didn't want to think about it. He just wanted to rest.

"There's going to be a lot of difficult things you'll have to deal with from now on," she continued. "We thought about it, and we decided that you'd try to do everything on your own."

"They're probably right," he muttered, but too low for her to hear, and considered everything.

"They know you too well," she continued. "And I do too. Even Irvine understands you, probably better than you do yourself, and he's barely been around you a few days. Like, we know that when you start thinking, you go like this-"

Squall, who had been thinking and half-listening to her, had begun to put his hand against his forehead, a habitual motion when he started thinking, and as he heard Rinoa's words, he glanced over. She was mimicking his motion precisely, except she was looking over at him, smiling.

He raised a hand half-threateningly as he scowled in annoyance. She rolled away and stood up, laughing. He gave her a betrayed look, and she stopped, though she kept her smile, and instead stepped back beside him, crouching by his side.

"I'm sorry," she said insincerely. "But, despite whatever you're thinking, you can't handle everything on your own." Squall met her eyes, those warm brown eyes that were searching his gaze, reading his feelings like they were pages in a book. He reflexively turned away, not liking that penetrating gaze. He stared off into the night, hearing the continuing song that his friends were playing.

Then, abruptly, something hit him in the back and he fell forward, onto one of the solar panels, the clear, polished metal reflecting the starlight and tracing spotlights above. He landed easily, though his shoes slipped a bit on the fiberglass, but he was able to regain his balance. He spun around as Rinoa landed equally gracefully behind him, still smiling.

A momentary flash of anger hit him at her action - he could have cracked his skull or broken a bone. He had no junctions, what was she thinking-

"That's it," she said quickly, reading him again and his sudden burst of rare anger. "Just let out anything! Anything! Let us know you're alive underneath all that." Squall calmed outwardly, understanding her telling words, and stood still, though still a bit angry at her rash move.

"We want you to talk to us a little more," she said after a moment, her expression and posture pleading. "You know, if there's anything you want to tell us, anything, let us know. That's what we're here for. I know its not easy, but you should trust and rely us more."

Her words struck him deeply, and she must have understood, as she stopped talking, and instead watched him quietly. He almost imagined she could be reading his thoughts, and she probably was, with that damned natural empathy she seemed so good at exhibiting.

Was he that untrusting? But he didn't rely on others for fear that something would happen. Nothing lasted; it was great to have something to hold on to, people to trust, but that was a trap in and of itself, and became deadliest if one became used to it. He knew this better than anyone; at some point he was going to lose everything, and then he would be left with nothing. Nothing at all. And it was so difficult to recover from that loss; he had sworn he would never have to do that again. He would never have to feel the same as when he lost Sis. Even if it meant being alone . . . for the rest of his life.

But what was the point of living if one was alone?

"What a great night,' Rinoa was saying, looking up at the sky. "Great music, a good-looking guy. Not just good looking, but sweet, and a great listener, even if you have to hit him over the head to make him understand."

He looked up at her, and slowly nodded.

"Looks like he's listening to what you said," Squall muttered.

"He's shy and doesn't say anything, but I understand," Rinoa added, smiling as she looked back down at him. "So, what do you think? Is it still none of our business?"

"I appreciate your concerns for me," he replied. "But-"

"No buts!" she exclaimed, shaking her head. She stepped closer to Squall.

"Just think about this," she continued. "This might be the only time we have left together. As long as we're together, we should just enjoy each other's company. Otherwise, what's the point?"

"Just for now?" he asked. He closed his eyes. "Thanks, but forget it. I don't want friends who'll be gone tomorrow."

"You are such a pessimist," she complained, and he opened his eyes to see an annoyed frown on her face. "There are no guarantees in the future. That's why _today_, the time you have _now_, is important. Squall, we want to help for as long as we can, as much as we can. We all love you."

He blinked once, shocked at the statement, but she didn't stop.

"There, I said it," she said with a nod. She stepped closer, much more so. Squall would have called the word 'intimate' if he really recognized the situation. "We all care for you, some more than others, but all of us. Please, don't freak out. Don't run away. We just want to spend the time we can have together, being together."

"Together?" he asked, and she nodded. The word sounded strange, and he mulled over it, turning it in his mind, examining it as if it were something totally new in his mind.

"Keep that thought," she said quietly, not looking up at him. "Call on us when you need to. We'll be waiting. Like I said, who knows what will happen in the future? But I think we'll be together for a while." They stayed there, silent for a while, as the song continued. Squall thought long and hard about what she had said, not even considering that she was still standing close to him. What would it mean to rely on people? Could he do that again? Did he even want to?

She murmured something quietly as she looked back up to where the band was still playing.

"Hm?" he asked.

"I said it would be nice to dance to this," she said. "If only I had a partner." She looked back up at him, holding a hand out. Squall hesitated briefly, then his gloved fingers closed over hers. They stepped into the rhythm, the step that they had failed to continue that night weeks ago when she had gone from him. He suddenly felt a warm, undeniable feeling of togetherness, something he never wanted to leave.

"What's on your mind?" she asked a minute later as they continued the slow, intimate step. "Do you have any dreams? Any plans for the future?"

"I . . ." he began quietly. He was confused. Rinoa's words had had a profound effect, and her proximity was setting things off in his mind, opening the paths to gaps he had never imagined he'd had in his soul before. "I'd rather not talk about it right now. What about you?"

"Me?" she answered. "I . . . I suppose I don't want to talk too much about the future either. But right now . . . I'd like to stay here, just like this . . . ."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yee haw. Wheee, another chapter down. Next chappie: the Balamb occupation! Another chapter with a healthy dose of Peptuck Brand Originality! What will happen? Well, a tiny hint: Fujin and Raijin aren't the only ones who our intrepid heroes will encounter in Balamb!

Okay, commentary: The conversation between Squall and Rinoa during the concert is the "secret" alternate conversation you get if you pick the right instruments...which are actually the complete opposite of the ones I picked for this chapter. You have to have the flute, guitar, violin, and taps (yes, taps. For giggles, make Zell do it XP) to get this, otherwise you get the normal conversation.

I actually think that this conversation adds a tremendous amount to the story of the game. The talk if you get things right, I think, shows how the game is truly supposed to develop, and it definitely shows a smoother road to the eventual love story between Squall and Rinoa, and how she breaks his defenses and makes him fall for her. I love it. I liked Rinoa before, but after this conversation, I love her character. It adds a lot of depth to her and her ability to empathize. I strongly suspect that a lot of the people who don't like FFVIII's love story never saw this conversation because it adds that much to the story.

If you're wondering where I got the name of the rock band following Selphie's group, well, look carefully at the name. "Niknil" is "Linkin" backwards. "Koen" is Japanese for "park." XD Yes, LP made a cameo in this chapter!

Also, the exercise Squall does, the bodybuilder, is real. I do them, a lot. Very fun, though most people would be hard-pressed to do twelve of the twelve-counts, much less thirty! Jeez, I can barely do twelve ten-counts. (those involve only two push-ups instead of three)

Blarg! Yon shout-outs!

-JadeAlmasy: Is your Shift key not working? :P Sorry, couldn't help it, I just noticed that while reading. Eh, I don't mind if you take your time getting to the reviews. I read a lot but I don't review terribly much...only when I really like what I'm reading or otherwise have strong feelings toward it. Either that or my reviews are at complete random.

Hurry up and read more of Synthesis! Its not my aim to make FFVII seem better (actually, its not one of my faves, and neither Cloud or Tifa are characters I like at all) but to just make it interesting with all the character placements and interactions. I think FFVII would have better if FFVIII's characters had been in it, actually. Well, excpet Aeris. Aeris owns.

-Daniel Wesley Rydell: Sorry there wasn't too much on Dobe's resent towards Squall for the rescue. I didn't really like that bit, and after he bitched baout Squall saving his life...yeah, well, phooey on you old man. XD

-Dragoon Swordsman: The naval battle was a trump I just loved to whip out. I always imagined this fight between SeeDs and Galbadian ships, especially in this part of the story.

-Chloe: Glad to see a new face! I like increasing the importance of Xu in this story, and making her matter more.

-DBZ Fanfiction Queen: Yes. they are playing the instruments. Aw, you haven't seen Hellsing? :( you should watch it, 'tis good, especially in the bloody aspect.

-Rusty Knights Productions: obviously, writing those "behind the scenes" moments is some of the best parts of this. Maybe after I'm done I'll do an index of the "behind the scenes" moments in each chapter.

-Solid Shark: DECKHEAD! That's it! Many thanks!

-Chris Ganale: Eek! No blaster for you! XD

Interesting name, Bucketheads. I like it. Kinda like "Stormies" or "Imps." Better insult: "Gals." Makes 'em sound like girlie men. (no offense to the ladies) And no, there will be no blasters in this story. Heck, they barely have lasers yet!

-OniRazz: BOOM! Another update for you! Hope you enjoyed it.


	38. Under Siege

_Chapter 33: Under Siege_

There was something different about Garden the next morning. A heightened state of energy, everyone moving around with a bit more bounce in their step. Selphie's morale-boosting event also had a tremendous effect on the Garden personnel, and even the Fisherman's Horizon technicians seemed to be in a better mood that morning. Squall had arisen early and had gone over his gunblade as part of his normal routine, and then had headed up to the area some had already designated as the Garden's "bridge," the platform upon which was positioned Garden's new steering mechanism.

As the elevator rose, he spotted a quartet of people on the small platform: Quistis, Xu, the Headmaster, and some other SeeD he didn't know. As soon as the platform stopped, the trio of SeeDs gave him a sharp salute, much to his surprise.

"Good morning, Commander," Xu stated, and an annoyed frown crept across his face.

"Don't call me that," he ordered, eliciting smiles from everyone.

"We thought you should have a title," Cid stated with a shrug. "Quistis and Xu decided on 'Commander'."

"Sorry to do things on our own, but after the announcement we assigned some duties," Quistis stated. She handed Squall a clipboard, which showed a rough command hierarchy. The Headmaster was at the top, next to a label stating "Administration" while Squall's name was next to his, labeled "Military Command." Several boxes were scattered beneath them.

"I'm in charge of supply and logistics," Xu stated. "From what we've been able to determine, NORG had a pretty big supply of cash lying around within the Garden, as well as some Dollet bank accounts which we're accessing. Preliminary estimates of our totals comes in at about two hundred and fifty million, with the numbers steadily rising, as well as our normal budget, which tops out at over three hundred million."

"That's quite a war chest," Squall stated, suppressing a whistle. "More than enough to keep us operating for a while."

"Doctor Kadowaki and myself will take care of the students," Quistis added.

"I'll also handle diplomatic affairs," Cid added. "From what I know, we're probably at least welcome in Dollet and Balamb, so we can use either of those places as temporary stopping points to dock and put on supplies, or use them as places for our scattered SeeD cells to meet up with us. Fisherman's Horizon is also on our side."

"I'm in charge of navigation," the other SeeD added. He stepped forward toward Squall, extending his hand. "Name's Nida. Remember me? We graduated together after the SeeD exam?"

Squall blinked, not entirely sure but the face did seem familiar. He nodded for the heck of it, and then turned to Cid.

"So, its my job to decide our battle plans and where we go, right?" he asked, and Cid nodded.

"I've already worked up some reports for you," Xu added, and he nodded.

"So, where should we go?" Nida asked.

"I'd suggest we head back for Balamb," Squall stated after a moment's consideration. "It's a port town, just like FH. Galbadia may be heading there now. If we can get there, we may be able to get some more information on what they're planning."

"There are at least a couple of SeeD cells there right now," Cid added. "At the very least we could pick up more personnel and some badly needed supplies, and tap into the data networks and get news. To Balamb it is, then."

"I'll get us moving as soon as the FH techs give the green light," Nida added.

"And Squall, we've handed one of the offices on the third level over to you," Cid added. "Used to belong to a Shumi Faculty, but its more than enough for you, right now."

"I won't need much," Squall replied. "How are we on personnel?"

"Our cadet populace is just a little below our original numbers, so we can guess at about five hundred cadets, total," Quistis reported. "About four hundred of them are combat-capable. As for SeeD forces, we've got forty-eight still inside Garden, plus another hundred or so scattered around the globe."

"We should probably look for Galbadia Garden SeeDs and cadets as well," Squall added. "Most of them came from either Dollet or Galbadia, right?" She nodded. "Okay, after we hit Balamb I'll want a team put together to go into Galbadia and locate as many of those cadets and SeeDs as possible. We should also have a team try and get in touch with General caraway and see if he can give us any useful information."

"Having a Galbadian General on our side would be a boon," Xu agreed. "I'll run a profile on our forces and get back to you on who would work well for that group."

"In the meantime, we should try to get whatever intelligence we can on the Galbadian military," Squall continued. "Especially any transportation and trade routes."

"It'll be better for us if we can get our hands on our vessels," Cid stated. "The hangar-dock we keep them in at Balamb has plenty of Salamanders, as well as extra equipment."

"Then its even more important we get to Balamb," Squall said with a nod. "We should include Trabia Garden on our list after that. They may need the supplies."

"If they're still alive," Xu added, casting a pall over the group. Squall nodded again after a few moments.

"We'll need to see if we can save any survivors and render what aid we can," he stated. "And on the way, we give as much hell as we possibly can to Galbadia."

An hour later, with all personnel on board and accounted for, the Garden took off, Nida turning the massive military academy and the new home of the resistance against Edea away from Fisherman's Horizon and sailed north across the sea, toward Balamb.

--------------------

Two days passed between the meeting in Garden's bridge and the point where Garden had neared the island of Balamb. In that time, a lot had taken place.

Quistis and Doctor Kadowaki had taken the time to plan out an accelerated training regimen for all the cadets, and had implemented it. Every cadet went through combat training. Irvine, Zell, and Squall had joined in, providing the cadets with helpful instruction in the areas of armed and unarmed melee combat and sharpshooting. They had to get the students ready for battle as soon as humanly possible.

Squall had also divided up the forces into specific units. He divided the personnel up into First and Second class soldiers, the First class being SeeDs and the Second class being cadets. He gave the designation "Saber" to units devoted to offense, and "Phalanx" to units devoted to defense. There were more cadets on the Phalanx units than there were on the Saber units. He also added a third designation, "MG" to members of the Phalanx units, as SeeDs and cadets with the best capabilities with Guardian Forces and special weapons. They would be tasked with serving as offensive artillery, summoning GFs and using personal artillery, such as RPGs, at enemy targets assaulting Garden itself. He began estimating what parts of Garden were most vulnerable and from where they could attack the enemy from best. The front gate and the parking garage were the best places to attack from, and the outdoor balconies were good places to put the MG units. The Quad, the upstairs classrooms, and the front gate were also vulnerable, so he would need to concentrate Phalanx and MGs on those positions as well.

By the second day, Squall was already running combat drills with his forces.

In the meantime, Selphie and Zell also assisted with the maintenance units, helping handle repairs to the Garden, and Rinoa assisted Quistis and Doctor Kadowaki with handling and caring for personnel. Selphie also offered to help train the MGs with demolitions use. Both she and Zell had itched to get to work on the Iron Clad, which now sat inert in the garage, as did the SeeD and cadet maintenance crews.

By the time Balamb had come into sight, Squall and his comrades had hammered the SeeDs and cadets into something that stood a good chance of holding its own in a large-scale battle. They were already well-trained in combat and defensive maneuvers to protect the Garden; Squall's direction had simply smoothed out the rough edges.

Battle seemed to loom ahead late in the afternoon on that second day as Garden closed in on Balamb. On the horizon, they could see the grayish-brown of the Balamb Mountains, and before them, a green line signifying the shores of Balamb, the tiny, distant ocean-blue buildings of the port city.

And beside the city, just off the docks, like a giant, bloody mountain, was Galbadia Garden, resting in the ocean waves, looking much like it had been in the Monteresau Plateau, except sleeker and more compact, much like Balamb Garden was now.

"So, they got it moving?" Cid muttered, looking through the binoculars at the distant Garden.

"Apparently," Squall replied. "This could be a problem. We should have maps of Galbadia Garden in our archives, right?"

"Yes, we do," Cid answered, nodding. "We should make preparations for a major battle. But I think we should get closer, and determine how powerful they enemy force is. It could be they only have a couple of companies of men on board. Or they could have multiple battalions."

"Could they fit that many men onto the Garden?" Squall asked, and Cid nodded.

"Galbadia Garden has a pretty big dorms complex," Cid explained. "And with some modifications they could turn the classrooms into similar structures. They could fit multiple battalions into Galbadia Garden if they used some imagination."

"I'll put everyone on alert," Squall said after a moment, and Nida obligingly thumbed on the intercom.

"Attention," Squall announced. "This is Commander Leonhart. We are currently approaching Balamb, and have come into sight of Galbadia Garden. Its safe to assume that Galbadia has control of it and that a substantial enemy force is on board and inside the town. All personnel report in to squadron commanders and go to secondary alert level. Stand by to go to battle stations if ordered. Quistis Trepe, Selphie Tilmitt, Irvine Kinneas, and Zell Dincht, report to the planning room." Squall switched off the intercom and glanced to Nida.

"Feed all the information we're getting from the sensors to the planning room," he ordered, and Nida nodded, already on it. "I'm going to take a scout team into Balamb and see what we can learn."

"Plain-clothes team, directly into the city?" Cid asked.

"No," Squall replied, shaking his head. "I've got something better."

--------------------

Squall entered the planning room, along with Xu and Cid, and was only slightly annoyed to see Rinoa among the group. He hadn't included her because of her lack of expertise on the matter, but as he sat down, he reconsidered it. She _had_ lead a reasonably successful resistance force against Galbadia before. Maybe she could help out with planning this insane war.

"As you've heard in the announcement, we're getting close to Balamb," Squall stated as he took his seat. "Galbadia Garden is present near the town, and we suspect Galbadian troops are inside." He glanced over the group measuring their reactions. For the most part, everyone seemed to simply nod and accept it, but Irvine was a bit more intense than normal. Which was to be expected, after all; Galbadia Garden had been his home up until a couple of weeks past. Zell, however, seemed to be virtually waiting to explode the moment he heard the news. He was still in control, but he was fidgeting as if he hadn't used the bathroom in two days.

"For right now, our objective is to determine just what we're up against," he continued. "I've given Nida orders to skirt around the edge of the island to the north side, putting the mountains between us and Balamb Harbor. Once this is done, we're going to drop in some scouts and determine how many Galbadian soldiers are present and their composition."

"Then what?" Zell asked, sitting forward and looking at the map of Balamb being projected onto one of the walls. "We're gonna kick 'em out, right?"

"We're short on supplies, and our forces haven't yet been fully prepared for battle," Cid reminded him. "If we do launch an attack, it will only occur if the Galbadian forces are minimal in number. We can't afford a full-scale attack yet."

Squall nodded and rose, tapping a spot on the map.

"Galbadia Garden is here," he stated. "as are, we suspect, the majority of the Galbadian forces. It's the largest town on the island, so it only makes sense. However, we have spotted at extreme distance some convoys and patrols moving out along the island roads. One force did head for where Balamb Garden was once located, but turned back once it found we were gone. Others have gone to the various small towns dotting the coastline." Squall tapped a series of other spots on the map.

"Canvassing for Ellone," Quistis commented, and Squall nodded.

"We're going to pull a repeat of what Selphie did at the missile base," Squall stated. "We're going to jump a patrol, interrogate them to see what we can find out, and then, with their gear, we'll sneak into Balamb and determine the situation there. If we find a way to drive them out from within the city, we do so. If not, we exit, and return to Garden. From there, if the enemy numbers look manageable, we'll launch an attack on Galbadia Garden directly and either capture or drive it away. If not, we simply wait for them to leave."

"What if they try to burn down Balamb like they were going to with FH?" Zell demanded. "We can't let them do that!"

"I don't think they will," Squall replied. "They haven't destroyed the outlying towns yet. I don't think they'll sacrifice Balamb when they can occupy it and use it for a staging point for later." Zell relaxed a bit and settled down, but still seemed anxious.

"We should be close to our waiting point by now. Once we're there, we disembark and will observe their patrol patterns. If we can, I want to hit a patrol before dawn."

"No," Rinoa suddenly piped in, shaking her head. He glanced to her.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Galbadians use their thermal, night, and electromagnetic vision modes at night," she stated. "They can see even better at night than they can in the daytime. They'd spot an ambush at night a mile away."

"You know this personally?" Irvine asked, and she nodded.

"The best time to ambush them is either dawn or dusk," she explained. "They turn off their scanners at that point and go back to normal vision. Easier on their eyes. They lower their guard a bit during those times, especially at dawn."

"Then that's when we hit them," Squall asserted, and everyone nodded assent.

--------------------

Dawn had come, and like his fellows, Private First Class Tirva had switched back to normal vision mode on his helmet. He settled back slightly, leaning against the rear of the topside hatch for the APC, letting the machinegun droop a bit as he raised his visor and wiped his eyes. It couldn't be healthy for them to always be using one of the alternate vision modes all night long.

He glanced back at the APC trailing them, and the light reconnaissance vehicle before his own. He was right in the middle, an important position; he had to be a second set of eyes for both of the other patrol vehicles. Though it was weird to be using APCs on patrols, but their unit didn't have much else. The other vehicles were being used in Balamb, and the APCs were the only thing they had on hand.

Suddenly, the lead vehicle ground to a halt, and their own stopped. The rear APC halted as well.

"What's goin' on?" Tirva asked the driver of the APC. Aside from him and a third soldier, the transport normally intended to carry a full squad was empty.

"Not sure," the driver replied. "What's it look like up there?" Tirva scanned the nearby area, but saw nothing, though it was difficult to see in the heightening light of dawn. He shrugged.

"Nothing." He looked ahead, and saw two of the soldiers in the LRV climb out and begin moving forward. He saw someone beyond-

"There's someone lying in the road," Tirva called down. "Looks like some girl-"

"_Lookou-_" came a shout behind Tirva, and he spun in time to take a bullet in the mouth. As he collapsed backward, eyes widening, other figures suddenly closed around the patrol vehicles, one man with a strange tattoo wrenching open the back door of the APC like it was made of tin. He heard gunfire, panicked screams, and then silence as he passed from the mortal world.

--------------------

"APCs are too messed up for us to use," Zell commented after the two Galbadians that had survived were finished talking. The five SeeDs gathered around the captured vehicles as more SeeDs checked and secured the area. "Had to rip off the rear doors to get inside, and, well, that'll never pass. Not even through a checkpoint manned by Galbadians."

"All right," Squall added with a nod. "Three of their uniforms survived the beating we gave them, which limits us to three people going in."

"Not that any more would do any good," Quistis added. "If those men weren't lying, then there's two companies worth of soldiers in there. Five hundred men, at least."

"Even match-up against SeeDs," Zell replied. "We can take 'em."

"Not going to risk it yet," Squall replied, shaking his head. "I want to see for myself what organization they have, and who's in charge. We'll need to sneak a team in there. I'll lead. Irvine, you're Galbadian, you can help us get through. The third team member will be-"

"Me!" Zell demanded, surprising Squall. "That's my hometown they invaded! I gotta be on the team going in!"

Squall considered flat-out ordering him to stay, but decided against it. It did mean a lot to the brawler, and having him on the team would let Squall keep an eye on him. Zell was appearing as if he'd almost turn and run off toward Balamb by himself at that very moment, and if Squall left him off the team, he might do just that.

"Okay, Zell, you're on the team," Squall finally said, and the brawler nodded grimly, clenching a fist.

"Once we're in, we assess the situation. Quistis, you have tactical command of Garden while I'm away. Move the Garden close enough that you can see the city, but keep out of sight. If we're in trouble or it looks like its time to launch an attack, we'll launch a flare." Irvine nodded, holding up a flare gun that one of the APCs had been carrying. "If we want you to break off, we'll fire two flares." She nodded in understanding.

"If we determine that we can attack without risk, we'll bring Garden in. But if we can't, we pull out. If we find a weakness we can exploit, we use it." Zell and Irvine assented.

"Okay, let's move out," he added. "Let's get changed into these uniforms." Zell suddenly grinned.

"Hope you don't mind it being itchy," the brawler commented.

--------------------

The checkpoint at the eastern gate had been surprisingly light: a pair of soldiers and a single unarmed truck sat there. The men standing guard, however, had not been willing to let them through without identification they were lacking, up until Squall had thought on his feet.

"We have urgent news on Ellone," he had said from the passenger seat. The guard who had been questioning them stiffened, and looked around. Irvine, on the other hand, glanced at Squall, though he couldn't gauge the sharpshooter's expression behind his helmet.

"For real?" he asked, and Squall nodded, resisting the urge to scratch the itchy uniform.

"We have specific orders to tell only the commander in charge of the occupation," Squall lied. "Very specific." He took a quick guess at who might be in command of this whole thing. "Almasy."

The guard had been stiff before. He went rigid at that.

"I understand!" the guard replied. He gestured to his buddy, who moved the huge military truck out of the way, clearing the route into town. "Just to let you know, Sir Almasy has set up his command post in the Balamb Hotel. He's got two subordinates in charge of the building at the moment while he returns to the Garden."

"Thanks," Squall replied. "Also, this is top secret. We were never here, understand?"

"Perfectly," the soldier said. "Have a good day." Squall nodded and tapped Irvine, who accelerated past the checkpoint.

Inside, things didn't look as bad as Zell had expected. Aside from some soldiers telling other citizens to move along and breaking up knots of people, the Galbadians spent most of their time patrolling the city alertly, as if searching for something. Some groups of soldiers moved around with high-tech scanners, while others had large dogs sniffing around. Many of them looked like military police.

"Hey, Squall, you think we can drop by my house? I want to see if my ma is all right," Zell asked, and Squall nodded. Irvine parked the LRV near Zell's house, at the brawler's direction, and they stepped out, Squall hiding his gunblade in a bag he slung over his shoulder.

Zell hopped down the steps of the house and pushed the door open, opening his mouth to shout for his mom.

"Oh, you blasted tin-heads!" came a shout from Zell's mother as she huffed out of the kitchen, hands on her hips in anger. "Will you people ever leave us alone?"

"Whoa, momma!" Zell suddenly protested as Squall shut the door behind him. "Relax, its me!" Ma Dincht seemed to hesitate at the words, confused at Zell's voice and the uniform he was wearing, up until he doffed his helmet.

"Zell, what . . . how? What are you doing here?" she asked as he pulled his mother into a hug.

"Relax momma, the cavalry has arrived!" Zell replied, beaming. "SeeD is here to save the day! We snuck in using these uniforms, trying to see what was going on in town."

"Oh, thank Hyne," Ma Dincht said, relieved. "I was worried you'd killed someone to get in. The Galbadians are threatening to burn the town down if any trouble is caused."

"Damn, not good," Irvine commented as he removed his helmet.

"I've been trying to keep things calm," she continued as Squall did the same. "We've kept the people from panicking, but the Galbadians are pressuring us subtly. Restricting goods, constant presence on the streets. Everyone is on edge, and they said they won't pull out until they find this girl named Ellone."

"Ellone?" Irvine echoed thoughtfully.

"They combed the town thoroughly, but they seemed convinced she'd come through here," she continued. "But they're talking of leaving soon."

"Not good," Squall replied. "If they leave, they'll burn Balamb to the ground." Ma Dincht looked horrified at this, and Zell spun toward Squall.

"We can't let them do this!" he declared.

"I agree," Squall added. He turned back to Ma Dincht. "They said that the occupation commander's base is at the hotel. Is that true?" She nodded immediately.

"Oh yes. There's two people working under the head honcho, a woman with gray hair and an eye patch, and a big, burly man with black hair and dark skin."

"Fujin and Raijin," Squall muttered out loud. "And Seifer may be with them."

"If he is, I'll give him something special," Zell replied, punching a fist into his palm. Squall nodded, suddenly glad he had not brought Rinoa with him. Her presence might complicate things if Seifer was around.

"Then its settled," Squall stated. "The Balamb Hotel is our target."

"Barge right in with guns blazing?" Zell asked, actually smiling. "I like that. But still, if Fujin and Raijin are there . . . ."

"If they are, then they've opted to serve Edea," Squall replied, sighing. "That makes them our enemies. However, if we can, I think we should show them mercy. But Seifer . . . ." Squall scowled and turned to Irvine.

"Have that flare gun ready," he ordered. "When we go in, I want Balamb Garden coming around the island into full view. If we can take out the command center we can send the Galbadian troops into a panic and have them flee."

"And if not," Zell added, smiling again. "There's only five hundred of them. No sweat for us. I'm looking forward to beating Seifer's ass if he is in there."

--------------------

Irvine parked the LRV outside the Balamb Hotel, and the trio of masquerading SeeDs stepped out. A quartet of soldiers stood outside the hotel, looking bored as they slumped at their positions. Squall led his group in front of the quartet, and they immediately straightened.

"We need to see the occupation commander," he stated, and the soldiers glanced back and forth between one another.

"Eh, I'm sorry, we can't let you in," the highest ranking soldier, a corporal, stated. "Strict orders."

"You'll need the captain's clearance to get in," added another soldier. "He takes all responsibility with security matters. No one gets in without his say-so."

"I have information on Ellone," Squall stated, repeating the trick he'd used before at the gate. The soldiers here, just like the ones at the gate, stiffened and shared another round of glancing back and forth.

"I'm sorry, but any information on Ellone still won't get past without the captain's approval."

"Even if I have urgent orders from Sir Almasy concerning this?" Squall demanded, and the soldiers once more shared looks.

"Yes," the corporal replied nervously. "Even with his orders, you still have to have the captain's permission."

"Where is the captain?' Squall asked after a moment, sighing.

"Its his nap ti - er, he's out patrolling," the corporal answered. "He's a busy man, always out patrolling! Sets an example to us all!"

"Yep, that's right, ya know!" came a familiar voice in the deep, booming tones of Raijin as the big, former SeeD cadet strode down the street, _bo_ staff in hand and resting on his shoulders. He grinned as he approached. "Always out patrolling, ya know! Fills ya with energy!"

"Indeed, sir!" the corporal replied, saluting, along with the other soldiers. "Sir, these men happen to have news concerning Ellone. Urgent news, straight from Sir Almasy!"

"Straight from Seifer?" Raijin exclaimed. "Wow, you guys must be important! Who are you?"

Squall, Zell, and Irvine glanced between each other, suddenly realizing the game was up. if they spoke, Raijin would easily recognize Squall or Zell, and they had no doubts that even if he missed that, he would still figure them out eventually. Zell shrugged as Squall let the bag he'd slung over his shoulder drop.

"Ah, well, enough's enough," he said, popping his knuckles. "Time to crack some skulls!"

"Huh?" Raijin asked, confused, up until Squall pulled his gunblade out of the bag and Zell dropped into a martial arts stance. The apparently hostile Galabdian soldiers had him weirded out for a moment before he recognized the weapon.

"Yo!" he shouted, surprised. "This ain't right!"

"Damn right!" Zell shouted, and just to show his point, he doffed his helmet, showing his tattooed face.

"Zell!" Raijin exclaimed. "I thought I recognized your stance, ya know!" Raijin brought his staff down and across into a ready guard. "But what are you guys doin' here? And dressed up like my men?"

"What's it look like?" Zell replied. "We're here to liberate Balamb, ya know! Err . . . ." Zell blinked, realizing Raijin's dense ways were getting to him. "But, anyway, yeah! And while we're at it, we're gonna whip some Galbadian ass too!" Raijin grinned as the soldiers around him readied their weapons, still somewhat confused but ready to follow the captain's lead.

"Seifer told us to give you all a whopping if we saw you, ya know!" he added, slapping the heavy staff across his palm. He glanced to the soldiers. "You guys back me up!"

"Irvine, take the right, cover us," Squall began to order, but then Zell let out a battle cry and leaped forward, at Raijin. The soldiers backing up the former cadet rushed forward at the brawler. From inside the hotel, Squall could see more movement, and he knew that things had oh-so-suddenly gone to Hell.

"Flare gun, now!" Squall shouted as one of the Galbadians went flying at the end of Zell's potent right cross. Irvine snapped up the flare gun and fired it into the sky, before unslinging his rifle and leveling it at the front doors, just in time to catch a pair of Galbadians rushing out in his sights. A single double-tap put them both down.

Zell ducked under an arcing cut and snap-kicked the next soldier in line, blasting him backward at Raijin, who batted the flying man aside. The brawler caught another soldier's blade in both hands, twisting it aside. His left hand shot up in a chop that smashed that soldier's throat, and then he spun around low, kicking the legs out from under the fourth soldier. As the man fell forward, his momentum carrying him downward, Zell rose into an uppercut that fully redirected the soldier's flight in a spinning backwards flip that smashed him into the swinging hotel sign. Even before the soldier had finished falling, Zell met Raijin head on, staff meeting fists.

Raijin struck first, hard, with an arcing smash of his staff that would kill a normal man instantly. Zell raised his arms and caught the blow across his forearms. Then, in a surprisingly fast maneuver, his left hand grasped the bottom of the staff for a brief instant, while his right arm curled up, over, and around the weapon. Zell pinned the staff to his side and stepped forward, kicking with all his might into Rajin's stomach. The former cadet grunted in shock and surprise, but barely flinched as he pulled back, dragging his weapon out of Zell's grasp.

"Not quite, ya know!" Raijin proclaimed. He tapped his gut with his left fist. "Rock solid!" He grasped the staff in both hands and rolled it in the air, spinning one of the heads and thrusting forward, smashing it into Zell's gut and tossing him back. The brawler landed on his feet easily enough and came back in, hopping mad and with a flying kick that transmitted that anger.

More Galbadians rushed out of the hotel, some still not sure what had happened, and all of them finding Squall waiting for them. Each slash of his gunblade felled a foe or blasted them aside long enough for him to strike another opponent, and anyone who tried to get around or past Squall was gunned down by Irvine. A dozen corpses or maimed soldiers piled up around Squall when the Galbadians suddenly split, breaking ranks and rushing out of the way. Squall barely had time to react when a spinning chakram lanced out at him, ringing off the blocking gunblade Squall managed to snap up and deflect it with. An instant later, rippling blasts of wind struck him, pushing him back out into the street. Irvine was hit too, but without junctions, he was hurled back and smashed into the LRV; not hard enough to do permanent damage, but enough to leave him stunned for a moment.

Fujin stepped out of the hotel, a contingent of soldiers behind her, and picked up her chakram. She looked over the corpses, at her embattled brother, and then at the two SeeDs masquerading as Galbadian infantry. She fixed Squall with her visible eye as he stepped forward, recovering from the potent wind spell she had used.

"SEED," she declared, and Squall nodded.

"Where's Seifer?" Squall asked, removing his helmet as, behind him, he could hear Raijin grunt as another kick from Zell smashed into the big warrior's chest. Fujin shook her head, setting her jaw.

"COMMAND, FIGHT," she stated. Her chakram rose, and Squall nodded. She gestured toward him, and more wind magic rushed forward at Squall. He countered with a quick casting of his own, launching a countering blast of wind. The two magical assaults met each other, struggling in the space between the cadet and the SeeD, and in the midst of that battle of energies, Squall focused on Fujin, extending his mind into her.

Raijin's staff smashed into the side of Zell's head, clipping him as he ducked low, almost knocking the brawler silly. But Zell traded that impact for a low kick that struck Raijin's left shin, knocking that leg off balance. Raijin hesitated, balancing on one leg, and Zell rushed forward, planting a fierce double-punch into the off-balance cadet. Raijin was thrown off his feet and tumbled down the street, before scrambling up. He managed to rise just in time to catch one of Zell's shoes in the face. Raijin hurtled back and smashed into some bushes down a small slope beyond the hotel, crushing the plant life under his sheer bulk.

Fujin launched her chakram again, right through the clashing wind spells, but Squall retained the presence of mind to snap his gunblade up and knock the blade aside. However, he did not counter the attack, at least, not in the conventional sense. Instead, he focused on Fujin and the power within her. He sorted through her wind magic spells and other energies, before picking out the strongest source of her magic.

A Guardian Force.

Only one, oddly enough; he wondered where her others had gone. Nonetheless, with only one GF she was vulnerable. He touched that Guardian Force and pulled with his mental power. Fujin blinked with her visible eye as she realized what Squall was doing, and tried to mentally resist, to cling to the spirit within her, but her grasp was like that of a man clutching something already too far out of reach. The GF flowed from her to him, robbing her of much of her power.

"Pandemonea," Squall muttered as he felt the new Guardian Force, a spirit of wind, enter his mind. He opened his eyes, looking upon an unarmed and powerless Fujin, helpless where she stood. To accent her defeat, Irvine had recovered from the shock of his impact and was standing again, raising his rifle. To the side, Zell was clapping his hands, cleaning himself of the nuisance of fighting Raijin.

"Nice to see you haven't been slacking off," came a call from within the hotel, and the Galbadians who had been watching the clash between squall and Fujin broke ranks again, scooting to the sides and hastily saluting. Fujin also moved to the side as well.

And through the gap strode Seifer Almasy, gunblade in hand.

"Well, well, well," Seifer stated, grinning. He looked over the battlefield. "Been busy, huh, Squall? Nice choice of clothing." He locked eyes with Squall, gray orbs meeting blue.

"Its over, Seifer," Squall stated after a moment. "No one else needs to die here, today."

"Doesn't look like it from my end," Seifer replied easily. "Three hundred men in town at my command and another two hundred in Galbadia Garden waiting for my orders. That's enough to give even you, Squall, a moment's consideration." He raised his gunblade, resting it across his shoulders.

"Bring it on!" Zell shouted, turning to face Seifer, his face locked in anger. "We'll take 'em all out! You're all goin' down!" He punched the air rapidly, bouncing from foot to foot.

"Weren't you paying attention, Chicken-Wuss?" Seifer snapped. "There's an entire army waiting for my orders. Not that I need it." He faced Squall.

"Last time I checked, you lost our last battle," Squall replied, and Seifer shrugged.

"Never got to have that rematch I was wanting in the prison," he replied. "Kinda glad you escaped. Reaffirmed my faith in your skills. So, what do you say Squall? You've lost one, I've lost one. Want to decide things now, and forever?"

Squall narrowed his eyes. He couldn't deny that, right then, he wanted to do just that, to rush across the street and meet Seifer head on, blade to blade. They were enemies by choice now; Seifer, with Edea, Squall, with Garden. Two soldiers on opposite sides, not enemies by the standards of good and evil, but simply enemies because of their choices in life.

"Not today," Squall answered after a long, breathless moment. He had more important things to settle right now, beyond a battle between himself and his rival. He glanced to the east and nodded.

"Balamb Garden is en route here as of right now," Squall stated. He pointed in that direction. Seifer looked, and his smile turned to a frown as he realized the truth. He turned back to Squall, his smile shifting to one of exhilaration.

"So it is! Glad to see my old home is still intact. How many people you have in there, Squall? How many cadets and SeeDs? Probably too many for my paltry force to fight, hm?" Squall shrugged, not giving him a definite answer.

"So, our little duel becomes an epic clash in the midst of two armies?" Seifer laughed and turned, holding his hands out wide as he did so. "Amidst a burning city and the screams of the hapless citizenry dying?" He turned back to Squall, fixing his gaze upon his rival's eyes once more.

"Is that what you want, Squall?" he asked.

"We don't have the option of backing down," Squall replied. "If you do come on, we'll have to fight regardless, and if we pull out, you burn Balamb. We don't have a choice.

"The ball is in your court, Seifer," Squall finished. "Make the choice."

Seifer considered it for a long moment, his gunblade bouncing on his shoulder. He looked up, to the disarmed Fujin, to Raijin, still struggling to get free, and to his men, both the standing soldiers and those dead and maimed around him. He turned his gaze, looking over Galbadia Garden and Balamb Harbor, and the distant, but rapidly approaching form of Balamb Garden. He finally turned back to Squall.

"Interesting how having responsibility makes your job so much more difficult," the knight commented. He sighed, and his shoulders drooped slightly. He then grinned and shrugged.

"I'm no monster, Squall," he stated. "Though I may work for one. Who knows? Maybe you're the monster, and she's the savior? I guess we won't know until that scene plays out. But this isn't that scene." He turned back to his men. "Spread the word! We're pulling out!"

The Galbadians seemed to hesitate, but then exploded into action, scattering and running about. Zell, Squall, and Irvine stepped back, getting out of their way. Raijin, who had managed to extract himself by then, returned to his customary spot behind Seifer, beside his sister.

"Well," Seifer said with a shrug. "Looks like this round's a draw. He stepped forward, passing near Squall as he did so.

"I look forward to the next time we meet, Squall," he whispered as he passed.

"Same here," squall replied with a nod.

"It'll be a sight to see!" the knight added as he strode down the street, Fujin and Raijin trailing.

"You guys don't have to go with him, you know," Zell said as they walked by, and both of them paused, regarding him. "You don't have to take orders from the Sorceress!"

"NEGATIVE!" Fujin replied sharply.

"Yeah, we don't take orders from her, ya know!" Raijin added. "We follow Seifer! Always have, always will!"

"If you do that," Squall replied, shaking his head. "You'll sever yourself from Garden."

"Can't back out, ya know," Raijin replied.

"NEGATIVE," Fujin repeated.

"Seifer has a lot of admirers, ya know," Raijin added. "But we're his only friends. We're a posse, ya know? Till the end."

"If you guys care about him that much, tell him to stop this shit!" Zell growled, and both of them nodded.

"AFFIRMATIVE!" Fujin declared.

"We ain't no sell-outs!" Raijin added. "Not to no damn government or a stupid Sorceress! We follow Seifer!"

"Then you know if you meet us again," Squall said in all seriousness. "We won't hold back."

"That's the way we like it," Raijin replied.

"FAREWELL," Fujin added, bowing respectfully, and both she and Raijin turned and followed Seifer out of the city.

"That's it?" Zell asked. "You're just letting them go?"

"Friend or foe," Squall replied, watching them leave. "It all comes down to circumstance. They made their decision. This is how we were raised. There's no difference between them and any other foe SeeD has had to fight." He shook his head. "Come on, let's go."

Reluctantly, they turned to leave, but Irvine hesitated.

"Ellone," he muttered to himself. "I remember her. But why are they after her?" He looked across the city, to the distant Garden, and the much nearer one, as well as the piled corpses nearby.

"Helluva way to declare a war," he stated, before turning and following Squall out of the city.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Whee again. I liked writing that, especially the confrontation at the end. Obviously, the battle was not the huge thing it was in the game, because, logically, it would have been difficult to have a big fight in the center of Balamb without bringing the whole occupational force down on our heroes' heads. I worked with what I had.

Anyway, next chapter is probably either already finished or most of the way done by the time ya'll read this, and its going to be the completely original chapter I was hinting at before. There's going to be plenty of new developments, mostly setting things up for the final battle at Centra. Its not going to be as long as previous chapters, but its gonna be fun. Not to mention, it includes a certain SeeD becoming, in their own words, "Pirate King of the High Seas!" XD

And also, thank my editor for the title of this chapter. I feel like Daz now, using movie titles and other quotes for my titles.

Shout-outs!

-Chris Ganale: No. No blaster. You are weird, but I love the round of that. Is this RP online? Where is it?

-Daniel Wesley Rydell: Yeah, I know, that irked me a bit about the concert. Thus, I made it into a rave. XD

-OniRazz: Synthesis ( I don't like calling it BS because that sounds like bull-shit XP) does, to a degree, have the "real" AVALANCHE in it. I said it in one of the later chapters, but the characters have various aspects of their AVALANCHE counterparts in them. Wait till you see Selphie!

-Chloe: I actually had this joke I wrote in another fic about Zell where the library girl was his adopted sister, not a love interest. Everyone just thought they had a relationship. But no, the Zell-library girl love story is relatively minor. I may make passing references to it (probably in the chapters of the third disc) later on, but actually showing it . . . Probably not. It's a bit difficult to work in. There's so much stuff I gotta do with this fic. Xx

-DBZ Fanfiction Queen: I can imagine the OMFH would end up in chat rooms in the FFVIII world. XD But yes, LP has made its cameo. Mwa ha ha.

If there's one thing that keeps slipping my mind to write in, its Squall's explanation of his first kill. I may work it into the Seifer confrontation later.

Noooo, not the Moombas! ;;

-Kaiser-Kun: Yeah, the "ZOMG SQUALL YOU SUCK" reaction always irked me. I need to actually play through the game that far and actually watch that scene. Stupid PC.

World exploration plays little role in my fic. I'm probably not even going to do the Odin battle, though I'm thinking about working in the Bahamut confrontation in the Deep Sea Research Center. Centra battle is . . . Two more chapters after this one.

Noooo, Squall can't die! Oh, and to let you in on a little secret: The next Squall vs. Seifer battle is going to have a surprise that will influence their final clash.

-Arnath Nightblade: Always nice to see a new reviewer. I personally thought FFVIII was pretty darn good myself. Its plot and dialogue were better than VI, though not as top-tier as VII's. VII had that big shocker twist when Cloud took off his helmet. That was one of the best moments in the game. And, yeah, I like making the battles much more realistic and technical. A lot of people will just describe a clash or a flurry of blows or whatever, but blow-by blow is a favorite of mine, especially when they're long, grueling matches.

-cherieandpie: Oh, don't worry about the language. I hear worse stuff from my Marine and Navy ROTC buddies all the time. I'm glad to see you think I'm the best. I think I'm the only one left, Prodigy hasn't updated in forever, and its been even longer since Nique did anything. There was one by a guy named peter Eliot that was really good, but its not on anymore.


	39. The Art of War

What the heck. I updated a day early.

Before I begin, I want to state that this is the original chapter I've been hinting at for a while. Nothing in this chapter actually happened in the game, but developments within this chapter will ultimately lead to the events of the final battle in Centra. This chapter tries to tie a few loose ends as well as show more to the conflict between Garden and Galbadia in the days leading up to that battle. Enjoy!

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_Chapter 34: The Art of War_

He was old, experienced, his weathered face covered with lines that marked his lifetime and years in t he Galbadian Navy. He had risen high up in the chain of command, achieving Rear Admiral before retiring. He spent the rest of his days sailing and commanding cargo ships and tugs, and away from the troubles of commanding a naval vessel.

However, his decades of experience also showed him when he was outmatched, and so, when over a dozen sleek, speedy, blue-painted ships with gun turrets that seemed to have been grown out of their hulls swooped down upon his ship, he had struck his colors immediately. The alternative was too much damage to his ship in an ultimately futile battle with a superior enemy.

Thus, the cargo ship's elderly, weathered captain stood on deck, hands raised in surrender, as dozens of black-clad soldiers swept onto his ship with frightening ease and coordination. Anyone who did not follow the captain's lead was taken down, mostly mercifully, excepting one gung-ho sailor who tried to be a hero and was wiped out by a half-dozen bullets and two bolts of fiery magic.

"I figured as much," the captain muttered as he looked over the invaders' weapons. Many of their armaments included unorthodox or exotic melee weapons, which, combined with the enemy's professional nature, told him all he needed to know.

"You're with SeeD, I presume?" the captain asked as the leader of the pirate force, a young man with very long brown hair and holding a heavy multi-purpose shotgun in hand, approached.

"You could say that," he commented in a strong Galbadian accent. "But I'd like to think we were picking up donations to a charitable cause."

"And what cause might that be?" the captain asked as the SeeDs began to take inventory of his cargo.

"Why, saving the world, of course," he replied. "Oh, and making sure a certain member of our staff always has enough hot dogs to eat."

"Sweet haul, O King of Pirates!" came a shout from further down the deck as one of the SeeDs looked down into the cargo holds. "Xu's gonna flip when she sees the goodies we'll be bringing her!"

"I certainly hope so," the pirate leader replied. "Now, Captain, if you'll do us a favor and head up to the bridge so we can redirect our course."

"Certainly," the captain replied, giving no resistance. That was for fools and heroes, and both of those only ended up dead in this kind of situation.

"Glad to see you're a reasonable leader, Captain."

---------------------

"Heat seeking missiles and launchers, over a thousand Galbadian M4 assault rifles, five hundred rocket propelled grenades, five hundred pounds of C4 charges, two complete Aegis radar scanners, anti-missile chaff and flares, and mounts to equip our Salamanders with all of the above that can conceivably go on a naval vessel," Xu ticked off, positively beaming. She sat back in her office, surrounded by reports of the equipment that Irvine's pirate team had picked up.

"Not to mention vehicle parts for repairing heavy armored craft," Squall added, nodding as he looked over the haul they had taken from the pirated cargo ship. "Selphie and Zell will have a field day with those and the Iron Clad."

"It's a pirate's life for us," Xu added. "Can't wait for the next shipment to come in."

"They'll probably begin changing their trade routes as we hit them," Squall commented. "But still, for now, we can deny the Galbadian military badly needed equipment and strengthen our own position. See if you can get price estimates on the stuff we can't equip on our Salamanders. We'll offload them and make a profit off the gear when we put in at Dollet tomorrow."

"Can do, Commander," Xu replied, and Squall nodded, before turning an leaving. Things were turning out well, he had to admit. Five days in port at Balamb had done them a world of good, as the Garden had refueled and loaded up with food and other necessary supplies. In addition, over forty SeeDs had reported in, some stationed inside the town during the occupation and the remainder showing up during the docking from stations in Timber, Dollet, and Galbadia. One of the SeeDs had even managed to hack into the Galbadian Naval Trading Guild's computer database, pulling up cargo manifests and trading routes. Irvine had volunteered to lead what others were enviously calling "Pirate Duty," raiding cargo ships and making Xu extremely happy with the constant inflow of goods. They were focusing on military targets at the moment, denying Galbadia badly needed war material, and whatever they couldn't use in Garden they intended to sell to the government of Dollet or funnel into the black market or resistance factions in Timber, any of which would be more than happy to have top of the line Galbadian hardware. Plus, handing weapons over to Galbadia's enemies increased the pressure on Galbadia itself, which was always a good thing.

Rinoa, it turned out, had been the one to present the idea to sell weapons to enemies of Galbadia itself, explaining that the Forest Owls had done such in the past when money was tight. Having someone familiar with guerilla warfare had helped out in their planning tremendously.

Squall rode the elevator up onto the platform, where Cid stood with Nida, directing their course.

"Good afternoon, Squall," the headmaster greeted, and Squall nodded. "I heard about the raid. Excellent work."

"We have to thank Rinoa for the idea, sir," Squall answered with a shrug. "We should make a substantial profit off the stolen gear in Dollet."

"That reminds me," Cid added. "We'll need teams to go into the mainland while we're at Dollet to see if they can find any other SeeD units."

"Agreed. And once we land we should have a team try to get into Deling City and contact General Caraway."

"That won't be necessary," Cid replied. "There was a short story on the Galbadia News Network that General Caraway has been forcibly retired."

"Is he still alive?" Squall asked, and Cid nodded.

"Edea probably knows he was part of the assassination plot, but she hasn't had him killed," Cid stated. "Probably because he has a lot of clout among the enlisted ranks. She kills him, she gets a revolution. Thus, she has him quietly step out of the picture."

"We'll still need to contact him," Squall added, and Cid nodded.

"He has a summer home in the mountains between Galbadia itself and the Monteresau Plateau. Safer to try to get to him there than in Deling, anyway."

"Once we arrive in Dollet I'll put together a team to contact him," Squall said. "Even if he is out of the military he probably still has useful information."

"Rinoa should definitely be on that team," Cid added, and Squall nodded in agreement. "Also, While we were in Balamb I sent a message out through our covert channels. The SeeDs were scattered should be gathering at Dollet as we speak. Any who haven't our teams will try to locate while we're heading to Trabia Garden. Also, we received a encrypted message while were docked at Balamb."

"Who sent it?" squall asked, curious.

"Duke Edwin Haroldington of Dollet," Cid stated, smiling. "He wants to meet me for, I quote, 'discussions of mutual interests'."

"This could be interesting," Squall commented, looking out the wide glass window and the ocean far below.

--------------------

The parking garage had been transformed into a massive refitting hangar. Dozens of nT-33 Salamander warships sat atop fabricated rails as SeeD technicians and cadets scrambled over them, fitting targeting equipment and missile launchers into their cramped hulls. It had been a hell of a time getting them into the garage to begin the refits, but once the were in place and atop the rails, the crews had torn into them. Directing the operations were an eager Selphie and Zell, who themselves were not working on the warships, but rather on something much larger.

"Hydrospanner!" Zell shouted from on top of the tank once known as the Iron Clad, which Selphie had renamed the fanciful "Blue Bomber." The tiny SeeD slid out from underneath the tank and grabbed the tool from a box near her head and tossed it up to the brawler. His hand snatched out, catching it, and then retreated into the inside of the tank.

"Man, I can't believe this thing is in such good shape!" Zell commented.

"Yeah, especially after the beating we gave it!" Selphie added, sliding back underneath. "But I think the hydraulics are shot after Squall hit it with Leviathan."

"Yeah, you're right there," Zell replied, hammering something inside the hull. "Well, we can push it wherever we need to put it, if we have to. I'm thinking its only gonna work on defense, anyway. Beam cannon's out of commission, too. Unless the King of Pirates can get us parts for that thing, we've only got the machineguns."

"Someone called for His Majesty?" came a shout from outside, and Zell popped his head up, goggles over his eyes, a hydro spanner in one hand and a wrench in the other. Selphie slid out as well, clad in a gray jumpsuit smeared with enough oil to power most cars. Irvine stood outside, behind a cart laden with missiles and launchers.

"Fresh supply of weapons for you guys," Irvine added, patting one of the launchers. "Looks like we've got too much gear for the Salamanders, though."

"We've got too much gear for a battleship," Selphie stated, standing up and wiping her gloved hands. "But I think we can mount the missiles on the Blue Bomber. Its got the frame to support the missiles."

"So, the King of Pirates is reduced to a porter?" Zell added as he ducked back inside the tank. Irvine, though the brawler could not see him, looked appalled.

"Why, even a king must assist his subjects," Irvine replied, standing tall and proud, taking a heroic and stately pose. Selphie couldn't help but giggle.

"Anyway," he added, turning to Selphie. "Since its getting near lunchtime, and I'm pretty hungry, I was wondering if you wanted to join me?" Selphie grinned and patted her stomach.

"I was getting hungry," she said. "Can't work on an empty stomach! Let me get changed, and I'll meet you there." She doffed her gloves and goggles, and together, they turned to leave. Selphie didn't see the smile edging across Irvine's face.

_Score,_ he thought to himself. _Maybe I can make my move soon . . . ._

"Hey, Selphie," Zell called within the tank a few minutes later. "I need a heavier hydro spanner." He paused for a second. "Hey, Selphie? Selphie?"

---------------------

Squall eyed his opponent cautiously. He raised his hands into a ready guard, and settled his weight between his legs, left foot forward, right foot back. Perfectly balanced, he stepped forward, closing in. He wasn't an expert at hand-to-hand, but neither was his opponent, and Squall had a lot more experience fighting unarmed.

His opponent stepped in, mirroring his own guard, and struck hard and fast with a quick left jab. Squall hopped back a single step, putting him out of reach, and stepped to his right as his opponent's hand extended. He struck low, with a quick right cross aimed at his enemy's midsection, but the left hand snapped down and deflected, and they spun, coming up in a right kick aimed at his ribs.

Squall spun backward and to his left, and the foot shot past his chest. His left arm snapped forward, closing around that leg and pinning it to his side, and he slapped his right arm into his opponent's left armpit. He continued the spin, lifting up and tossing his lighter opponent across the mat. There was an exclamation of surprise and a quick turn in midair, but Squall's opponent did not manage to land feet down, and tumbled across the mat.

"Didn't see that one coming," Rinoa commented as she sat on her butt, shaking her head. Squall stepped across the mat and extended a hand, and she took it, rising to her feet.

"Adaptation," Squall replied. "SeeDs are trained to improvise on the fly. There was a great martial arts master that our teachings were based on. He said that the ideal warrior should be like water: formless, adaptive, flowing, shaping itself to any situation. A true master innovates, rather than use rote responses. At least, that's what we're taught."

"Interesting," Rinoa commented, smiling, as she crossed the training dojo to where she had set her blue coat, beside his jacket. "Is that why you don't teach any one style here?" she asked, and Squall nodded.

"Every student has to know multiple fighting styles," he explained. "And we're always being pushed to innovate new techniques and methods." Rinoa nodded and put on her coat as they reached the bench. Squall began to follow suit, but paused as she straightened her outfit, not looking at him. She flipped her hair back a bit, and Squall suddenly realized her was staring. Before she could turn back, he quickly donned his coat.

"Say, are you hungry?" she asked, and Squall nodded. "I'm heading down to the cafeteria, want to join me?" Squall hesitated, but the response that came was both surprising and not at the same time.

"Sure."

As they walked out of the dojo and toward the elevators, squall considered what he had just said. A few weeks ago he would have outright refused to join anyone on an offer to eat together. While he wouldn't have been rude about it, he still would have declined, preferring to eat alone. But yet, when Rinoa asked him, he didn't have a problem with it. He, at some level, _wanted_ her companionship, in a way that confused him. It hadn't been that way before their short dance at the concert. It was as if Rinoa was filling in a gap he'd never realized had been there before, a gap that had been ripped open by the disappearance of his Sis so long ago . . . .

Squall decided to stop thinking about it. Not now. Right now, he just wanted to share a meal with Rinoa, together.

--------------------

"Really?" Selphie asked, her green eyes wide. Irvine nodded, sitting across from her at their table in the cafeteria.

"Yep," he said with a shrug. "No magic for me. Never even bothered signing up for a single magic class."

"A SeeD without magic?" Selphie asked, not quite comprehending the concept. Irvine nodded again, taking a bite out of his sandwich. He chewed and swallowed while Selphie continued.

"But, I thought all SeeDs had to learn magic," she said, but Irvine shook his head.

"Its optional at Galbadia Garden, and the Galbadian officers have to take it as required courses, but we Galbadia Garden SeeDs don't need it. We place a lot more faith in our weapons than on energy manipulation. More reliable, easier to maintain, and ammunition is easier to replace than magical energy. Its like what one of my instructors said: 'Hokey energy manipulation and archaic weapons are fine, but they're nothing compared to a good handgun by your side.' And I agree with him." Irvine patted his revolvers, in their holsters inside his coat.

"Wow, I've never heard of a SeeD like that," Selphie commented. "In Trabia, we all specialize in magic. There's a lot to manipulation, especially in modifying spells and stuff like that. Like . . . ." Selphie concentrated, looking down at her glass and the soda in it. She reached down and touched it, and blue energy rippled down her arm and into the glass, freezing it solid. She looked back up at Irvine's surprised expression.

"Bet you've never seen a SeeD who could do that either, huh?" she asked, and Irvine shook his head, taking another bite. "Squall can do something like that, but Guardian Forces don't allow for subtle manipulation like what we can do at Trabia." Irvine nodded again, looking into her bright green eyes as she tore a bite out of her hamburger with surprising savagery.

_Everything she does makes me like her more and more. And everything she does brings back more memories . . . ._

--------------------

Two dozen fully armed paratroopers flanked the massive double doors leading to Edea's throne room. They waited like stone statues, with orders to shoot first and not bother with questions later. But while they stiffened at his approach, they did not stop or question Seifer Almasy, for there was no other who held Edea's trust more fully. He moved down the hallway, his somewhat frayed white coat flying out behind him as he did so, and opened the door to Edea's throne room without bothering to knock. As soon as he passed through, the guards quickly closed the door behind him.

Edea had not taken a massive throne for her own, but rather simply used the small, delicate chair she usually sat in, facing outward toward the outside balcony and looking over the lights of her domain. Rather than surround herself with advisors, she sat alone, waiting for her knight to come forth.

Seifer respectfully marched wide around her chair, coming to a halt before her and dropping to one knee, bowing his head forward.

"I have heard the reports," she stated quietly.

"I am sorry, my Sorceress," he admitted. "I should have engaged them with what I-"

"No," Edea replied, shaking her head slightly. He raised his eyes, meeting her amber orbs, which fixed him where he kneeled.

"You did correctly with bringing your forces back," she stated. "If you had engaged them, SeeD blood would have flowed, but more Galbadian would have done so. And we likely would have lost Galbadia Garden. Besides, you had already finished your sweep of the town, and have brought back valuable information." She leaned forward slightly, smiling.

"The one who dared to strike me still lives, as does Garden itself."

"I will hunt them down, if that is your wish," Seifer replied, lowering his head.

"No," she answered, shaking her head again. "They are insects. If we encounter them, feel free to crush them, but otherwise ignore those children. We have more important things to worry about."

"Have we found Ellone yet?" Seifer asked, and Edea chuckled darkly.

"One of our naval squadrons has encountered a SeeD craft that they believed was carrying her, fleeing south toward the continent of Centra. They caught up with them, only to encounter resistance that they were not expecting."

"Who? Dollet?"

"No," she replied. "Esthar."

"Then I take it this means your preparations for war with them are becoming more important?"

"Not yet," she replied. "I want you to mobilize the majority of our fleet and send them south to Centra. Have them comb every inch of that coastline for the SeeD ship that took Ellone. Then, order three battalions of our best men to board Galbadia Garden. I will conduct this hunt personally."

"What of the reports of SeeD raiding our shipping lanes?" Seifer asked.

"Inconsequential," Edea replied. "Ellone is the key here, and nothing else matters. Not Dollet, not Esthar, and not even Cid's pitiful weed-filled Garden."

---------------------

The team deployed for the meeting with Caraway was small. Squall would have preferred that Irvine accompany the group, but Zell had complained that he was out "playing pirate on the high seas" and thus, he was unavailable. Squall had narrowed down the team for the contact. He himself would have to go in, considering the importance of contact, and Rinoa had volunteered to accompany him, which was something Squall and Cid had agreed she could do anyway, considering that they would be contacting her father.

Squall and Rinoa had rented a small, sporty car in Dollet and were out of the city and halfway across the Monteresau Plateau by the end of the day. Rinoa had nodded off halfway through the trip, leaving Squall to drive along the rough dirt roads in silence. He occasionally glanced back to her as he drove, noting how peaceful and serene she seemed when sleeping. For the first time while driving, he actually noticed how perfectly beautiful she was. Of course, he'd already recognized it before at a more basic, reptilian level, but he had yet to have really appreciated how beautiful she had been overall.

Thanks to her (and some creative help from his other comrades) he had opened up a little more. That concert had definitely triggered something for him, an understanding of how alone he really was. She was trying so hard to fill that gap that he had been left with when his Sis had disappeared so long ago, and while Squall was still resistant to letting anyone get close, he could tell consciously that his resistance was waning. Once he'd tasted what it felt like to really trust someone, he didn't want to lose it again.

He glanced over to her again as night began to give way to day. She had placed tremendous trust within him, and he would not betray that trust. And in return, he would have to trust her and everyone else. And being able to put your faith in someone else so fully was a wonderful thing.

Squall swore he would do whatever it took to keep Rinoa safe. She had done this much good for him . . . how could he himself do any less for her?

They arrived at Caraway's mountain retreat later in that morning, after Rinoa had awakened. A quintet of heavily armed guards stood outside the gate barring the mountain road leading up to his mansion, but the soldiers themselves were good friends of the former general and recognized Rinoa. They were happy to let her and her "bodyguard" into the mansion grounds.

Squall was directed toward a spacious garage, in which he parked the rental. A servant met them as they exited and conducted them through the household to a sizable study, where Hibrom Caraway was sitting, staring out a window over the barren countryside. He looked up as the servant announced Rinoa and her "bodyguard's" arrival. Once the man had left, the former general rose, a smile forming across his weathered features.

"Welcome," he said, meeting both their eyes. Something was exchanged between Rinoa and her father at that moment, a bit of strained tension, and at the same time, a bit of embarrassment. He gestured to a pair of recliners across from where he had been sitting. "Please, have a seat."

They did so, settling into the chairs, and Caraway did likewise across from them.

"Its good to see both of you are safe," he said. "When I heard you were being taken to the D District Prison, I feared the worst."

"We're fine, General," Squall stated. "Garden is safe, despite whatever media control Edea tries to spin is saying." The former general smiled again.

"If you believed everything the news said you'd think that Galbadia had already conquered the world," he said. "And as you already know, I'm not a general anymore.

"Well," he added, sitting back. "You obviously aren't here for chit-chat. I've already heard some of the news of your exploits. Liberating Balamb without losing a single man, and raiding Galbadian shipping daily. Nothing crippling, but its certainly a start to this little war."

"How are they reacting to our attacks?" Squall asked, and Caraway shook his head.

"You might as well not be doing them for all they're concerned," Caraway replied. " They're ignoring you. From what I've gathered, the Galbadian military is focusing on the south, the navy heading for Centra."

"What's down there?" Squall asked, but immediately the answer hit him. "Ellone."

"Precisely," Caraway said with a nod. "Or at least, the ship that was carrying her. However, while I don't have the connections to Galbadian Intelligence that I did a few days ago, I do have an acquaintance in an important position within another government that has a vested interest in this Ellone as well. He has informed me that Ellone is not in Centra."

"Is this confirmed?" Squall asked, and Caraway nodded.

"Confirmed," he stated. "And I trust this man. Galbadia has committed its forces on a wild chocobo chase."

"Then we don't have to worry about them finding Ellone, for now," he said with a nod. "What about Trabia Garden? Has there been any news about them planning an attack there?"

"Beyond the missile strike, no," Caraway answered. "Galbadia isn't even looking up there. Edea has her eyes fixed solely upon the south. Trabia Garden is safe up until she realizes the search is fruitless."

That was good news, Squall realized. They would have more than enough time to mount a relief operation to Trabia.

"Unfortunately, I don't have much more information I can give you," Caraway explained. "Like I said, most of my connections to Galbadian Intelligence have been severed, and my friend within this other government won't give me specifics. Operational security."

"We understand," Squall replied, standing. "Don't worry, General, this is more than what we were hoping to get with this meeting."

"I'll do whatever I can to help," Caraway answered, joining him. "I'll do whatever it takes to protect this country from that madwoman." Rinoa rose as well, but was a bit hesitant.

"We'll come back if we need anything else," Squall stated, and Caraway nodded. He and Rinoa glanced at one another again, and Squall caught that significant look.

"Umm, Squall, could I have a minute alone?" she asked, and he nodded. A moment later, he was outside of the room, the door closed behind him. Rinoa and her father met each others' eyes again for a long moment.

"I'm sorry," they both said at once, then paused. Caraway managed a strained laugh, and glanced back at the door.

"It looks like you've found a good friend," he stated, gesturing to the chair. Rinoa nodded and sat down again, and her father followed suit. She nodded at his words.

"Rinoa, I'm . . . I wish to apologize for what I've done," he said. "I just wanted to keep you safe. When Julia died . . . ." He trailed off, closing his eyes. Rinoa watched him for a moment, and then rose, crossing the short distance and putting a hand on her father's shoulder. He reached up and touched her hand, and started sniffling.

"I understand," she whispered, crouching low, putting her face level with his. His sniffling began to turn into sobs, and Rinoa quickly reached forward, hugging her father. He pulled her close, taking comfort in her touch as he vividly recalled the pain searing through him, his wife's blood on his coat as the rain poured down, and how the paramedics had pulled him from the car with a shattered leg, but were unable to reach Julia before it was too late.

"Your mother," he whispered through the sobs. "I . . . I lost her through my own weakness. I didn't want to lose you too."

"I know, daddy," she replied quietly, using a word she hadn't spoken in years. "But she doesn't blame you. I don't blame you. Daddy, no matter what happens, no matter what, we still love you."

"I'm sorry," he sobbed. "Rinoa, I'm so sorry . . . ."

"I know, Daddy," she whispered soothingly, holding him tightly through the fresh grief. "I know."

--------------------

"Ah, Headmaster Cid Kramer," greeted the large, muscular man seated behind a wide table, covered with food. "Please sit, and partake. Custom demands I set out a sizable luncheon for such an esteemed guest."

"Duke Edwin," Cid replied, smiling. He extended a hand to the graying Duke of Dollet. The man shook Cid's offered hand, and the headmaster took a seat.

"So, what do I owe the pleasure to?" Cid asked as he looked over the wide array of fine foods that the Duke had prepared.

"Why, what else?" the Duke replied, his experienced, gray eyes twinkling. "The only thing that seems to matter over the last few weeks. War."

Cid considered the Duke's words, and observed the man. Duke Edwin Haroldington held a lot of power within the Dollet Dukedom Parliament, mainly because he had the backing of the military, which allowed him to draft a constitution that made him chief executive officer, and head of the armed forces. He couldn't pass laws, and was subservient to the parliament itself. But, he did have complete control in military and diplomatic affairs, such as now.

"You've made quite a name for yourself, Headmaster," the Duke added, cutting into a fine steak with an equally fine knife. "Your little war has raised some eyebrows."

"We've just started the war," Cid replied, helping himself to some type of soft-shelled egg covered in sweet syrup.

"Indeed, but it has interested some of those willing to find themselves free of the yoke of Galbadian oppression."

_That_ got Cid's attention. The Duke might as well have just said that he wanted a war with Galbadia outright. His country was the only territory in the west that was not under direct Galbadian rule. But they lived under the constant shadow of Galbadia itself. They had just been invaded a few weeks ago, after all, and were under threat by Galbadia to keep the communications tower operational. Cid knew that the people of Dollet were intensely proud of their heritage and resentful toward Galbadia for reducing them to a tiny coastal nation, and many would jump at the chance to regain part of that lost legacy.

"Such as yourself?" Cid asked, and the Duke smiled.

"My country prides itself on remaining largely independent of Galbadia, but even so, we still live under their shadow. And if the rumors that Sorceress Edea is plotting to go to war with Esthar are true, I fear my nation's already existing freedom may soon fade away at the ends of Galbadian swords."

"She won't tolerate a free nation harboring enmity so close to her borders with a war underway. Such a nation could prove a useful ally to Esthar."

"Indeed," the Duke replied. "At the very least, we would be turned into a puppet state for Galbadia. At worst, we become a province of the mighty Galbadian empire."

"Then it is an important time for Dollet, I suppose," Cid continued.

"Agreed," the Duke replied. "However, such a time as this would be opportune to reveal a military might that we have concealed for a long time. What would you say if you discovered that my military might is in fact three times that which the Galbadian military faced when they attacked my nation three weeks ago?"

"I would be interested in where this military might had come from," Cid replied.

"Its always been there," the Duke replied, smiling. "I've been quietly building up my military for over a decade. Galbadia does not realize it, but I have enough force to ward off any attack, or at least make a successful attack cost many times what they expected."

"And why weren't these troops present when we came to assist you?" Cid asked, and the Duke chuckled.

"We retreated into the mountains," he explained. "The time we supposedly spent 'reorganizing' was in fact spent calling up my reserve units hiding there. While your SeeDs kept Galbadia off-balance, my reinforcements assembled to repel the invasion. It was sheer luck that your men found the true Galbadian intent and allowed us to negotiate their withdrawal before I had to reveal my hidden forces. Even now, they're assembling in preparation for the coming Galbadian push to annex us into their empire. But, I'd rather not have to fight a war."

"And if Garden can stop Edea, there will be no war," Cid finished, nodding. "You want to render aid?" The Duke nodded.

"Galbadia's fleet is mighty, but Dollet's is just as powerful. With Galbadia sending the majority of its fleet south to Centra, we have maritime superiority, at least, in the regions we control. The entirety of the area between Balamb, Dollet, Fisherman's Horizon, and Trabia is free for Garden to sail, and you are under our protection in those waters. Furthermore, Dollet is a safe harbor for you to dock at will."

"I appreciate the gesture," Cid replied. "This will allow us to sail safely without fear of a Galbadian attack at sea."

"But that alone will not allow you to win this war," the Duke said. "One problem that you have, even with all the SeeDs and cadets from all the Gardens put together, is that you don't have the numbers to really win this war." Cid nodded.

"That is one of our biggest problems. We've already picked up almost all of the SeeDs we scattered, and a lot of the Galbadia Garden SeeDs and cadets have also shown up in Dollet to join our Garden in the war. We hope to add some of Trabia Garden's populace to our army when we get there, but we don't know how many survived the bombing. But even so, we're badly outnumbered, despite our advantage in sheer power in man-to-man battle. In total, we expect to have about fifteen hundred to two thousand men. "

"Then I suppose extra troops would be a boon?" the Duke asked, smiling.

Cid blinked. Was the Duke offering him what he thought he was?

"Dollet's elite 125th infantry battalion has assembled in the capital at my order. Simply say the word, and two thousand of my finest will be at your disposal, doubling your numbers." Cid's mouth opened in surprise at the offer. Then, after several long seconds, he raised a glass of wine.

"Duke Edwin Haroldington, on behalf of Garden I am more than happy to accept that offer."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hoo boy. Yes. You read correctly. Dollet soldiers will be in on the final battle at Centra. I don't think any of you guys saw that coming.

And speaking of which, one more chappie to go before the battle! Yee-haw! Actually, I'm working on that battl eirght now. But I'm mean, so you won't get to read it for a couple of weeks. XP. But hey, no complaints. This chapter is a day early, so be happy.

Oh, and the Blue Bomber. Guess where the name comes from. XD

Anyway, shout-outs.

Dragoon Swordsman: A GF summon (the way I'm approaching it) would have done a lot of damage, maybe wiping afew platoons out, but wouldn't have really begun to hurt the occupation force. They would have steamrolled Squall, Zell, and Irvine. Cid iwll play a mor eimportant role next chapter, and I'll explain where he vanished to afterwards.

Daniel Wesley Rydell: I liked doing the organization. Felt like actually giving an order to the things Squall says at the begining of the big battle, and adding room for my own improvements. Like, y'know, the Dollet troopies.

Rusty Knight Productions: I like springing surprises on people. Like with this chapter. XD The repaired Iron Clad (correction: Blue Bomber) will make its appearance in the big Garden battle.

DBZ Fanfiction Queen: Whoa, settle down. -gives you tranquilizers- Anyway.

Yes! I threw in Seifer! For the fun of it. that bit where seifer walks past Squall and he says 'I look forward to meeting you again, Squall," was from Hellsing. You must watch it. Gory, bloody, and has a crazy mass-murdering psycho as the good guy.

Fujin, having a crush on Squall? Nah. Impossible. If anything, she'd have a crush on Seifer. Of course, anything is possible in fanficcery....

I always took Squall's commentary on how he actually ran the battle. Apparently, he focused on defense instead of offense, but he did have offensive forces. Maybe they got left out of the game? Anyway, he put too many troops on defense and not enough on offense, which SeeDs are best at (the way I'm coming at it from)

Well, I did hint that they found him napping. Hm. I'm considering putting in Ma Dincht saying that Fujin almost ran Raijin over with her car when he was napping as an edit.

A lot of the older stories have been pretty good, but the newer ones....yeah. Bad quality. And what's worse, the good writers aren't writing anymore. Prodigy and Nique have stoppe,d though of course, Ashbear keeps it up, and Ashbear just rocks. How the hell else are you going to get a thousand and more reviews for a story? By kicking ass, that's what!

I'm more than halfway through the next chapter. Its safer to say I'm halfway through Synthesis rather than the next chapter of Gunblade. The Trabia reunion and the first chapter of the war are already done (the war is waiting for editting, and my editor already loves it.)

Kaiser-kun: I really should have used the cardboard boxes. XD Don't forget to keep an eye out for my Metal Gear Solid novelization I'm working on. Its on hold for now, but iIm already a quarter of the way through the first disc of Twin Snakes.

In the Corps, we get issued our rifles and other gear, but we can purchase personal firearms and the like. I think we get K-Bars for free, though. I'm not in the Corps yet, so I don't know. I'm just an ROTC Midshipman. I'm actually planning on becoming a helicopter pilot.

Chris Ganale: You url doesn't work. X( Anyway, sorry for the anti-climactic ending, but I liked writing the Raijin vs. Zell duel. Remind me later when they hit the Pandora to have that duel be much cooler and longer.

I like that celebration XD One more chapter!

imaginaryfriend101: Squall is likely the only one to fully upgrade his weapon. I'll be honest about that. Irvine may buy upgrades but won't change his model to the Exeter version. Zell's grandfather was a rifleman, not a martial artist, so he can't get gloves from him. Sorry.

Akira Stridder: There will be a lot of survivors of Trabia. Might as well spoil that.

cherieandpepe: Ooh, big review. -rubs hands-

Yeah, Triple Triad got left out. Mainly because I couldn't find a good spot to insert it and because, well, look at how huge this thing is. I guess I forgot with the big rush of all the other stuff and all the fight scenes. XD

Magical subtleties are a bit more present in my fics than in others', but nonetheless they're a bit undeveloped. A lot of the more powerful spells may not get used, excepting by the Sorceresses (Flare, Demi, Ultima, Meteor, etc.) magic will play a prominent role in the battles against Edea, Adel, and Ultimecia, however. Refining items is more of a "behind the scenes" sort of thing. I introduced it in the begining and have asusmed it happens in the background from that point on. Note that I'm no longer even mentioning spell names anymore, just commenting on power level. I may go back and edit that into the earlier chapters too.

Again, I doubt that I'll have the others upgrade their weapons. Squall will upgrade to the Lionheart, however, but I don't think it'll be unbalanced. To quote Gray Fox from Metal Gear: "Only a fool trusts his life to a weapon." Yeah, its a powerful weapon, but a blade is only as deadly as the man who wields it. Then again, its Squall...XD

I'm not a big fan of random encounters. 8-Bit Theater's black Mage says: 'Random encounters make no sense. There isn't a thematic reason for them to fight us. Stories are about conflict. If you expect random battles to occur without rhyme or reason and then have no impact on the story, then how can you expect it to advance?" Of course, then he gets crushed by a random giant. XD

But honestly, I don't like throwing in random encounters with enemies unless I have a good reason to. Besides, I'm already creating tension before the battle with Galbadia Garden by mentioning Garden (next part editted because it contains evil evil evil spoilers) And I've set up Garden so it still doesn't have the ability to use radio, yet.

Tonberry, Odin, and Eden probably won't appear, though Bahamut might. Tonberry is silly, plus the other two are sidequests. I'm not too keen on covering sidequests.

Thanks for the suggestions, though. You are giving me some ideas, maybe for fics set later.

Aaron: Wow, not putting anything up for a week is considered never resuming? XD I'm rather busy and hard-pressed to put out chapters as consistently as I do nowadays. Back during the begining of the year it took me weeks to get done with my chapters. I update weekly, so never fear. Just keep an eye out. I update every Friday, though sometimes I may stop briefly due to time and schedule problems. Being a prospective Marine Corps officer and a helicopter pilot isn't easy!


	40. Forgotten Innocence

_Chapter 35: Forgotten Innocence_

The inside of Garden was chaos.

Controlled chaos, but nonetheless, chaos. Squall walked among a virtual sandstorm of roving uniforms from the dorms to the elevators. All around him swirled the myriad of colors associated with the eclectic fighting force that fate had assembled within Garden. The red and matte black of Galbadia Garden cadets, navy blue and silver of the Balamb cadets, the black and blue of both Gardens' SeeD forces, and everywhere, the omnipresent olive green of Dollet's soldiers. They rushed about, ferrying orders, equipment, or to their various tasks.

Squall spotted one group of cadets and SeeDs checking assault weapons near one of the walkways, while another pair of SeeDs consulted with a Dollet sergeant on some task or another. Zell could be seen near the garage, surrounded by SeeDs and cadets, as well as Dollet army specialists whom he had drafted into refitting duty. From the parking garage a pair of cadets wheeled out crates filled with munitions and explosives, both of them wearing the bandanas Irvine had come up with to indicate those on raiding duty. Rinoa could be seen talking with some of the junior cadets, those too young to serve in combat, and giving them direction. Squall didn't see Selphie, but he suspected she was out in the Quad, doing more work on the insane contraption she had dubbed the Blue Bomber. She had rented some heavy moving equipment while in Dollet and had moved the massive tank - now festooned with dozens of missile launchers of various sizes and capacity - and had plopped the weapon in the Quad at Squall's order. It was a better place, he had reasoned, for the weapon anyway.

Squall entered the elevator, sharing it with a pair of Dollet troopers and a Galbadia cadet, and rode it up. The troopers got off on the second floor, which had virtually become a Dollet field base, the classrooms and gyms and labs refitted to house the 125th Dollet Infantry Battalion. Squall and the cadet got off at the top floor, and the Garden Commander headed to the conference room where the leaders of the disparate force were assembling.

Squall entered the room, and nodded to the Headmaster, as well as Xu and Quistis, who were all seated around the table. Opposite them were a pair of older men, almost the same age as Cid, in the green uniforms of Dollet soldiers.

"Good morning, Commander," Cid stated, and was echoed by Xu and Quistis.

"Good morning, sir," Squall answered by habit, despite the fact that he and Cid were, under the new hierarchy, at the same level.

"You just got back yesterday, so you still haven't been introduced to the heads of our Dollet allies," Cid explained.

"Colonel Randolph," said the elder of the two Dollet soldiers, standing. He offered Squall his hand, and he shook it. "And my executive officer, Major Ellis." Major Ellis nodded. "We're quite happy to be working with you, Commander. Your reputation proceeds you, and all of my men are eager to take the fight to Galbadia alongside yours."

"We're happy you're on board," Squall replied.

"Well then," Cid added. "Let's get this underway. Quistis?"

Quistis nodded and rose, tapping a control that dimmed the lights while Squall and Randolph took their seats. A television screen lit up across from the table, showing the Garden symbol. It then switched over to showing a cross section of Balamb Garden.

"First of all, a report on our troop numbers," she explained. "Our current force numbers at a little over three thousand and seven hundred men. Roughly seven hundred of those are SeeDs, two hundred from Balamb Garden and five hundred from Galbadia Garden. Another thousand are cadets from both Gardens, four hundred from Balamb and six hundred from Galbadia Garden. The other two thousand are Colonel Randolph's 125th.

"Obviously, we've had to hand over the second floor almost entirely to your men, Colonel. We don't have anywhere else to put them."

"That's understandable," the colonel replied. "We're a bit tightly packed, but we can handle it." That was an understatement; Colonel Randolph's 125th had been a secret unit based out of Dollet's mountains. They were used to living outdoors and in rough environments. Having a roof over their heads was a luxury for them.

"How are our forces?" Cid asked, and Quistis shrugged.

"Pretty well. The cadets are assembled on the lower levels, and a lot of the Galbadia Garden personnel have to sleep in the Quad, cafeteria, or library, or in the extra rooms we added. Some of the third floor offices are being converted into living quarters as well. Morale is strong. We can thank Rinoa, Selphie, and Doctor Kadowaki for that."

"What about your peoples' experience?" Randolph asked, curious. "How well can your cadets stand up in a fight?"

"Our cadets range from ages thirteen to nineteen," she replied. "Basically, from the start of serious weapons training onward. They all have some experience, at the very least fighting monsters, and the Balamb cadets have training in GF usage. Galbadia's cadets have mostly training in firearms, technology, and magic. We estimate that in a straight up battle they should be able to hold their own one-on-one against the Galbadians." Randolph nodded in satisfaction.

"Munitions and supplies?" Cid asked, and that was Xu's turn to stand.

"We're pretty well off, considering we don't have a permanent base of operations," she stated, stepping up to the screen while Quistis took her seat. "As long as we can keep up these pirate raids against Galbadian shipping and have safe harbor at Dollet and Balamb, we'll have all the equipment we need."

"Excellent," Cid stated. Squall nodded in agreement.

"So, Commander, what is our heading now?" Cid asked as Xu sat down.

"Trabia Garden, for now," he replied. "We've picked up extra supplies in Dollet, as well as emergency and medical equipment. I don't know what we're going to find there, but I want to be ready for anything."

"And after Trabia?" Randolph asked. Squall shrugged.

"Uncertain," he replied. "We'll continue raids for now, and begin mounting insurgent operations within Timber once we return. There should be factions within Galbadia as well that are opposed to Edea, maybe even within the Galbadian military. We'll exploit those. We'll also maintain close contact with Dollet in case Edea attacks or tries to take over. I'm also considering trying to get into contact with Esthar."

"Good luck with that," Quistis replied, shaking her head. "We've barely heard anything out of there in the last decade."

"So, for now, to Trabia Garden," Cid said, and Squall nodded grimly.

--------------------

Four days passed between the departure from Dollet and finally coming within sight of Trabia Garden. Those four days had been anxious ones, in which the swollen populace of Garden wondered what would await them. In that time, Squall and Quistis had organized a search and rescue detail and a relief effort, giving cadets and SeeDs specific orders and tasks to do when they arrived. It didn't help that when they had arrived at the Trabian coastline, there had been some confusion as to whether the Garden could come back onto land. After some checking of the equipment, it was confirmed that they could, they just needed a gradually rising slope leading back up onto land to do so.

"Basically, a beach?" Nida had asked, and Squall nodded.

They had found a beach a few hours later and a few hundred miles down the coast, but once they had gone up, it had taken some careful navigation, as the Garden could not pass mountains. And the terrain of Trabia was very mountainous.

So, as they had flown about the continent in the Garden, the white plains and the occasional forest passing below them, Squall and Nida had to keep a careful eye on the maps. Eventually, they rounded a wide mountain range, moving around the last spur of the line, and came into sight of Trabia Garden, nestled in a valley between two ranges.

"By Hyne," Cid had whispered when they came into sight. Squall, Cid, Quistis, Nida, and Colonel Randolph had been standing up on the bridge when they had come in, and all of them were shocked.

Trabia Garden looked like a gigantic gutted skeleton. The complex, barely two thirds the size of Balamb Garden, had been badly damaged. Half of the upper floors had either been blasted off or fallen away. The ring, a fixed structure, unlike the hovering one of Balamb, looked like a halo that had been snapped in two, the broken portion scattered around in the snow of the grounds. The lower floor was wide open, one side simply missing, undoubtedly where multiple missiles had hit. Statues and paved landscape around the main building were buckled and reduced to gravel.

However, the good news was that the outer structures of the grounds were still largely intact, and at least three craters were scattered around the outside of the defensive twelve-foot high wall, indicating the damage was not as extensive as it could have been. Squall could see people moving around inside the building and on the grounds, a lot of them; a large portion of the populace must have survived. Even then, he could see the people going about diligent work, trying to clear rubble or begin rudimentary repairs.

"Its not as bad as it could be," Randolph commented. "I've seen a lot worse."

"I agree," Cid replied. "Nida, the intercom."

Nida switched on the intercom, and Cid cleared his throat.

"Attention, all personnel," he began. "We have arrived at Trabia Garden. There appears to be extensive damage to the main structure, but casualties are not as bad as they could have been. It looks like Hyne was on our side today. I want all relief teams to assemble at the front gate in twenty minutes; we'll put down outside their gates and head in to see what we can do. Make sure that those vehicles are loaded with supplies, too."

"Headmaster," Randolph asked as Cid switched off the intercom. "If you don't mind, I'd like to have a few of my people aid with the relief effort if we can?"

"Of course, Colonel," Cid replied with a gracious nod. "Any help would be appreciated."

--------------------

The populace of Trabia Garden had seen them coming - Balamb Garden was hard to miss, after all - and as they approached the wall that ringed the grounds, a section of it parted and split in two, widening into a gap, behind which stood a group of about twenty surprised but extremely happy Trabia Garden students, led by a single SeeD, all of them clad in light blue and white uniforms of thick cloth, befitting the cold Trabian climate. They appeared to be confused, especially at the presence of not only people from both Balamb and Galbadia Garden, but Dollet soldiers as well.

Squall was bedecked in a heavy white coat and trousers, as were the five hundred and more people gathered behind him, many carrying supplies or driving vehicles laden with gear. As Squall approached, he gave a quick salute to the SeeD standing guard.

"SeeD Commander Leonhart of Balamb Garden, requesting permission to enter," he stated, and it took a second for the SeeD to nod. He said something to the rest of the cadets with him, and most of them turned and bolted back into the Garden to deliver the news. As the doors widened and allowed the relief forces to enter, the SeeD glanced to Squall again, and at the flying Garden, bewildered.

"Sorry we're late," he stated. He looked back at Balamb. "It's a long story."

"Very long," said the Headmaster, covered in thick swaths of clothing to hold off the Trabian cold. "Is Headmaster Rosalyn available?" he asked the SeeD standing guard. The man sadly shook his head and nodded inside.

"Administration wing was hardest hit," he said. "Eighty percent of the faculty are dead, and the rest are all wounded. The Headmaster was killed instantly."

"I see," Cid replied, regret filling his voice. He sighed heavily.

"Headmaster Kramer, it's a miracle your people came here when they did," the SeeD added. "We're running out of supplies, and our HD line has been severed, and none of the Gardens sent a response when we tried contacting them from the nearest town."

"That's because none of the Gardens can be contacted," Cid replied.

"And Headmaster, may I ask . . . why are there Dollet troops here too?"

"It's a long story," Cid echoed Squall. "Who's in charge?"

"The student council, actually," the SeeD replied. "We don't have any faculty qualified to help us out anymore. Its been rough over the last few weeks."

"I'll need to meet with them, as soon as humanly possible," Cid stated. "There's much that everyone here must know."

"Hey, Squall!" came a call from behind them as the Headmaster and the SeeD continued to talk. Squall turned to see Quistis and Zell making their way toward them across the snowy expanse between the two Gardens.

"What is it?" he asked.

"We couldn't find Selphie," Quistis explained.

"Selphie?" the SeeD behind them asked, and Squall turned, nodding. "She passed through with the first group," he said. "With a tall guy right behind her."

"Squall," the Headmaster said quickly. "See if you can find her. This will probably be hard on her, if the casualties are as bad as I think they are."

"I understand, sir," Squall replied with a salute, and headed off into the ruined Garden.

--------------------

"This place looks pretty bad," Quistis commented as she and Squall surveyed the inside of the main Garden structure.

The outside had indeed looked bad, but the interior was even worse. Internal damage was far greater than external, as the damage that had been dealt to the building had been contained and concentrated inside the walls. However, in spite of the damage, there was a lot of life within the Garden. In one corner, Squall could see a group of cadets working to remove collapsed debris from a doorway to one of the dorm complexes. Elsewhere, they ferried supplies. There were no injured, or at least, none seriously. The students and SeeDs had evacuated the wounded in the only remaining snow-capable vehicles to the nearest town with a hospital in the barren wasteland, thirty miles away. Squall, upon learning this, dispatched a group to go to the town to check on the wounded and provide any assistance.

The Trabian populace was quite receptive to the arrival of the combined Garden and Dollet relief force, and greeted them with joy. In a very short time the Garden ruins were swarming with dozens of the heavy white-coated uniforms of Garden personnel in cold weather gear, and the bulkier white uniforms of Dollet's soldiers, providing assistance with whatever was needed, as directed by the Trabia Garden SeeDs. But as Squall roamed across the damaged terrain, ducking through partially collapsed frames, hastily constructed bunks, and even an undetonated missile which was being carefully extracted from a performing stage. As he surveyed the damages, Squall thought that things, despite how bad they were, were not as tragic as they could have been.

Then, as he approached the eastern end of the Garden grounds, he saw the graves.

Squall had seen death before. He was used to being around corpses . . . but those were of his enemies, faceless opponents he had to kill or be killed by. SeeDs did not die very often. There was a small plot near Balamb, overlooking the ocean, that Garden did use as a final resting place for those killed in action, but only a half dozen markers had sat there. Here . . . .

There were dozens, in long, haphazard lines, across a wide field. Many were made from rough, flat rocks, or pieces of masonry and ceramic that had fallen down. A few were simple, with mere marker or chalk writing on them, but several had roughly carved names, indicating those who had lost their lives that day. Squall paused by one grave, upon which someone had laid an assault rifle. He crouched beside it, looking at the name marked in chalk.

_In Loving Memory, Trevor Spence_

_This is that rifle you always said you wanted, little bro. Your birthday gift. You're with Dad, now, in a better place. Wait up for me._

Squall slowly rose, and felt a chill hit him, and not from the frigid Trabia wind. He stepped slowly away from Trevor's grave, wondering how old the kid must have been. As he crossed the graveyard, looking at the names of the dead and the occasional memento left sitting out - a book here, a pendant there, and in one case, a leather jacket not that dissimilar from his own - he heard someone talking quietly. Stopping, squall looked across the snow-covered graveyard, and saw a figure at the other end, sitting before a pair of graves. He recognized the voice.

"I did it," Selphie whispered, running a hand across the carved names. "Our band. The one we wanted to make, remember? I was able to finish our dream. You all saw me, right? You heard us play." She stopped speaking, and lowered her head into her arms, sobbing quietly.

Squall then spotted someone else, near her, watching just as intently. He recognized Irvine, though he was hard to make out in the cold weather gear. The sharpshooter crossed the graveyard slowly, approaching Selphie where she sat. Squall understood the basic human nature working there, the need to comfort others in their times of grief. Irvine walked next to Selphie as she cried quietly, and slowly set a hand down on her shoulder. She started slightly, and looked up to the sharpshooter. He didn't say anything; he didn't need to. Her red-lined emerald eyes met his, and he crouched beside her. She then wrapped her arms around his torso, pulling him close, and he hugged her tightly too as her shoulders shook with each teary gasp.

Squall silently departed from the graveyard, leaving the two alone.

--------------------

Squall passed through a garage where a group of Trabia Garden's technical squad were working with two Balamb techs to repair the school mainframe, and were making good progress. He continued his tour of the facility, observing the minor damages to the outer grounds over the next few hours. Every now and then a cadet or SeeD would approach him with reports on what they had found or the status of the Garden. He also encountered Quistis and Zell a few times during the check, doing what they could, and spotted Rinoa again inside a basketball court, though it was hard to make her out in her cold weather gear. He crossed the grounds to where she sat on one of the benches, looking up into the sky. It had grayed over while they had been surveying the damages, and looked as if a storm was brewing. Not too good.

"Its pretty bad, isn't it?" she asked as he entered, and Squall nodded tiredly.

"All told, nearly eighty dead," he stated. "And twice that injured. The Garden's running on half its strength with no administration. We may have to leave part of our forces here to help with the relief effort. But it could have been worse. Only eight of the twelve missiles hit the Garden itself. If they had been more accurate, I don't think anyone would have survived long enough for us to get here."

"How is Selphie holding up?"

"Not too well," Squall said. "She's in shock, I think. I found her in the graveyard. Some of her close friends must have been killed in the attack." He considered that for a moment. He had said "close friends" as if he actually understood the meaning of that term. But until a few weeks ago, he didn't have friends. But then, a few weeks ago he hadn't been fighting a guerilla war against a mad Sorceress aided by his own former rival. Amazing what could happen over a short time frame.

"Irvine's with her right now," he added. "Or, he was. I haven't seen them for a few hours."

"They're fine," came a call from outside, and Squall saw Quistis and Zell step into the court, both of them looking equally exhausted. "We saw them heading this way," Quistis continued. "She asked us to meet us here at the basketball court." Squall nodded.

"Once she gets here we'll head back to Garden and figure out what we'll do here," Squall explained, and they all nodded assent. Squall got up and started pacing around the basketball court, while Zell, despite his exhaustion, still had a lot of excess energy, spent his time shadowboxing.

"Man," he muttered. "I don't get it. Why did she appear now? Was the Sorceress waiting for this time?

"She might," Quistis replied. "Its impossible to know what she may be planning. She might have been living a normal life until just a short while ago. Then, she just suddenly appears and starts this war. Why?"

"We know she wants Ellone," squall replied, and she nodded.

"But why?" Quistis asked.

"Maybe she wants to see the past," Zell growled, launching a flying forward kick at an unseen opponent. "Squall said she can send us back to the past. Maybe the Sorceress wants something back there?"

"But what would she want in the past?" Rinoa mused. "Why would she try so desperately to get back there, that she'd take over a nation and lead armies into war?"

"Whatever it is, like hell I'm letting her get it," Zell stated. "She invaded Balamb, and's trying to burn everything in her way. No way! Nuh-uh! Not gonna happen if I have anything to say about it!"

Zell was cut off as a basketball rolled into the court, chased by Selphie and Irvine. Selphie definitely seemed to have improved since her moment in the graveyard, though Squall could see a lingering redness about her eyes. Irvine trailed behind her, smiling as always, but maintaining a careful watch on Selphie.

"Thanks for waiting," she said, offering a smile to them. "I'm glad I got to come. I was so worried about everyone here . . . ." She paused, and then looked to Squall. "I'm coming with you guys for certain now! I want to get even with the Sorceress! I want revenge for everyone here!" Squall nodded, certainly understanding. Zell and Irvine had grudges in this as well, Zell because of the attack on Balamb and Irvine because the enemy was using his Garden. Quistis and Squall, as SeeDs and Balamb Garden students, also understood the importance of this war, especially for their own survival. The only one who didn't have a stake in this battle was Rinoa, but Squall knew she was going to stick with them regardless.

"Umm," Rinoa began to say even as he considered her, drawing everyone's attention. "Do we have to fight her?" she asked.

"Wha?" Zell said, blinking. "What are you talking about now?"

Squall looked at her, as confused as Zell.

"Its just . . . I don't know," she said quietly, looking down at her shoelaces. "I . . . I guess I'm getting scared. When we're together, like this, I feel like I'm on the same wavelength as you, understand?" Squall nodded as she spoke. The others listened.

"But, when the fighting starts, everyone else's tempo starts to pick up, but I can't keep up with you," she continued. "I get left behind when the action starts. It was like back when we were in the Garden's basement, fighting the monsters. I couldn't keep up, everything was happening so fast. And that scares me. What if I can't react fast enough? What if someone is hurt, or worse because I couldn't keep up? When that happens, when I start thinking like that . . . ."

"Rinoa, I understand," Irvine replied suddenly. "When you catch up, it may be just to see someone else die. Someone you love could be lost even as you begin to move. Its very frightening, and its tough to live a life devoted to situations like that - like us. But that's part of the reason why I think we all fight, and especially why I fight. I fight and live because I choose to."

The sharpshooter bent down, scooping up the basketball and dribbling it across the court as he walked.

"When I was a little kid, really young, maybe about four or so, I was in an orphanage." Irvine released the ball at one of the baskets. The orange ball shot over the SeeDs' heads and sunk directly into the basket, a perfect shot. "There were a lot of kids there, with no parents. It was after the Sorceress War with Adel and Esthar, and a lot of people had been killed or separated from their children. Anyway, that's where I was. And of all the kids there, there was one girl who was special to me. Of all the kids, she was the only one who, by talking to her, I could feel really happy."

"A stone house?" Selphie suddenly, asked, and Irvine turned to her, smiling.

"Yeah," he said, tone leading.

"A old stone house," Quistis added, her brow furrowed in concentration. "By the ocean?"

"Bingo!" Irvine confirmed, nodding with a wide smile. "I knew it! As soon as I saw you guys! You were at the same orphanage as me, thirteen years ago!"

"But, why?" Quistis asked. "You never said anything."

"Because, you guys had forgotten!" Irvine replied. "I thought you guys recognized me at Galbadia Garden, but you didn't. So, I kept quiet about it. But I _knew_ I recognized you two. Spunky Sefie and bossy Quisty."

"This is weird," Selphie commented, looking toward Zell, who nodded after a moment.

"Do you remember fireworks?" she asked him, and he nodded.

"Yeah, I remember telling you guys not to use them, too," he replied. "So, yeah, I was there. It was nighttime, and I threatened to tell on you guys."

"But we all got in big trouble for that," Quistis added.

"But, if that's true, what about my parents in Balamb?" Zell asked, confused.

"The Dinchts probably adopted you," Quistis said. Zell frowned, but nodded after a moment.

"Ma always said I looked a little different from her," he said after a second. "Hm. I was always trying to keep everyone else out of trouble. But there was always . . . ." Zell's eyes widened.

"Yeah," Irvine said with a nod. "A mean little kid who always picked on you, named Seifer."

"Seifer was there too?" Quistis asked. Irvine opened his mouth, but was cut off.

"Yeah, he was, always picking on Zell," Squall stated. "And if I remember, then I was there too." He closed his eyes, tracing the path along the memories that Irvine had stirred in all of them.

"I was waiting for Sis to return," he said after a moment. "My big sister. Not related, but she treated me like I was. Sis-" He opened his eyes.

"Ellone. Sis Ellone," he whispered, her words not even two weeks past suddenly clear. "Then Ellone was there too. That's where I knew her from. She was the oldest one there, and we all called her Sis. Irvine, Selphie, Zell, Quistis, Seifer, and myself. I'm not sure what the meaning behind all of this is, but we were all definitely there." he considered it for a long moment, recalling the ancient stone house, partially crumbling, homemade meals, a wide beach, a lighthouse in the distance . . . .

"Everyone was fond of Sis," Irvine added a moment later. "But Squall kept hogging her." He grinned.

"You have a good memory," Squall replied. "But this is strange. I don't think I was adopted, because I've been in Garden for a long time."

"Probably since you were five or so," Irvine said. "Same with Seifer. You both disappeared at about the same time."

"But he's never mentioned living there," Squall said, thinking back. "And this has never crossed my mind when I saw him. I know it should have, especially if we lived together in our childhood."

"That is strange," Selphie added. "I think I was sent to Trabia at a young age, like you guys. I had loads and loads of fun once I got to Trabia. I think that's why I must have forgotten. But that doesn't explain what's up with you guys? Why would you forget?"

"I'm not sure," Quistis replied, shaking her head. "I remember that I came to Garden at about ten years or so. My foster home wasn't working out, so I came to Balamb. That was when I first noticed Squall and Seifer."

"We were always fighting," Squall said, nodding. "But you would keep breaking us up."

"Yes! That's right!" she exclaimed. "Seifer was a kid who always needed to be the center of attention. But Squall would ignore him, and he'd get mad. Then you two would end up fighting. You could have ignored him, but you wouldn't walk away. You wouldn't let yourself."

She paused for a moment.

"I think I was trying to take Sis' place, without even realizing it. Being a big sister to you two. Even after I became an instructor, it was all I really cared about. I thought for a while I was in love . . . but it was just feelings of being a childhood sister lingering. I think it must be the same with Seifer. He's forgotten his childhood too, but whenever he sees Squall, his memories start to boil over and they have to compete with each other."

"That's why he always picks fights with Squall?" Zell asked, and she nodded.

"Probably you too. He loved to pick on you, Zell."

"If we can remember so much now," Squall interjected, "then why didn't we remember beforehand? What made us forget ourselves?"

"Well, that's easy," Irvine replied. "The difference between Balamb and Galbadia Garden. Guardian Forces."

"But, if that's true," Zell said, frowning. "Then all the fears that GFs have a bad effect on the human mind are true?"

"Maybe not," Irvine replied. "but memory loss is one of the side-effects proposed. You guys junction Guardian Forces. They give you their power, but in return, they take a place in your brain, as has been proven."

"And that place interferes with memory retention?" Zell asked. Irvine shrugged.

"No," Squall replied. "It interferes with your ability to recall on your own, but when prompted, like we've been, we can remember."

"Cid would never allow for such a dangerous thing!" Quistis exclaimed. Squall nodded.

"No, he wouldn't, but NORG would," Squall said. "But as long as we have something to prompt our memories, we should be fine."

"At least, you guys," Irvine said. "I don't need it. I've never used a Guardian Force or magic before. But . . . ." He glanced at Selphie. "Trabia Garden doesn't use many GFs, does it?"

"No," Selphie replied. "We focus on using magic by itself. But I never used on . . . Except for once, when I was twelve. I was in a field training class. I drew a GF from a monster and used it for a while. But I can't remember its name."

"So, if they do cause memory loss, should we stop using them?" Quistis asked.

"No," Squall replied, shaking his head. "Nothing at all."

"What do you mean?" Zell asked.

"Exactly that," Squall said. "We can't stop using them now. it's the only thing that allows us to do what we do, and why we stand a chance against Edea. If my past is the price I have to pay, I'll pay it."

"Yeah, well, my past wasn't too happy, especially with Seifer being so mean to me," Zell added. "I don't mind forgetting that. I want the power that they give me, so I can protect Balamb and my friends!"

"Protecting family," Quistis said, nodding slowly. "Speaking of family, do you remember Matron?"

"Our guardian?" Squall asked, and he thought back. Yes, he remembered Matron. The beautiful, kind woman who had run the orphanage. Squall remembered someone else who had worked with her, her husband.

"What was her husband's name?" Squall asked.

"Her husband was-" Irvine began to reply, but then paused. His eyes went wide.

"What?" Selphie asked. Irvine blinked after a long moment.

"Cid Kramer," Irvine whispered after several long seconds. "Cid Kramer was Matron's husband. Matron is Sorceress Edea."

There was a long moment of dead silence. Squall closed his eyes, feeling the numbing cold of the icicle in his chest once more. He pictured her face, the one that had reminded him of something. Matron had always been pale-faced, avoiding makeup, and clad in simple black dresses and long hair, but he recognized an undeniable similarity between the woman who had raised him and the brutal Sorceress he had fought in mortal combat. The woman who had speared him, killed Deling, and launched missiles at a helpless target and threatened to burn towns to the ground was the same woman he had loved as a child.

"But she can't be Matron!" Zell protested.

"She is," Squall replied darkly. He repeated more silently, as if to convince himself. "She is."

"I don't think we can figure out why," Irvine added. "But that's what she is. Matron is now our enemy. We're SeeDs, right? Cid assembled us for the express purpose of fighting Sorceresses. Why is not important. We're just enemies. Its how we ended up in life." He rapped his chest.

"I'm going to fight," he stated. "I'm going to stay true to what I believe in. This war found us. I know you've heard the saying that there are unlimited possibilities in life. That's bull. I came from limited options. There were only a few paths to choose, and sometimes, only one. That's life. I've come this far on my own, through my own choices. I want to hold true to the path that _had_ to be taken." he sighed. "I know who our enemy is, and that we may lose something very precious due to the Guardian Forces, but I don't care. It's not like I drifted to this place in my life because of the tides of fate. I'm here because I choose to be here. And even more importantly, we were there, together. As kids, we didn't have many choices. We couldn't do much on our own. We couldn't help it that we were separated, but now, we've come back together, not because fate brought us together, but because we chose paths that reunited us. Its just like old times, except there's a lot that's different. We're adults now, and we can make our own decisions. And we're confronting a big one now. Do we fight Matron or do we not?

"I say we do," he finished. "Shoot for a common goal. Together."

"I agree," Zell said, clenching his fists. "It's the only choice we've got. We can't run from her."

"But what a bummer," Selphie added.

"But Zell's right," Quistis added. "We can't run."

"Head on," Squall stated. "We will challenge her. It's the only way we can resolve this." He turned to Rinoa, who had sat on her bench through the whole conversation.

"Its up to you," he asked her. "If you want to come with us or not. But we're fighting. It's the only way." She slowly nodded, and looked up into the gray, overcast sky.

"Yo," Zell added. "We should see if we can find the orphanage. We might find something there, maybe a clue as to why Matron changed."

"Agreed," Squall said, nodding. "We'll head out as soon as we finish up here. We'll find out what caused her to become like this, and if we can do something with that, we will." The others nodded, and began to file out of the basketball court, leaving only Squall and Rinoa behind. She rose slowly from her bench, and looked to Squall.

"I guess that's it then," she said. "You guys are fearless."

"Fearless?" Squall echoed. No, far from it. He could see it on everyone's faces, the fear of the coming battle and facing the only woman many of them had considered a mother.

"No, we're not," he added. "I'm like you. I wish we didn't have to fight either . . . ."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ah, done. That was fun to write, though it was also a bit difficult, especially to convey everything without having to resort to the flashbacks and such. Hm. Not much else to say about it all, really. The Dollet colonel will play a big role in the upcoming battle, however.

And yes! The battle is next chapter! Trust me when I say this: You will _love_ it. My editor has already gone ballistic over how much he loves the chapter. Said he read it twice before he even settled down to edit. XD And by the time you read this, the second chapter of the battle will have already gone out to him, and I may be finished with the third and final chapter of the war. Insanity!

Anyway, shout-outs!

-Kimahrigirl: Wow, reading over a four-day sitting? I don't even think I could do that. XD

-NolianStorms: Wow . . . Just, wow. _That's_ the kinda thing I aim for with this fic, for it to be accessible to people who've never played the game before. And that my fic would actually make people want to play the game after reading it . . . Well, let's just say that is what I consider one of the highest compliments to me as a writer.

Heh, my other stories aren't much. Foreshadow will likely never get off the ground until I'm done here. Bittersweet Synthesis would actually be something good to read while waiting for me to update. Its an interesting experiment, and the only reason why I don't update it is because I'm so inspired right now to do Gunblade.

Diablos slipped into a crack and never got seen. XD I dunno what I'll do with him. One of a lot of minor ideas that I never got to implement.

-Wolf of Light: Squall's rage takes on different forms, and he has a tendency to be able to control when he does and doesn't get angry. His limit is very potent in that aspect, as he can almost willingly turn it on or off. Of course, sometimes he does lose it, as when he fought NORG.

-Daniel Wesley Rydell: Hm, interesting suggestions, but I'm probably not going to have them wait or anything. And no Ultima Weapon battle. Sorry.

I actually have a few fics planned after this one. Basically, Gunblade is just the first part to a series of fics I plan to write.

-DBZ Fanfiction Queen: Indeed, a lot of good authors have quit. But they leave some great stuff, too. Like Daz Sheir and his fics , especially "The Omega". Wow . . . Now that story is superb. Possibly one of the best stories on , period. You don't even have to have read Kate Lorraine's stories to understand it.

Cactaur? XD No, probably not. I forgot to include the lovable little needley bastard in that list. I probably won't do him. I might do, after the story ends, a thing I call "side quest" chapters which will cover behind-the-scenes stuff that never got seen in the regular fic . . . But maybe not. You never know.

While, yeah, Trabia doesn't train SeeDs, they have them in my fic. The SeeDs are just graduates of Balamb Garden and then transfer back. I'm thinking that Selphie would probably be one of those SeeDs later on. Maybe the Trabian SeeDs have to commit to Balamb for a while before returning? Hm. Might be interesting to comment on later.

Don't you mean month? XD I do get plenty of sleep, but lately I've been toiling away in front of my PC to type up the Centra battle, which is just insane. You'll love it, trust me.

-Chris Ganale: Ah, you've caught me. Yes, I do much Star Wars referencing in that chapter. Oh, how I love the X-Wing series! The whole damn chapter was inspired by the X-Wing series. The pirating was inspired by Bacta War, and Rinoa's reunion with her father was like a similar scene in Bacta War where Mirax met Booster again. (though certainly changed, of course)

The hydrospanner was obviously one ("No, give me the hydrospanner!" XD) reference, but interestingly enough, Zell is a lot like Kell. Martial artist, good with machinery, blonde, etc. He can even fly! And yep, that scene where Seifer talks with Edea was inspired by Vader and the Emperor. And anyone who's read Solo Command will see the parallels between Cid and the Duke's meeting and the one between Face and Admiral Rogriss.

Doubtlessly I've put off all the non-Star wars fans out there by this strange babble about crap you've never heard of. XD

-Kaiser-kun: I do sleep. Occasionally. When the fancy hits me.

And never fear. Garden will still be important after the war. But they won't be as important, because after the battle, Garden's importance in the storyline does decrease, and instead the story shifts to more of a focus on Squall's love story and away from the war, and brings Ultimecia into the plotline. So, Garden may be left by the wayside after all, because its part in the story is giving way even more so to the individual characters.

-Rusty Knights Productions: Indeed. I liked doing the 'behind the scenes' stuff too. After all, much of that is "the art of war." XD Thus, my chapter title.

-Prodigy: Darn commanding officers. Don't they know fanfiction will save the world one day? XD

And don't give up. You're actually better at than I am, but I have to admit, _you_ and Nique were the ones to get me started on this bout of insanity.

-Dragoon Swordsman: Yeah! Someone caught the 'Blue Bomber' reference! Actually, I'm not a Megaman fan at all, but the name popped in my head and kind of stuck. I didn't even realize it was Megaman until much later. (when my editor pointed it out to me)

Seifer may be allowed back in, maybe not. I know he's reconciled with his past, and I may do a bit where he realizes he screwed up pretty badly later on.

-Akira Stridder: I love putting in depth, actually. Part of the reason I love writing this.

-Xephon: Wow. You're quite the speed reader. XD And happy Halloween to you, too!

-Aaron: Heh, true. Don't worry, I've come too far with this to let it end abruptly!

Anyway, peace out, people! At least until next week, then peace will be long forgotten!


	41. Raise Thy Sword

_Chapter 36: Raise Thy Sword_

Centra could best be described as an empty, almost sterile place. No one lived here, or at least, not enough people to bother considering. It was ironic that, until just over eighty years ago, this place had been the centerpiece of civilization for the entire world, with gleaming cities, advanced technology, and an incredibly powerful military might that had colonized over half the known world.

Now, however, there were no signs life human life had existed there, it all being wiped away by a disaster known as the Lunar Cry. Overnight the cities had collapsed and the people had been annihilated, only scattered survivors making their way in great hovering shelters to where Dollet now stood and the plains of the distant land of Esthar, both mere colonies before the disaster. Now, only lingering ghosts, broken ruins, and barren, trackless wastelands and thick pine forests existed within the empty continent. Aside from a few human settlements here and there, only wild animals and monsters roamed the vast, brown wastes.

It seemed as if a specter of the past had returned to Centra that day as a mighty, sleek white craft floated across the sea, propelled by the strange anti-gravity technology of the Centran Empire. It floated along the broken, hilly terrain and across the fjords and straits and through the narrow passages of the land. A quintet of sleek, blue-painted ships darted ahead of it, providing a picket defense against any sea borne threats, and a trio of the same craft followed, acting as rear guard.

"You think we'll find it, sir?" Nida asked Squall, who stood on the bridge overlooking Garden. Squall shrugged as they exited another strait and began to curve around the western edge of the continent.

"The information we had in Dollet pointed to the orphanage being on the Cape of Good Hope," Squall replied. He glanced at the holographic map, showing the once-solid continent now shattered into many pieces around a massive crater large enough to count as an ocean all its own. The Lunar Cry must have been beyond reckoning to cause that much damage. Squall sighed and turned away, glancing at another holographic display showing a schematic of Garden.

Things had been shifted around in the wake of the arrival at Trabia Garden. One of the first things that were decided was that Trabia had many noncombatant personnel and some wounded who could not help with the recovery effort, especially with the administration knocked out. Some discussion later, a decision had been reached: Cid would take over at Trabia Garden and direct the repairs and recovery effort there. A number of SeeD mechanics and some Dollet army specialists, as well as other noncombatant support personnel would join the Trabians who could help repair the damages. Meanwhile, all the junior cadets and combat-capable SeeDs and cadets at Trabia boarded Garden. Squall had made use of the nearest town's HD cable to contact Dollet and see if the Duke could offer some additional aid, which he promised to send. After that was taken care of, and Cid had left Garden with his group to help direct the repair efforts, Squall had turned the Garden around and sailed south, back to Dollet. Two days in port there had restored the supplies they had left at Trabia and given the soldiers and SeeDs on board some shore liberty. In the meantime, Squall had left the remaining wounded, noncombatants, and junior cadets there, in the relative safety of Duke Haroldington's nation. With the noncombatants removed, more room was freed up within Garden, which was quickly filled when the Duke had attached two more companies to the Dollet troops already on board. Now, the rough total of combat-capable soldiers was well over four thousand troops; two thousand and four hundred Dollet soldiers, over a hundred Trabian cadets, another thousand Balamb and Galbadian cadets, and eight hundred SeeDs - a number of SeeDs that no one had ever seen assembled in one place, ever.

Aside from those preparations, Selphie had taken further steps to protect the Quad with her devilish war machine, loading additional missile launchers to it and, at Squall's suggestion, a pair of rocket thrusters to the front. Some pushing had aligned it with the entrance to the Quad, and with a push of a button, she could have the entire Quad sealed off instantly with a mass of metal that simply would not be destroyed by anything regular Galbadian soldiers could bring to bear.

Squall had also ordered the Salamanders to be used as escorts for their trip through Centra, in search of the orphanage. They would scout out the terrain and sea-lanes ahead of them and spot any Galbadian ships before they came into sight of Garden, and Garden would respond appropriately. They had already damaged one Galbadian destroyer prowling the narrow passes of the Centran waters. Squall had a secondary purpose in mind for the Salamanders as well: to find the White SeeD ship. If they could locate Ellone they could do something to help assure her safety.

However, there was a lurking suspicion in Squall's mind that they were being watched. Three times, the picket Salamanders had reported spotting distant ships that did not fit the design of the Galbadian cruisers and destroyers, seeming to shadow their steps. The craft, when the pickets had attempted to approach, had seemed to vanish into the waters. Squall did not believe the rumors of ghost ships plying these seas, but instead suspected that the disappearing craft were associated with Esthar and their light-bending technology. But what Esthar wanted in this region Squall didn't know. Twice now, they had come across wrecks of damaged Galbadian ships run aground, their sides seeming to have been blasted by energy weapons and some form of magnetic accelerator cannon, technology only Esthar employed. Something was going on, but what, Squall didn't know. His anxiousness about finding Edea's orphanage and the possibility of a major battle brewing were not helping him.

So it was that, ten days after Trabia and three days of wandering around Centra's oceans, that Squall was standing on the bridge when they rounded a high mountain on the western end of Centra. Then far ahead, at the very tip of the cape they were sailing along, known as the Cape of Good Hope, Squall could faintly see white. He quickly used the visual scanners of Garden to zoom in on this whiteness a few dozen miles away, and saw a partially collapsed structure made of white marble stone, and at the very southern end of the cape, an old lighthouse. Squall knew the lighthouse, the appearance of it sparking hundreds of memories.

"We're here," he announced, looking up at Nida Excitement marked Squall's features as he spoke, and nodded toward the shore. "Bring us onto land and move in." Nida nodded and began to steer the Garden in that direction, turning east to get onto land. As the Garden rotated, the pilot turned his head and surveyed the landscape, and suddenly stood very, very still.

"Commander," he said, his voice hoarse. "Nine O'clock." Squall turned to his left, looking to the Garden's left as well, and suddenly felt his heart leap into his throat.

No more than twenty miles away floated Galbadia Garden, just across a wide valley and on the other side of a massive forest.

"Intercom," squall hissed. "No, wait. How long would it take us, at flank speed, to reach them?"

"Twenty minutes," Nida answered. "Ten if they do the same."

"Hold position here," he replied, taking up a pair of binoculars. He zoomed in, and noted grimly that the open regions of the other Garden were swarming with what looked like thousands of blue, red, and green-clad uniforms, as well as robotic and cyborg war machines and armored vehicles. The topside deck was laden with hundreds of motorcycles fitted with rockets on their sides and launching catapults. They seemed to be moving slowly at first, but within moments he saw the soldiers explode into activity.

"Damn, they've spotted us," Squall said. He nodded again. "Okay, intercom." Nida flicked it on, his hands visibly shaking with anxiety.

"Attention, all Garden and Dollet personnel," Squall stated. He took a slow breath, probably audible over the comm. "We are going to red alert. We've come into contact with Galbadia Garden. It's safe to say that this is not going to be a repeat of our last encounter. We will move to engage in at least twenty minutes. All personnel to your assigned positions. Phalanx and MG units report to the Quad and front gate. 1st and 2nd Class Sabers report to the garage. MG Nova unit, report to the second floor, West Balcony. Consult with Squad Leaders and Captains for your specific orders and areas of responsibility. 125th, get all weapons and equipment ready. The second floor is yours. Quistis Trepe, Xu, Irvine Kinneas, Zell Dincht, and Selphie Tilmitt, and Colonel Randolph, I need to see you all on the bridge right now." Squall switched off the intercom, and sighed.

"Nida, hold us here," he stated, and the SeeD nodded before Squall turned and descended on the platform's elevator. He came down to the Headmaster's former office and waited. Within a matter of moments the Colonel, Irvine, Selphie, Quistis and Xu had reported in. Zell was nowhere to be seen. Not wasting time with waiting for him, Squall stepped into the briefing. He explained the basics.

"Face to face confrontation," Randolph said with a nod. "They've probably loaded enough troops onto that Garden to overrun any one Garden's forces. But we've got over four battalions' worth of troops in here. They'll be surprised with what they get."

"Agreed," Squall replied. "Alright, this is the plan. Selphie." She nodded. "You and Zell will take command of the Quad. Hold it at all costs. If you have to, pull the Blue Bomber back and seal it off, but do not let them into Garden."

"Aye aye!" she replied with a salute.

"Irvine, you will take command of MG Nova unit," Squall continued, referring to the sniper and heavy munitions unit he had formed. "Hit that Garden with everything you've got."

"Right," Irvine replied.

"Quistis, Xu, you two will take command of the Sabers in the garage. Get into their Garden and cause as much ruckus as you can. Whatever you can do will relieve the pressure on the defensive forces."

"Understood," Quistis replied.

"Colonel, you and your battalion have the second floor, and also will secure the cafeteria, library, and dorms complex. You'll also be in charge of keeping the inside of Garden clear of any enemies that break through."

"I've already got companies moving into those areas and securing them, Commander," the Colonel replied. "But what about you?"

"I'll take command of the front gate defense," Squall replied. "And Selphie, find Zell." She nodded.

"What about Rinoa?" Quistis asked. Squall winced. With her junctions, she could hold her own in a stand-up battle. But still, she was a civilian . . . .

"Selphie, you and Zell take care of her," Squall said after a moment. "Okay, that's it. Move out!" The others nodded, saluted, and rushed out of the room. Squall turned around and boarded the elevator again, rising back up to the bridge.

"Squall, they've begun to move," Nida called, and Squall nodded as he saw the distant garden begin to advance. He glanced to the readouts and noticed that almost all of the units had reported in and was ready. He'd give his commanders a few minutes to get into position.

"Start a countdown," Squall ordered, drawing his gunblade. "At five minutes, orders or not, accelerate at fifty percent velocity. Try to keep the West Balcony and the garage facing them. We meet them head on."

"Aye aye, Commander," Nida replied as Squall returned to the elevator and began to descend. Soon enough, he was out in the Garden itself, walking among rushing soldiers, cadets, and SeeDs. Arctic blue, black, red, yellow, navy blue, orange, and olive green rushed about, readying weapons and receiving last minute orders. Some SeeDs and cadets began to salute, but a stern shake of the head from Squall reminded them that he did not want them to be saluting when they could be preparing to fight, kill, and die.

His first order of business was to return to his room and pick up all of his gear. He quickly dropped in, checking his gunblade, and then grabbing all the additional concussive force shells he could fit into his leg bandoleers. He made equipped both knives into their usual sheaths on his left wrist and right belt, and loaded up on the potions he would need. Once he was suitably equipped, squall left, returning to the central structure of Garden.

He surveyed the chaos around him, nodding as he saw his fellow warriors ready themselves. A SeeD helped a Dollet trooper strap down his helmet, while the soldier checked the SeeD's rifle. One Balamb SeeD ferried supplies to a group of Galbadia Garden cadets. A Trabian girl, just a cadet, exchanged a kiss with a Galbadian SeeD before they shouldered weapons and split up. Squall wondered if they would see each other again after this battle.

"Listen up!" came a shout from the direction of the front gate. Squall looked down to see Zell standing tall atop the Garden directory. He planted his hands on his hips. "Hey! _LISTEN UP!_" he shouted, louder and more forcefully this time, and everyone stopped what they were doing for a moment, or at least looked up and paid attention.

"People, this is it!" he declared with a thunderous shout. "This is our chance to shine! I don't care what Garden you came from, or what country you're fighting for! We're all here because that Garden we're about to fight is full of people who will do whatever it takes to smash us and our futures into dust. We're fighting for the futures of our peoples, our homes, and our families. This is what its all been leading up to! Every bullet, every slice, every punch, every shout and scream and drop of blood has led us to this battle. We're gonna walk in there, face the Galbadians and the Sorceress commanding them, and look them in the eye right before we say 'Sit down and shut up, bitch!' You got me?" There was a thunderous roar of agreement from the entire crowd of soldiers and SeeDs, and Squall knew that similar shouts could be heard in the Quad and the upper floors.

"Okay! Let's kick some ass! We're here to stop this Sorceress from getting whatever the hell it is she wants out here. I don't care if it's a giant sandbox or the President of Esthar himself, but we ain't letting her have it. Here! Now! _We end this!_" The roar was redoubled in its intensity, and went on for many long seconds as fists and weapons were raised in approval. As the noise began to die down, squall stepped forward.

"Zell sums up what I'm thinking," Squall shouted. "You heard the man, move out!" The SeeDs, cadets, and soldiers exploded into motion. Zell spun around, grinning, and dropped down to the deck behind the directory.

"Nice speech," Squall commented. "Where were you?"

"Takin' a nap," he replied easily, scratching the back of his head. "Your announcement woke me up. I'm heading for the Quad, Selphie already told me. We'll keep those bastards back. Oh, yeah, by the way, quick question."

"What?' Squall asked.

"Can I uhh, borrow your ring for a bit?" he asked, nodding to Squall's ring. He glanced down to the silver ring he wore underneath his black gloves, and took it off, revealing the shining device on his left ring finger. Engraved on the side was the same crouching, winged lion that was on his gunblade.

He glanced back up at Zell, and then to the ring. What the hell did Zell want with that thing, anyway? Squall liked his ring, but he wasn't overprotective of it or anything. After a moment of hesitation, he shrugged and slid it off his finger.

"Don't lose it," he warned.

"Hey, no prob!" Zell replied, pocketing the ring. "Don't worry. Its nice and safe. I won't lose it or anything. Now, time to kick some ass!

"And I'm with you!" Rinoa added from behind them. They turned to see her approach knives belted to her side and a modified version of her pinwheel crossbow. This one was designed along the lines of a semi-automatic crossbow, firing bolts instead of large, boomerang-style blades. The power behind the weapon was not to be underestimated; the draw weight on it was enough to send the bolts through solid steel. She smiled as Squall looked her over.

"I can fight," she said, setting her features. "As long as I can fight for something I can believe in, I can do it."

"If you think you're up to it," Squall answered, and she nodded. He turned to Zell. "Take care of her."

"Don't worry, man," Zell replied, grinning. "Come on, Rinoa, we've got the Quad." She nodded and began to follow the brawler, but spared one last look back at Squall, their eyes meeting again. Squall felt the sudden urge to ask her to stay behind, to keep her nearby where he could look after her, but before he could say so, she had already turned away and disappeared into the sea of SeeDs.

Squall sighed, and then turned around, walking back toward the front entrance. He held his gunblade tightly, the SeeDs and cadets giving him room and parting as he passed. He walked among the faces, of both young cadets barely old enough to go through the weapons program, to hardened veterans who had seen men die and blood fly. He stood among them, one of their number, but he meant more than just the worth of one singular fighter. He was among the best, but even more importantly, he was their leader, their greatest and the one they all rallied behind.

Squall reached the front of the line, and looked out the front entrance. Looming ahead, less than thirty seconds away, was the massive, bloody red mountain of Galbadia Garden as it closed in. Squall slowly raised his weapon, holding it high for all to view. He then stepped forward, beyond their line, and turned slowly to face his men. Behind him was framed the Galbadia Garden as it closed in. All along the front, hatches opened, and within, hundreds of blue-clad soldiers, many wielding shields, stood behind dozens of huge blue-painted war machines, both the hovering robotic units and the large, blue cyborgs.

"We hold here!" he shouted, and the force arrayed behind him, over five hundred SeeDs and cadets, nodded grimly. Together, they raised their weapons, and stood ready. Two SeeDs stepped forward, standing beside Squall, and together, they closed their eyes.

--------------------

Zell and Rinoa stood among the assembled force of cadets and SeeDs in the Quad, when he suddenly stopped. He turned to Rinoa, fishing into his pocket.

"Oh, hey, I almost forgot! I got it from him!" He produced the ring that Squall had let him borrow, and she smiled. She took it, looking down at the intricate craftsmanship, and then back to Zell.

'Thank you," she said, and he nodded. Then she frowned.

"What's wrong?" Zell asked immediately.

"Its too big," she replied. "It'll never fit on my hand."

"Well, put it on your necklace," Zell replied. "I'll synthesize one up for you after the battle is over." She nodded, and undid the clasp on her necklace, before putting the ring on it and reattaching it. She took one final look at the ring around her neck, when the first explosions sounded from the front gate.

"Look alive!" Zell shouted.

--------------------

Atop Galbadia Garden, standing on a pedestal he had built just for the occasion, stood Seifer Almasy. Around him, he could hear the thrumming of hundreds of engines, the heavy, armored military motorcycles of his invasion force ready as they prepared for the assault. Below, in the hangars along the side of the Garden, hundreds more waited in hoverfoils, alongside hovering robots. And thousands waited within the hangars and open grounds, ready to charge out the front entrance and every other exit and smash headlong into Balamb Garden. Soldiers clashed their swords together, cocked their rifles, and tightened their helmets as they readied eagerly for battle.

Eight thousand. He had eight thousand regular men, not to mention five hundred robotic soldiers and an entire company of paratroopers. Even if Garden had mustered up support from other Gardens, that gave them perhaps fifteen hundred men. Fifteen hundred soldiers, most of them children, against eight thousand of the best of Galbadia.

"Don't die in the first charge, Squall," Seifer hissed, smiling, as Balamb closed in. "We'll end this here and now, today. Who will be the better man?" He paused, and then looked back to his men. They were almost in position. Slowly, dramatically, he drew his gunblade, holding it high into the air. Then, when the two Gardens were close enough that he could see the enemy troops in the upper floors - interesting new uniforms, olive green, he saw - he tightened his fingers.

Then, he cut down with the gunblade.

The signal was clear, and at that moment, the entirety of the Galbadian force leaped to the attack. The gauntlet had been dropped, and the war had begun.

The engines behind him transformed their revving growls to powerful roars of fury, and then the catapults shot forward, the rockets igniting. Seifer was caught up in the thruster wash of hundreds of vehicles launching instantly, leaping from his Garden to the enemy. Below, robots and hoverfoils launched, and the troops waiting inside charged, roaring cries to Galbadia and Edea.

"So it begins," Seifer whispered, smiling.

--------------------

"Stand by!" Squall shouted as he heard the charge begin. "Prepare defenses!" Squall heard and felt magic play across the front ranks of his forces, defensive spells put in place. He and his fellow forward SeeDs didn't need the defenses as they concentrated, slowly bringing their greatest powers to bear.

Ahead, as the two Gardens neared, grappling lines shot out and ramps were extended, slamming down on the front of the Garden and its entrance, the hundred feet or so of decking extending from the main entrance where Squall's force waited. Galbadian soldiers rushed down, and huge, blue-skinned and hulled cyborgs crashed down around them, rushing to the front. More soldiers landed, brandishing shields and swords, and more men, regular infantry, red-clad officers, and riflemen, landed behind them. The cyborgs quickly formed up and charged, their ranks a dozen wide and four deep. Behind them, the shield carriers charged, and the regular infantry behind them. They were a storm of blue and red, roaring and charging, hundreds and hundreds of men and machines aiming for the entrance Squall guarded, his force nestled beneath the archway.

"Finish!" Squall shouted as the cyborg and riflemen opened up during their charge, bullets and magic leaping toward the SeeD lines. They bounced harmlessly off the defensive shields across the front ranks, and off multicolored shields that formed before the trio of SeeDs. The SeeDs, at Squall's order, opened their eyes, and reality shifted.

Rain poured down upon the battlefield, and then began to freeze in midair, before suddenly evaporating. A bolt of lightning struck in the center of the entrance, followed by burning air and a massive icicle on opposite sides of Squall. Lightning, fire, and ice battled for dominance as a demon, a frozen lady of winter, and a bird of thunder emerged. The cyborgs rushed on, heedless, but the Galbadians behind seemed to hesitate, a few of them actually panicking.

Then, streams of lighting, a river of ice, and a gout of flame tore into the charging cyborgs, ripping and rending and burning them, throwing them about, freezing them where they stood. Several exploded in a blast of detonating munitions and flying shrapnel and meat, while others simply collapsed or went haywire, firing wildly. Within moments, the entire cyborg force leading the charge had simply collapsed, only one still standing, and with dozens more Galbadians behind them dead from the wash of destruction and dying machines.

"Fire!" Squall then shouted, and SeeD rifleman opened up, firing into the Galbadian forces. Those with shields hid behind them, but while their large, metal defensive devices guarded them from bullets, the remainder of the SeeD and cadet force added streams of magic, explosive fire, bolts of lightning, frigid icicles, and potent winds that hammered the soldiers as they ducked and milled about in confusion. Dozens fell as the magic buckled their shields and rent the men beyond, blasting and hurling them with their mighty fury.

But, the Galbadians did not retreat. The first Guardian Force summons had thrown them into disarray, but while the magic had inflicted casualties and would have devastated and routed a less disciplined force, these were elite soldiers, well trained, patriotic, and fearless. As soon as the blasts of magic had ended, they rushed on, infuriated by the deaths of so many comrades. They came on, heedless of their enemies or the fact that many no longer had shields defending them from enemy bullets. The SeeD riflemen poured fire into their enemies, dropping many more, but their weapons ran low on ammunition and they had to pause to reload.

"Fire two!" Squall ordered, raising his gunblade, and launching a potent bolt of lightning from his left hand. SeeDs and cadets concentrated and launched another barrage. Those soldiers not felled already were lifted from their feet and hurled away, blasted back into their comrades or over the edge of the platform upon which they stood. But while many more died, there were many times that number charging, shouting in fury. They were now close, very close, and the riflemen took up their shots again, ripping into the Galbadian ranks. Squall ordered a third barrage, and the leading edge of the Galbadian army was torn asunder, men flung to the ground and tossed away like rag dolls by frigid, burning, and shocking blasts of raw energy. And then, they were too close.

"Charge!" Squall roared, his voice the shout of the great creature that was his namesake, the thunder of the storm that was his name. He raised his gunblade high into the air, and rushed forward, meeting the furious charge with five hundred SeeDs and SeeD cadets behind him.

The Galbadian wave of blue and red broke upon the charging SeeDs like water upon an ocean cliff, dozens of men hurled back into the air as the stalwart SeeDs impacted their enemies. SeeD riflemen fell back, raising their weapons and seeking targets while the remainder of the force bore in, steel clashing against steel, blades and blunt weapons meeting, cries of victory, pain and death sounding almost instantly. Blood and a couple of heads flew above the battlefield as Squall struck first and hard, cleaving through two opponents with a deft low cut followed by an arcing upwards slash. He bulled into the battle, cleaving with ruthless abandon. He had suddenly transformed, his training meeting pure brutal instinct, melding and making him into a lethal warrior.

An opponent came in with an arcing horizontal attack to his left. Without thinking, Squall went low, ducking beneath the sword and slicing across horizontally with the Revolver. He cut across the man's stomach, and the soldier fell away with a cry of agony. Two more came at him from ahead and to his right. A flashing backhand of Squall's gunblade knocked the rightmost soldier's sword away while his left hand shot up in a brilliant flat-palmed deflection that slapped the flat of the left soldier's sword and parried it. The gunblade snapped across again, into the deflected sword's space and tore into the left soldier. Squall's fist crossed over his gunblade arm and punched the right soldier in the jaw. Another backhand took the stunned man in the chest. The entire routine had taken less than two seconds.

More enemy soldiers rushed in, trying to overwhelm Squall as SeeDs yelled and fought around him. Roaring a challenge to his enemies, Squall met a half-dozen opponents at the same time, swinging his gunblade with sheer ferocity that blasted a blade clear out of one enemy's hand and deflected his other opponents' weapons. The gunblade dove and stabbed, accompanied by an explosion as Squall pulled the trigger, and two of his foes fell, crimson gushing from their torsos. Squall stepped forward, smashing one man with his shoulder, and ducking low, twisting his blade around to impale another Galbadian, and pulled the trigger, blasting the man in half. He was pulling away immediately, spinning around and slicing deep into another soldier's side, and as the man loosed a death cry, Squall kick the body into another mass of his enemies. In the brief moment of respite, he channeled up a powerful bolt of lightning and sent it into the thickest concentration of the enemy, blasting and hurling them away.

There were distant explosions to the left and above, and Squall knew that Galbadian hoverfoils and flying robots had been released upon the upper floors, but he didn't have time to pay attention to them. He was leading only one part of a larger battle. But his mission was critical; if the enemy took the front gate, it was over. He couldn't afford to lose now!

Squall loosed another rallying cry as the SeeDs pushed forward, into the seemingly never-ending tide of blue-clad enemies, and rushed forward, a squad of SeeDs and cadets rushing behind him as he tore into his enemies. There was a sudden impact as the two Gardens clashed together, almost throwing the entirety of the battling armies to their feet, but Squall and many SeeDs kept their footing while many of the Galbadians didn't, and pushed on, slashing, striking, and stabbing in the opening they were presented.

--------------------

"Heads up, people, this is it!" Zell shouted as he heard the thunderous sound of the charge at the front gate and the subsequent explosions. Zell faced Rinoa and a huge force of SeeDs and cadets, nearly a thousand fighters. They would need that many to hold the Quad from the coming Galbadian assault. More explosions could be heard from the front entrance, and then Zell thought he heard engines. He looked around, searching for the enemy, when a cadet shouted and pointed up. Zell managed to look up in time to see what had to be dozens - no, hundreds - of armored military motorcycles driving along the roof of the infirmary, having landed there and driving over by the launching rockets. It was a daring and insane maneuver, and one that put a substantial force of enemy soldiers right on top of them. And even worse, Galbadia Garden had neared the front end of the Quad, and hangar doors flew open along its side. Ramps and grappling wires extended and touched down, and hundreds of Galbadians rushed out, alongside robotic units.

The motorcycles, however, were the first to engage, smashing down into the Quad right in the middle of the SeeD force, their riders drawing longswords and attacking immediately. There was momentary anarchy as they rushed into the SeeD force like high-tech cavalry, running down several of Zell's force before the brawler roared and rushed forward. He leaped ahead into a double kick that crumpled one rider's armor and then smashed in his helmet, kicking him off his bike and sending the vehicle skidding into another soldier's path. He spilled across the Quad.

Another rider was immolated as Rinoa unleashed a blast of fiery magic, detonating the fuel tank on the motorcycle and destroying two other riders and their vehicles. All around her, SeeDs and cadets took their counterattack to heart and met their enemies head on. Over two hundred blasts of magic ripped out, tearing into the Galbadian force as Zell led the counter-charge. He clotheslined an enemy soldier, not caring when he sword tore across the brawler's chest and left only a shallow wound. Zell spun around and grabbed the motorcycle by its rear wheel and whipped around again, lifting the vehicle into the air and smashing it down on another biker. The soldier's mouth dropped in horror as Zell used the massive, impromptu club to crush both man and machine. Zell hurled the vehicle into the motorcycle troopers as they continued to drop from the roof of the infirmary, taking another pair out, and launched a barrage of magic as he charged. SeeDs followed in his wake, their magic blasting the motorcycle troopers and causing many to swerve away at the ferocity of the counterattack. Zell impacted in the middle of the ferocious charge like a living missile, leaping into the air with a spreading snap-kick that threw two enemies from their vehicles. He landed in a roll and came up launching another blast of magic, taking an enemy biker, and then caught a passing soldier's sword as he swung it. A quick twist took the man off his bike and to the pavement, and Zell's foot slammed his helmet, crushing it.

Still, Zell's attack was only part of the battle, as the remainder of the SeeD and cadet force was thrown into disarray as hundreds other Galbadians drove about the battlefield. Two Trabian cadets were smashed under a half-dozen motorcycles, while a nearby Galbadian SeeD, who had just dropped an enemy with his rifle, was slashed across his back fatally by a passing Galbadian. The SeeD fell forward, but then managed to leap into the path of another motorcycle, knocking it and its rider over, both of them going down in a painful, high-speed heap. There was an explosion somewhere, throwing up white dust from the destroyed Quad pavement, and a dozen people were sent flying, SeeD and Galbadian alike. Swords met swords, magic sizzled, and bullets flew all about.

Rinoa was lost in the midst of the confusion, bikes zipping past her and SeeDs and soldiers and cadets shouting, fighting, and dying around her in a sandstorm of chaos and noise. She picked out a Galbadian about to run down a wounded Balamb cadet, and snapped up her new crossbow, firing it. The bolt lodged into the enemy soldier's throat and threw him from his bike. Another bike drove at her, the rider swinging his sword at her head. She threw herself back, falling to her rear as the bike passed, and then the driver whipped around, trying to run her down. She rolled to the side a she passed, feeling the whoosh of the passing sword near her head, and turned back to face the enemy soldier. He came about a third time, but by that moment she was back on her feet, focusing her magical energies. A shard of ice formed above her and smashed into the soldier as he accelerated, exploding and impaling him with hundreds of icicles. The man was hurled to the pavement.

"Get clear!" came a shout, from Zell as he rushed back into the fray, smashing another motorcycle trooper across his face. He turned to Rinoa, waving a hand frantically. "Move out of the way!" Her eyes widened and she turned, along with the entirety of the SeeD and cadet force, many of them falling back, away from the center of the Quad, but still continuing to fight. Zell and Rinoa retreated, the brawler kicking the motorcycle out from under another biker as he came in, while Rinoa sent another crossbow bolt into a circling soldier. She then readied her magic, preparing to unleash another fiery blast. She extended her hand, and the energy erupted from her fingertips, tearing into a pair of her enemies, when the ground before her simply exploded.

Missiles, dozens of them, blasted into the center of the Quad, where the Galbadian bikers were regrouping as the SeeD force retreated. Hundreds of Galbadians were caught in the blast as the SeeDs, from their safe retreating positions, launched more magic and fired their rifles into the hellish firestorm. Missiles, more and more, continued to hit the ground before the invaders, exploding and tearing apart the concentrated enemy force.

Then, there was silence as the last explosion ended, and of the several hundred Galbadians that had been congregating in the center of the Quad, less than twenty managed to drive away, joining the other surviving motorcycle soldiers at where the Galbadian infantry and robotic forces had finally assembled and were beginning their charge. All told, less than a hundred motorcycle troopers were able to flee the battle to their advancing reinforcements.

In the midst of the momentary lull in the battle, Zell raised his fists and cheered, as did the other SeeDs and cadets, and began to reform into a defensive line to meet the enemy advance. Rinoa joined the cheer, looking back behind the SeeD lines to the huge blue battle tank sitting before the entrance to the Quad, and the tiny, deceptively innocent SeeD sitting inside.

She hadn't heard it, but Rinoa was certain that, as she had fired the missiles from the Blue Bomber, Selphie had screamed "Whoo-hoo!"

The Galbadian charge began anew, hundreds more soldiers rushing on foot while the motorcycle troopers took the flanks, and the line centered by many Galbadian robots and cyborgs.

"C'mon!" Zell roared in defiance. "I don't care how many of you there are! All of ya'll are going down!"

-------------------------

Irvine zoomed in slightly, spotting the enemy officer as he directed a platoon of Galbadian soldiers to do something or other. The man was clad in the red of a superior officer, and Irvine thought he spotted a captain's insignia on his shoulder. A nice target. His finger brushed the trigger, a deafening crack filled the air around the balcony, and the captain was suddenly dead, and his men dove for cover. Irvine took his eyes away from the scope, scanning the enemy Garden for anymore targets of opportunity. Two soldiers pushing what looked like missiles loaded on a cart could be seen briefly, only for a couple seconds, but that was all the time Irvine needed to put a bullet into one man's throat and send the other into hiding, his ammunition forgotten.

Irvine paused to reload his PSG-1, and then ducked as a spray of bullets struck near his position. He cursed, snatching up his Valiant, and peeked out to see another group of those damned flying blue robots approaching the West Balcony. Normally, he would have put a silencer on his rifle, but he hadn't had time to do so before the battle had been joined.

"I got 'em!" he shouted as an RPG whooshed past him, exploding in the middle of one of Galbadia Garden's open areas and destroying a pair of armored transports, taking some enemy soldiers with it. Irvine stood quickly, sighting the trio of flying machines and fired. His rifle kicked and a dense, heavy slug blasted onto one dead center, ripping it in half and blowing the arm off a second. Irvine fired again, another armor piercing round blasting the other robot. A third shot took out the last, damaged one, and then he had to duck again as more bullets struck the balcony. Return fire erupted from two SeeDs and a quartet of Dollet soldiers with missile launchers further along the Garden wall, their shots impacting and exploding amidst a mixed group of robots and hoverfoils. The enemy scattered, and Irvine speared another robot with a fourth AP shot.

"Persistent, aren't they?" a SeeD commented as he reloaded his missile launcher, and Irvine nodded, reloading the Valiant with AP ammunition.

"We're not doing much damage," Irvine added. "I knew Galbadia Garden was well-constructed, but not this well."

Indeed, their initial barrage, dozens of missiles being launched simultaneously as the thirty members of MG Nova opened up, had barely scratched the outside of the Garden. Enemy return fire had been equally ineffective; the Gardens were tough enough to take light artillery and simply smile. Nova had been relegated to doing damage to whatever equipment the enemy was leaving in the open and trying to pick off airborne units that tried to get into Garden from the upper levels, but the presence of over a thousand Dollet troops, all members of the elite 125th, had helped to ward the enemy away. But that seemed to be only temporary, and Irvine could see many troops assembling on the upper floors of Galbadia Garden, doubtless preparing for a boarding action on the second floor as well.

Still, what he could see was what he could shoot, and after he reloaded his sniper rifle, Irvine made those soldiers on the upper floors pay for standing out in the open. By the time he had emptied his rifle's twelve-round magazine, eleven enemies were dead and another was out of the fight with his left arm blown off. Return fire was immediate and heavy from the upper floors, and Irvine took cover again.

"I think you made 'em angry!" another SeeD commented, popping up for a quick shot.

"Nah," Irvine replied. "Ugly as they are, they're already pissed off."

The Gardens smashed into each other suddenly, and Irvine saw the parking garage below contact one of the open areas of the Galbadia Garden. However, this open area was suddenly full of enemies, as hundreds of enemy soldiers rushed toward the doors and the new route into Balamb Garden.

"Damn, they're gonna be in a perfect spot to hit Quistis and Xu when they come out!" Irvine yelled. He started to rise, loading grenade rounds into his rifle and opening his mouth to call for scattering fire on the enemy below when missiles blasted into the West Balcony, hurling SeeDs into the air and throwing one Galbadia Garden cadet off the ledge. Irvine was smashed to the floor by the assault, but rose up again in an instant, brandishing his rifle as Galbadia Garden's upper levels impacted with Balamb Garden's. Even as the Novas were standing back up – those that could – the Garden rolled around Balamb, and one of the upper-level classroom windows neared the West Balcony. Galbadian soldiers, crowded behind the open window, began to leap to the attack, landing on the balcony and brandishing weapons.

"Damn!" Irvine cursed again as he fired a grenade shell from his rifle. The round struck one of the soldiers, hurling him back into the room and detonating, scattering the Galbadians within. Irvine fired a second grenade, emptying the rifle, and slung the Valiant over his shoulder, at the same moment reaching into his coat and drawing his revolvers. He fired quickly, .357 slugs clearing the balcony of the nearest enemies while the Novas snatched up melee weapons and dove into close-quarters battle with the enemy. The revolvers ran dry all too quickly, but Irvine had prepared for this eventuality. A smooth motion put the revolvers back in their holsters, and he pulled back his coat. Beneath his trench coat Irvine had donned the webbing and holsters he'd used back in the prison, and had armed himself even more thoroughly than before. Twin H&K MP5Ks came off his hips, and he leveled them at the thickest concentration of his enemies.

"Lets' boogie!" he shouted, opening fire.

---------------

Quistis and Xu realized they were in trouble when they saw sparks begin to fly along the doors of the garage, seconds before they were to open the doors and begin their own charge.

"Form up!" Quistis ordered immediately. "Defensive line!" The SeeDs and cadets of the Saber units had barely gotten into position when the doors exploded inward, and a tidal wave of Galbadians rushed in. The enemy was caught off-guard, however, as they had never expected a force of nearly five hundred SeeDs and cadets to be on the other side of a sealed door, waiting to attack them.

Just like with the front gate, magic ripped out into the charging Galbadians, turning their charge into a surprised confusion of soldiers, ripe for a quick counter attack, which Quistis and Xu did not hesitate to unleash. They rushed forward, and the Sabers followed, smashing into the off-guard Galbadians and plowing under the first damaged, shocked ranks. However, the enemy did not remain confused for long and regrouped, checking the SeeD and cadet advance with an equally furious rush. At the parking garage, where the two Gardens met, the SeeDs and Galbadians faced off again on a fourth front.

Quistis and Xu stood together in the middle of the chaotic, sudden battle, whip, sai, and magic working in conjunction as SeeDs and cadets battled their blue-garbed foes. Battle lines were quickly lost amid the confused mixture of vehicles, vehicle parts, and repair equipment, and full chaos quickly reigned, a hundred individual battles erupting, tiny wars being fought in the midst of the larger conflict.

Galbadians came against the pair as they stood together, an eight-man squad charging them. Xu and Quistis dropped a pair of charging soldiers with magic as the remainder of the squad rushed fearlessly, six against two. Quistis' whip snaked out, striking suddenly and cutting into a soldier's chest armor, before snapping back and biting into the leg of another man, sending him crashing to the floor. Xu met the remaining four, her twin sai working in harmony, slicing and deflecting their swords gracefully. One man died without realizing he had been struck, still parrying one of her stabs as the other gouged his throat. Another found his arm sliced open and sword falling to the floor, before she came back at him with a double stab into his chest that pierced a heart and a lung.

Quistis circled around, her rante flying overhead and rushing forward. The weapon, the Galbadians found, was difficult to defend against, as any attempt to parry the long chain resulted in it wrapping around their blades, giving the SeeD an opportune chance to disarm them. One man found this out the hard way, his blade stripped from him and clattering to the floor. Even as he dove for it, he died as Xu slashed down across the back of his neck.

Within moments the remaining troops had fallen, and Quistis and Xu wasted no time picking out more enemies to fight, launching magic into a full platoon of soldiers engaging a third their number in SeeDs. They rushed in, striking the surprised platoon along their back, and giving the SeeDs and cadets the brief instant they needed to regain their footing and counter, tearing into the platoon.

Despite their best efforts, however, enemy soldiers leaked out of the garage, escaping to other regions of the Garden, including the adjacent dorms complex and the Training Center, some even making it to the inside of the Garden's main structure. However, many of these men found a surprise waiting for them as squads of olive-clad troopers engaged them, pinning them down and containing the majority of the enemies that did get through the garage. The Galbadians had never expected that, within Garden, they would be battling soldiers who cried out in the name of the Dollet Dukedom.

---------------------

Shouts, gunfire, and grenades heralded the assaulting Galbadians as they smashed through Gardens upper windows, or at least those not already open and being used by those who had garrisoned the second level. Just like their comrades below, the Galbadians were surprised when they found not only strong resistance by large numbers of enemies on the second level, but that these enemies were the olive-clad Dollet 125th Infantry Battalion, the secret, elite unit formed by the Dukedom.

"Keep them out of the Garden!" Colonel Randolph ordered, firing a burst into a Galbadian soldier from his rifle. He ducked behind one of the terminals in one of the classrooms as other Galbadians returned fire. Dozens of rifles pumped bullets back and forth across the battlefield that the classroom had become, and the Colonel, showing pride and fearlessness to be envied and emulated by his men, was at the forefront, fighting his nation's enemies within Balamb Garden. He drew a grenade and hurled it over the top of the terminal, the explosive detonating among the enemy. Dollet troops rose and fired, and more Galbadians succumbed to their gunfire. Others began to retreat, leaping back out the window and trying to get back to Galbadia Garden or get reinforcements. His men continued to pour fire into the enemy, not letting up. They fought with unbridled ferocity; the 125th had been designed to fight Galbadia, and this was their first engagement with their enemies. To say they were eager to battle was an understatement.

Within minutes they had begun to push the relatively weak Galbadian assault back out of Balamb Garden's upper floors, and continued firing, pouring bullets into the retreating enemy, even within their own base. Rockets, grenades, and streams of steel flew between the two flying craft.

"Arrogant bastards," Randolph cursed in his refined accent. He gunned down another enemy soldier standing in the other Garden. "Make them fear coming back up here!" he roared to his men, and they shouted acknowledgements.

"Colonel! Galbadians in the hall, coming out of one of the other classrooms!" came a shout from Major Ellis in the hallway, and Randolph rushed outside, many of his men following. He spotted more Galbadians coming out of one of the classrooms further down the hallway, Dollet troops retreating before them, fighting them hand-to-hand with the butts of their rifles.

"Damn, must have broken through!" Randolph cursed. He shouldered his weapon, but then lowered it, realizing any shots he would have fired in that melee would probably kill some of his own men. Instead, he gestured to the men around him, pointing at his embattled comrades.

"Charge!" he ordered, and they rushed down the hall, joining their comrades in melee battle. A lot of people would have thought it foolish to engage an enemy in hand-to-hand combat when one had ranged weapons, but Dollet had learned the hard way, particularly when fighting Galbadia and other enemies, that at times melee combat was not just inevitable but preferable, especially in close-quarters battle. But, rather than spend money training their soldiers and equipping them with different types of melee weapons, they simply increased the weight and sturdiness of their troops' rifles, included a retractable bayonet, and trained them in how to effectively utilize their rifles in melee battle. It was a cheap, simple, and easily-implemented addition to their soldiers' repertoire. And as Colonel Randolph proved when he entered the furious melee battle still raging by smashing in the side of a Galbadian helmet with his rifle, it worked.

Dollet troops swarmed to the attack, smashing into the Galbadian troops with abandon. Randolph and Major Ellis led the charge aggressively, smashing and cutting their foes with their bayonets. Randolph stepped forward inside a Galbadian's sword arc, too close for the enemy soldier to maneuver the weapon properly, and smashed the butt into the soldier's stomach. The man doubled over, and he swung the rifle up into his chin, hurling the soldier onto his back. Then, Randolph spun the rifle over, stabbing down into the soldier's throat with the bayonet.

The Galbadians, who had already been checked by the Dollet troops they had encountered outside the classroom, were quickly overwhelmed by the reinforcements, battling with ferocity inspired by Randolph's fierce example. The survivors retreated as the Dollet troops pursued them into the classroom, firing as they came. Within moments the enemy had vacated the second floor of Balamb Garden, and the 125th had made the upper classrooms safe.

"Don't let them sit there!" Randolph ordered, reloading his rifle before unloading another barrage of bullets on the enemy soldiers who had tried to attack them. "Fire! Make 'em bleed in their own territory!"

The Dollet soldiers were more than happy to continue the battle between the Gardens.

---------------------

Zell's force hadn't had time to summon Guardian Forces. They barely had the time to let loose a magical barrage and throw the charging enemy into slight disarray before the battle was fully joined. The Galbadian force was powerful, well-armed, and experienced, but they found themselves impacting head-to-head with a unified SeeD force that was prepared for their assault, with Zell Dincht at its head. Zell's grandfather had fought to defend the city of Balamb many years ago from Galbadian incursions, and had performed brilliantly. Now, many years later, another Dincht, adopted but proving just at fearsome as his namesake from before, crashed headlong into the Galbadian forces, at the head of a disaster specially crafted for their military.

The Galbadian charge was stopped as thoroughly as if their commanding officer had simply ordered them to halt in place. SeeDs bore in, tearing into their ranks. Magic exploded in close quarters as the SeeDs pushed back the Galbadian advance, slashing and beating upon the enemy soldiers in a unified front.

Zell was in the middle of the clash. He rolled under an enemy slice and came up with an uppercut that hurled the soldier away before spinning around another foe, sweeping out the man's legs and then rising up before slamming a fist down hard enough to simply pulverize his chest, armor and all. Zell spun even as he hit, catching a swinging sword in one hand and smashing it with the other. He reached up and caught the broken metal blade and stabbed the shard into the surprised foe's neck before whipping around in a spinning kick that smashed another soldier's chest and crumpled his armor, hurling him into another group of his comrades. Zell spun again in high aerial kick that smashed another advancing soldier's helmet, and then had to duck and weave away from a series of slashes by another group of opponents that bore in. He then reversed his momentum, leaping directly at them, slapping their swords away as they tried to bring them to bear. He snapped one hand up, grasping a soldier's throat and using him for momentary balance as he came up on his right leg. Zell's left leg smashed upward in an arcing kick that snapped an attacking soldier's neck before flashing back and forth between two other opponents, hitting both men in their sides hard before rising up in another pair of kicks, crushing their helmets. The man Zell was choking struggled to get free, but Zell simply twisted, his impossible strength snapping the soldier's neck. Zell threw the corpse into another group of enemies and bore in, seeking more foes.

Of this, there was no shortage, but many of them now wanted nothing to do with the furious brawler.

The other SeeDs, while not as aggressive or furious as Zell, proved equally effective, dropping their enemies in numbers well in excess of ten to one, and those SeeDs and cadets that did fall were largely wounded, as opposed to those seriously injured or killed on the Galbadian side. The Galbadian motorcycle troopers had suffered badly, targeted especially by SeeD magic and firearms in the initial barrage. Of those few that survived that attack, almost none remained, or had abandoned their bikes for the comparative safety of the infantry.

Rinoa fought not entirely in the midst of the battle, but had managed to find her way to the side, and focused on supporting SeeDs and cadets with blasts of magic or healing spells. More than one badly wounded teenager had to thank her for staving off serious or even fatal injuries. As another cadet stood up shakily, a gunshot wound repaired, he thanked her, and she nodded. As the cadet rushed forward, raising his sword, she looked up at Galbadia Garden. At the rate they were going, they'd be pushing the enemy back into their own territory, and maybe even chase them in there.

--------------------

"Sir, our forces cannot hold in the Quad," a captain reported to Seifer, who stood calmly in the central courtyard of Galbadia Garden. Seifer nodded, and smiled.

"Well then, if they can't hold, we'd better help them," he replied. "Send the signal to our infantry and have the mechanical units move up. Tell the reserves standing by in the hangars to get ready for the second charge into the Quad. And tell the artillery troopers to fire when our forces are properly repositioned."

"Aye aye, sir," the captain replied, and hurried off to give the orders. Another soldier stepped up to him a moment later.

"Sir, the front gate assault force has been stopped," he reported. "They can't break through."

"They're not supposed to," Seifer replied. "Keep up the pressure on the front. Bleed them dry. We can afford the losses more than they can. Once we hit them hard in the Quad and press through on the upper levels and into their parking garage, they'll have to divert soldiers to stopping us on those fronts. We keep up the pressure, and they'll fold."

"Yes, sir," the soldier replied. "Also, about the garage. We haven't broken through yet. It appears they had troops waiting in there to attack us instead."

"Hm," Seifer mused. "Squall was able to rally more men than we expected. Still, it doesn't matter. We'll break through. We've got them outnumbered at least four to one. Keep up the assaults."

"Yes sir," the soldier replied with a salute and moved off. Another man approached with another report. Seifer recalled the man as the major he'd ordered to head up the upstairs assault.

"Have we taken the upper floors yet?" Seifer asked, and the man shook his head. Seifer blinked. "Why?"

"Sir, the upper floors . . . ." The major shook his head. "Sir, they have soldiers from Dollet in there!" Seifer's eyes widened.

"What?" he asked, not sure if he'd heard the man right. "Dollet? Dollet soldiers?"

"Yes, sir," the major replied. "We weren't expecting them either. There are hundreds, maybe a thousand or more on the upper floors, and more on the lower levels. There was no way my force could take them all. I think that Dollet may have thrown in with Garden in our war."

"I'm not asking for analysis," Seifer snapped. "This changes things. We won't be able to bleed them badly if they have enough soldiers protecting the upper floors. We can't get at them from up there." He looked down at the floor for a moment, and then raised his head, a dark grin on his face. "Get the paratroopers and our remaining aerial robots ready. I'll probably turn over some of our reserves too if we can't break through on the lower floors too. It depends on how we fare in the Quad and the garage. If we have to launch a second wave, we go in above and crush them up there. They're just Dollet troops, and not SeeDs. Regroup your men and stand by."

"Yes sir," the major saluted and left. The first captain he'd spoken with returned.

"Sir, we're ready," he reported.

"Then fire," Seifer replied easily, pointing his gunblade at an imaginary target as it were a pistol. "Bang. And then Garden and their allies die."

--------------------

The SeeDs had almost reached halfway through the Quad, and parts of the fighting was occurring along ledges along the edge of Garden. Then, suddenly, the Galbadians joined in a unified shout and began to retreat, while war machines rushed forward, checking the SeeD advance with their superior toughness. Still, the war machinery would not have been able to hold the SeeDs back, as the individual machines alone were only an even match for a cadet, and the SeeDs themselves would have no trouble with them. The SeeD force had the enemy war machines outnumbered well in excess of thirty to one, and would steamroll them quickly enough. Zell proved this immediately when he smashed into a blue-painted robot similar to the ones in the prison, one punch shattering electronics and a flying kick crushing its head. Blinded and disoriented, the robot was helpless before Zell's following combo of two punches, a cross, and a flying kick that crushed it into so much junk.

Then, the Quad simply fell out from underneath them.

Missiles were launched from the open hangar doors on the side of Galbadia Garden, slamming into the side of the Garden just beneath the Quad where the SeeDs were battling. The explosions rocked the standing forces, hurling many off their feet, but the concentrated barrage had a much greater effect. For in that assault, the concentrated missiles had damaged the foundations upon which the Quad rested, ripping into the metallic exterior and even deeper, into the stone that the Quad was based upon. The rent rock and shattered ceramics groaned, and then cracked. An entire slab of stone simply fell away, taking part of the Quad with it.

And upon that slab of broken and falling stone was nearly a fifth of Zell's SeeD force, Rinoa among them.

Some of the SeeDs and cadets managed to leap back to the more solid ground. Rinoa tried leaping as well, and a horrified Zell rushed to the edge, reaching out to her. Her fingers brushed his, and then she was gone, falling away below, plunging into the hundreds of feet between the Quad and the ground far below the battling Gardens as the Galbadian army charged anew.

-----------------------

A flying MP5K struck a charging Galbadian soldier in the mouth, knocking his head back, and stunning him for a brief instant. Irvine stepped forward and kicked hard against the soldier's chest, throwing him off the edge of the balcony into the depths far below the battling Gardens. In his left hand, the other MP5K spit out the last of its bullets onto another soldier's torso as he climbed out of the adjacent window. The man fell back, quite dead.

Irvine reached behind his belt and drew out a pair of Calicos as more Galbadians poured out of the top of the enemy Garden. From what he could tell, the Dollet soldiers had driven the enemy out of the upper floor elsewhere, but the retreating Galbadians seemed to have simply turned around and started attacking his position.

"Getting a bit crowded up here," he growled as the Novas were being pushed back. They weren't intended for a close-quarters combat force, and their numbers were far too small - only a couple dozen against many, many times their number. "Better fix that!"

Irvine leveled the Calicos at the advancing enemy and cut loose. Novas stepped out of the path of his bullets as they chewed through the enemy, mowing down dozens of soldiers as he arced and swept the weapons about. By the time the machine pistols had run dry the Novas had managed to catch their breath and had launched a fearsome counter-offensive, driving those survivors still on the balcony back.

Still, it was only a momentary surge, and Irvine knew they were badly outmatched and would quickly fall if they held here. He holstered the spent Calicos and crouched, grabbing two of the RPG launchers and a couple racks of missiles for both and stringing them together. While firearms were his specialty, he hadn't skimped on the demolitions classes either. Within a matter of moments he had set the launchers and their ammunition to simultaneous detonation. All he needed was a grenade to detonate it all.

The sharpshooter rose and reloaded one of the Calicos quickly, slapping a new drum magazine onto the back of the weapon.

"Retreat!" he yelled, bending down and scooping one such grenade from a dead Galbadian. He popped the safety pin and struck the bomb securely in the mound of explosives he had rigged up. The Novas broke away instantly and began to retreat out the door to the inside of Garden. Irvine fired his Calico, cutting down the Galbadian forces that tried to pursue them, and with his boot, he kicked the arming pin on the grenade off as his magazine reached its end. Then as the weapon clicked and the Galbadians closed in, dozens of men streaming onto the balcony, Irvine turned and leaped through the door leading inside.

A half-dozen Galbadians, hot on his heels, managed to make it inside. Then, a thunderous roar of sheer power and light sounded outside, and the entire enemy force that had taken the balcony, plus many other Galbadians inside the enemy Garden, simply vanished in a flash of light and a cloud of shattered stone and ceramics.

A boot slammed into Irvine's shoulder as he started to rise.

"Little Garden shit!" A Galbadian shouted behind and above him. "You're gonna bleed, you-"

The soldier was cut off by a stream of bullets tearing into the air above Irvine, as the surviving Novas and an entire platoon of Dollet soldiers opened fire. The blue-clad soldiers were torn apart by the sheets of hot steel, with the one man who had been threatening Irvine being the only exception as he threw himself back. Irvine rolled over onto his back, pulling one of the handguns he had holstered to his side out. The Galbadian soldier landed on his back, and desperately pointed the weapon at the sharpshooter, trying to take him out before he was killed. His finger tightened over the trigger, and fired-

But he was aiming one-handed with his rifle and the bullets flew high and wide, missing. Irvine's handgun, however, was spot-on. It cracked one, then twice, and the Galbadian's head snapped back, two bullets in the sensors on his visor.

------------------------

Rinoa was gone. Zell could only watch in horror as she dropped away below, crying out to him. He saw her slide down the side of the damaged Quad, her hands scraping along the rent stone desperately. She kept falling, sliding and almost plunging to the ground far below when her hands suddenly found purchase in a crack along the side of the Garden, digging in just barely.

"No! _Rinoa!_" Zell screamed, his voice faint and distant over the din of the suddenly intense noise of battle rejoined. The Galbadians were rushing in, heedless of the danger, seeing a large portion of the SeeD force suddenly gone. Zell, the leader of the SeeD charge, could only look helplessly over the ledge where Rinoa hung, incapable of doing anything to help.

The fact that the SeeD leader was out of the battle further emboldened the Galbadian force; they pushed on, shouting and roaring, driving even the stalwart and powerful SeeD army before them.

A sword from a Galbadian swept toward Zell as he looked on, only to be intercepted at the last instant by a SeeD's staff. The sound of metal ringing on metal jolted Zell out of his shocked daze, and he spun.

"Rinoa!" he roared, turning the desperate cry into a roar of war, and he smashed into the soldier who had been trying to strike him, pummeling his foe. He hurled the crushed man aside a moment later, diving into the fray, sweeping the ledge clear of foes so he could do something, anything to help her.

But the Galbadians kept coming, charging fearlessly, and the SeeDs, already shocked by the sudden loss of their comrades, had lost part of their heart for the fight and were slowly being pushed back across the Quad. Zell quickly realized that, even though he and the SeeDs around him were fighting brilliantly and checking the enemy advance there, they would soon become an island in the sea of their enemies as the rest of his army was driven back.

Still, he knew that he couldn't abandon Rinoa, not now, not yet. He had to do something, anything.

But no options presented themselves, and he could do nothing but continue to pound mercilessly on his enemies, beating and kicking them away. A dozen and more enemies died by his hands in that minute, but even so he was driven back by the press of his enemies. The brawler managed to spare a final look below at Rinoa as she held on with terrified yet inhuman strength. That reminded Zell that she had junctions; she would be able to hold on for a while, at least until he could get some help or find another way to get to her.

"Don't worry, Rinoa!" he shouted, spinning into a low kick that smashed an enemy's leg into a shape it was never meant to go. "Hold on!"

He didn't know if she had heard him or not, but as another foe dived at him and met a sharp, powerful jab into his face, Zell knew he couldn't hold here. He and his comrades would die if they stayed.

Zell retreated, but each step he took back from that ledge felt as if he were being stabbed in his heart. He knew he couldn't let her die, and that this was his only chance to survive, but every step tortured the brawler. He took his fury out on his enemies, and many more fell before him as he retreated, his group linking back up with the rest of the SeeD force being pushed back and away.

Then the ground before Zell exploded again, the center line of the Galbadian army vanishing in a hellish rain of missiles and rockets. Zell roared again, and rushed against his opponents, as did the SeeDs around him, pushing hard, driving them back. The Galbadians had forgotten about the Blue Bomber, and Zell took advantage of the shock they now held at Selphie reminding them about her presence. The SeeDs checked the enemy advance and pushed hard, tearing into the front ranks of the enemy army, driving them back. As the Galbadian army retreated, Zell roared for a retreat for his own forces. He knew that they could keep pushing the enemy back, but the brief respite Selphie had bought for them was just that: brief. He knew that even with the chaos the enemy was thrown into, they would not be able to force the enemy out. They would recover and stop the SeeD assault and turn them right back to where they were. They wouldn't have an opportunity to minimize their losses like this again.

The SeeD force reluctantly retreated, the SeeDs and cadets falling back, many remembering to stop and scoop up a fallen or injured comrade as they did so. No wounded were left behind, no matter how grievous; they would not leave their comrades to the tender mercies of the invading Galbadians.

The enemy army had managed to recover from the shock and counterassault, and began to charge anew, when Selphie fired the last of her missiles, tearing up the charging enemy and slowing their advance, giving the retreating forces just enough time to run past her position. Zell was last, stopping by the Blue Bomber to slam an ambitious soldier with a left hook that shattered his skull. The brawler leaped up onto the Blue Bomber and fired a bolt of magic into the enemy, dropping two soldiers, when the huge war machine roared, a pair of thrusters on the front pushing the mighty weapon back. Zell turned and leaped off the back, running ahead of the weapon and into the entrance to the central Garden structure a split second before it smashed into the doorway, sealing it shut with fifty tons of impregnable reinforced metal and armor. The rear hatch opened, and Selphie leaped out, nunchaku in hand.

"That everyone?" she asked hopefully, but Zell shook his head.

"Rinoa's still out there," he replied. He glanced back to the remaining SeeD force less than two thirds the size of what Zell had originally commanded in the first charge. The enemy had taken the Quad, and both sides had paid dearly for it.

"Zell!" came a shout from beyond the wounded and exhausted army, and he spun, to see another SeeD approached, arm in a hastily constructed sling, his other hand grasping a pistol tightly. "Zell! Have they broken through?"

"No," Zell answered, rushing to the SeeD. "What's happening?"

"They got inside through the garage," the SeeD said. "Quistis and Xu are holding in there, but some of them slipped through. Dollet troops are doing what they can, but we need backup in the garage."

"Right!" Zell said. "Come on!" he said to his force. "We're not done yet!"

The SeeDs were tired, bloody, and had just walked out of one hellish battle, but not one of them complained or hesitated. Aside from a small group detailed to protect the sealed entrance and watch and help the wounded, Zell's remaining army charged all the way across Garden, reinforcing the Dollet forces holding the enemy back and thundering into the chaotic war in the parking garage. The smashed into hard into a platoon of the enemy that had slipped out and rushed into the middle of the tangled battle. SeeDs and cadets took heart at the arrival of reinforcements, and the reinforcing army tore into the Galbadian troops.

Zell found his way into the middle of the conflict, where Xu and Quistis stood together, fighting many times their number in enemies, foes who had to step carefully or trip on the bloody, torn corpses of their own dead. Zell crashed into the enemies that had surrounded his comrades, and within moments the trio had cleared away the Galbadians surrounding them. Minutes later, the Garden reinforcements had cleared the remaining enemies from the inside of the garage and had swept the rest of Garden clean of their foes.

--------------------

The soldier's mouth widened as Squall gutted him, his gunblade's concussive force shells blasting him off the unusual weapon. Squall then snapped the weapon across, intercepting another enemy's sword, before spinning around the blade and tapping it aside. Squall's gunblade dove forward and slashed across the soldier's throat before he could realign his defenses. Another enemy came at Squall's left, slashing hard across with his blade. Squall spun towards him, smashing the soldier's sword away with a powerful two-handed cleave at the blade. As the sword went out wide, Squall's elbow shot up and impacted hard on the man's jaw, throwing him to the ground. He flipped his gunblade over and stabbed it down into the prone soldier's chest. Yet another opponent closed in, thrusting his sword, and Squall leaped back, snapping his gunblade around in a deft parry. Squall rushed forward with a head butt, his forehead smashing into the surprised soldier's chin and hurling him to the pavement below. More opponents closed in, three rushing from his left and one from his right. A quick parry deflected one of the leftmost soldier's blades while his left hand slapped away the flat of another man's sword. The third sword was caught in a weaving strike that not only guided it away from Squall but into the path of the soldier on Squall's right. That man had to hop back desperately to avoid being impaled.

As part of that same deft maneuver, Squall's blade had cut the throat of the soldier whose blade he had redirected while his left hand balled into a fist and struck another of the left soldiers with a quick jab that threw him off-balance. Squall spun back to his left, cleaving hard with his gunblade, and the weapon tore the head clean off that stunned opponent before parrying the other soldier's sword and then slicing into his chest. The SeeD spun on the remaining soldier to the right, cleaving again. The man barely managed to parry, his sword flying out wide, and Squall stepped forward, left arm flying out and clotheslining the soldier to the pavement. His boot crushed the man's windpipe.

He hadn't even finished the strike when the Revolver was weaving inside a thrust and countering with a jab that tore the lungs and heart out of another soldier. The gunblade was pulled free, new blood staining it, and sliced up into a charging Galbadian's stomach, blasting out of his chest. It deftly turned in mid-air and thrust down into a surprised soldier behind that man, crunching into his throat. Squall tore the blade free and slashed across, cleaving into another soldier's helmet and cleanly through his head. Another foe ducked the slicing gunblade as it came at him and backed away, but Squall jabbed his left hand at the man, and he died on the end of a bolt of lightning.

No one could touch him. Any sword that got near Squall was either parried and lethally countered, or used itself as part of a stunning counter-routine that tied up another soldier while Squall finished his business with the first foe. Attempts to parry were dodged around or simply blasted completely through with the heavy sword and Squall's junctions. Any who dodged or evaded his wrath met magical energy that annihilated them. By this point, Squall had cleaved deeply into the enemy, and they could have surrounded him, but none would approach him. The path of corpses he had left piled behind him showed them the price if they were to dare to challenge this mightiest of SeeDs.

The other SeeDs were fighting as brutally and aggressively as Squall was, and the fearless Galbadian charge had been checked and was turning back. The only thing that kept the Galbadians from retreating was the fact that so many were still streaming out of Galbadia Garden in an effort to assault the SeeDs at the front.

Suddenly, a horn sounded somewhere, and immediately, the Galbadians stopped their charge. Almost in unison, the disciplined soldiers turned and retreated, fleeing, though not blindly or filled with terror. Many remained behind to serve as rear guards, and were minced by their SeeD foes or by Squall himself, who struck hard at anyone foolish enough to get near him. Within moments, those that had stayed behind were eliminated or had barely managed to escape back to their Garden, leaving behind many, very many, corpses.

Then, Galbadia Garden momentarily broke away, retreating slightly.

Squall watched the retreat, and looked back at his forces. Scores, or possibly even hundreds, of Galbadians lay dead or dying along the Garden's front gate, though SeeD blood and bodies were mixed in among them. If they had kept up the assault, more would have died, but the Galbadian forces would have suffered even more so. He understood that the Galbadians' retreat was in understanding that they would not take the front gate, especially with Squall at the head to inspire and direct his forces, at least not without tremendous losses.

Squall turned and looked back to Galbadia Garden grimly. Likely, they hadn't even committed a portion of their forces to this assault.

This had only been the first round, he knew. They'd be back, and very soon. But they would win this if they could hold.

They had time on their side.

--------------------

Rinoa gripped the edge of the stone, and felt her fingers begin to slip. She had the strength to hold on, but gravity, and her sweating fingers, were slowly pulling her down. She couldn't hold on for much longer.

Time was not on her side.

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To quote Neo: "Whoa."

That was insanely fun to write. Loved every second of it. But wait? What's this? People are likely asking "Why stop here? Where's the rest of this huge battle?" You know why?

Because this battle is just getting started. That was just the first charge, barely at the beginning of the battle sequence. I've only just begun, and this chapter was little more than a preview of the war. Tuck in tight and get ready for the next chapter, because I can guarantee (unlike the Wachowski brothers XD ) that the next parts will be even more action-packed and intense. The gloves come off in the next couple of chapters....though thinking of new ways in which Squall is going to own the Galbadians is going to be a challenge!

Some notes: Zell's speech comes partially inspired by Halo. Specifically, when playing on Legendary difficulty, on the Pillar of Autumn level, when the Sarge is addressing his men, he says something very similar. His speeches are more hardcore depending on the difficulty.

A lot of this battle is inspired by the Lord of the Rings movies, some Halo, and especially the work by Daz Shier. His story, "The Omega" is one of the best FFVIII fanfics, period. Trust me when I say that. I can't stress it enough. You guys have got to read "The Omega." Its that badass.

Also, I've been meaning to comment on this for a long, long time. Squall's fighting style. If you pay attention, you'll note that, more or less from the beginning of the entire story, I've always had Squall fight very similar to the way Aragorn fought in the Lord of the Rings movies. Not just in swordplay, but also in hand-to-hand combat. You'll notice that he tends to mix punches and kicks and other hand-to-hand techniques into his fighting style, and makes use of his knives as well in grappling and other close-quarters battles. In fact, the addition of the knives into his arsenal was done in an effort to mold Squall after Aragorn. Basically, Squall is adaptive and flexible in his fighting style, much like Aragorn was in the movies. That's what I've been aiming at this whole time. Think I succeeded? Squall always struck me as that kind of fighter, especially after the hand-to-hand fight with the paratrooper.

Shout-out time!

-Angelo Di Desiderio: Thanks for the kind words. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy. XD

-Chris Ganale: I dropped by Gaia and poked around, and decided that it would be a bit hard to find your roleplay, especially considering that Gaia had over fifteen hundred _pages_ (not games, but actual pages) and I didn't want to bother registering just to run a search. XD

You might see the occasional X-Wing or other Star Wars reference, but you're more likely to see Halo, Resident Evil, Hellsing, Matrix, and other references.

-Dragoon Swordsman: It does seem that way, doesn't it? Maybe he stopped hating Irvine after the rescue in the prison.

-Rusty Knights Productions: Ah. Y'know, this would sound pretty arrogant, but if Square ever did a remake of FFVIII, I'd like 'em to use some ideas from Gunblade to enhance it. Wouldn't it be badass if FFVIII was an action game?

-Daniel Wesley Rydell: Oops. XD I just noticed that when I reread. I think I took Squall's response from the script by accident. That was just a bit of momentary brain-freeze.

And about Squall's gunblade, I just kind of assumed that whoever had gone to rescue Squall, or however he had supposedly gotten back to Garden, had simply taken the weapon back to his room. It sort of makes sense.

-DBZ Fanfiction Queen: I sort of pace myself. But when I get inspired, I write like mad. Of course, for the last week or so I've sworn off writing, just so I could recharge my inspirational batteries. I'm itching to get to writing again, now.

-OniRazz: Yep. Trevor Spence. Composite of George Trevor, architect of the Arkalay Mountain mansion from the first Resident Evil, and Ozwell Spencer, evil mad megalomaniacal head of Umbrella.

-Solid Shark: XD Actually, no. That was another case of me borrowing the name of one of my ROTC buddies.

-Kaiser-kun: Glad you got a kick out of last chapter. Well, obviously, there won't be a Galbadian air force here, beyond the airborne robots and the paratroopers. As for whether the army will join the heroes, wait and see.

Also, that wasn't a plot hole. If you note, the mansion that they visited Caraway in was another home, a mountain retreat, not the one in Deling City. Different mansion. I'm probably not going to bring Angelo back to join Rinoa until the very, very end. She doesn't fit well with all the action in the third chapter.

-Khimahrigirl: Yeah, my editor does go over all my chapters. His corrections and commentary are a huge boost to my writing . . . Not to mention he tends to whack me over the head with various mistakes I make and continuity issues.


	42. Only a Plank Between One and Perdition

_Chapter 37: Only a Plank Between One and Perdition _

Nearly five hundred were out of the battle, Squall quickly estimated, judging from the losses he, Quistis, and Zell had suffered in their battle. Zell, by far, had the most losses between the collapse of the Quad and the furious Galbadian charge, he had lost over three hundred fighters, most of them killed in the collapse. Casualties elsewhere were lighter, but reports were coming in that Dollet had taken some hefty losses upstairs with turning back the enemy assault.

"SQUALL!" came a shout as Squall was running the reports through his head. He looked up to see Zell rushing at him, pushing through the seeds and cadets around him.

"What is it?" Squall asked as Zell approached.

"It's Rinoa!" the brawler replied urgently. "The collapse! She fell in the collapse of the Quad!" Squall suddenly froze, his heart stopping momentarily.

"She's still alive," Zell added quickly, "but she's hanging onto a ledge outside. I don't know how long she has!"

"Commander!" came another shout before Squall could think of anything else. He spun to see Xu and Quistis, both bloody, also pushing through the army.

" Galbadia Garden is beginning to come back in!" Xu shouted urgently.

"They're massing on the upper floors, too," added Quistis. "Randolph and his men are going to be hit hard. We have to reinforce them."

"But we have to hold here, too!" came another shout from Selphie, who was right behind Zell.

"But Rinoa-" Zell protested. Squall quickly raised his hands before they could start arguing. He quickly filtered through his options. They had two fronts the enemy would likely come in from, probably more. He had to commit forces to defending all of them before Galbadia Garden got closer. But there was no way in hell he was going to leave Rinoa to die while the larger battle was being fought.

"Quistis, Xu," he quickly ordered. "Take command here. All the Phalanxes must defend this position at the front gate. That's where they'll hit us the hardest. The Sabers and the Dollet troops down here are going to move up to the second floor to reinforce the 125th, except for the patrols to keep the interior secure and protect the garage. I'll lead the reinforcements. Selphie, you're with me."

"What about--" Zell began to ask, but Squall turned to him.

"Zell, get to Rinoa. Do _whatever_ it takes to save her. Understand?" The brawler nodded grimly, yet determinedly. Squall paused, and looked over everyone, and then to the rapidly closing Garden beyond. "Hold them here!" he ordered quickly. "We win if we can beat them back!" The SeeDs and cadets responded with immediate salutes and began to form up, while Squall, Selphie right behind him, rushed through the crowd. Within moments they had gathered up or sent orders to the Saber units and the Dollet troops. But it was immediately after this that another problem reared its head.

"The elevators will take too long!" Selphie complained, and Squall nodded. The elevators would ferry only a limited number of troops at a time. It would take time to move all their troops up to the second floor, and that was time that they didn't really have to spare.

This fact was punctuated when, behind him, Squall heard the roar of exploding magic and summoned Guardian Forces.

"SeeDs first!" Squall ordered, leaping into one of the elevators, along with Selphie and two squads of additional SeeDs. "Cram in! As many as they can carry! Go, go, go!"

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"Galbadian bastards!" Randolph snarled as he smashed an enemy soldier's mouth in, before ducking for cover behind one of the terminals. Bullets filled the air overhead as Galbadian soldiers covered their allies' advance. This attack was much more intense than before, with hundreds of their blue-clad enemies pouring in through the windows. It looked like the Galbadians had decided that Dollet's defenders would be easier to take down than SeeDs. Well, it was up to him to disabuse them of that notion.

"Hold here!" he ordered as more soldiers, on both sides, poured into the classroom. Those Dollet troops closest to the invading Galbadians engaged them hand-to-hand, while the remainder exchanged volleys of gunfire with the enemies pouring in. The Dollet troops held them, however, cutting down many who leaped into Balamb's upper floor and trading fire with the others, buttstocks, bayonets, and swords clashing together. It was furious and brutal, and the corpses piled up quickly - more Galbadian dead than Dollet, but not by much.

The swarms of enemy soldiers suddenly slowed, and in their stead, huge, armored blue robots began to storm through the windows. The regulars already in the room either dove for cover or dropped to the floor where they stood as the robotic units opened fire and used their thrusters to push themselves ahead. The heavy machineguns mounted on the war machines' arms poured fire into the Dollet ranks, while their huge metallic arms and fists smashed into the olive-clad soldiers. Dozens of Dollet soldiers fell in those first hellish seconds of the second wave of Galbadian might.

But it would take more than a force of stupid robots to break the defense the 125th was mounting, and they returned fire immediately, hurling grenades and, when forced to do so, smashing their rifle butts against the enemy weapons in an effort to at least damage them. Several were riddled with bullets, taking heavy fire and collapsing under the deadly barrage, while and were blasted apart by grenades. Two Dollet troopers hefted rocket launchers and fired into the enemy machines, blasting them apart. Even as those fell, however, more robotic units leaped to the attack, and beside them were more Galbadians.

"Left flank!" Randolph shouted as a combined fore of robots and Galbadians launched a concerted attack on the left side of the classroom, driving back the Dollet soldiers and killing any who tried to stand their ground. If they could get to the far-left side of the classroom, they could cut off the doors, and trap the Dollet troops in the room.

In response, heavy gunfire swept over the attackers, blasting apart several robotic units and giving those troops on that side they cover they needed to launch a counteroffensive. However, the focused fire cost the remainder of the force, as the enemy pushed ahead in that brief moment of respite, driving the Dollet troops back even further. Randolph found himself fighting hand-to-hand again, beating off two Galbadians.

Magic suddenly sizzled into the battlefield, and for an instant the Dollet troops thought that SeeDs had arrived to reinforce them. But in fact, the magic came not from SeeD backup, but from a squad of green-clad Galbadians who swept into the room quickly and expertly, launching blasts of magic from their hands at the Dollet troops. The Galbadian paratroopers had arrived.

Randolph cursed as even more paratroopers swept in, and the robots continued to push his men back. Galbadian regulars filled in the holes as the huge assault force advanced, tearing into the Dollet ranks.

"Can't hold 'em!" one of the sergeants shouted as he blasted apart another robot. The Colonel was about to reply when a bolt of magic ripped into the soldier and hurled him away. More Dollet troops fell, and as Randolph paused to reload, he knew the truth.

They were outmatched, outnumbered, and outgunned. If they tried to hold the Galbadians would steamroll them.

"Retreat!" he roared, rising up and pumping more bullets into the enemy. Three soldiers and a paratrooper were dropped, and he lobbed a grenade at a cluster of Galbadians and robots. The explosion tore the soldiers apart but only staggered the blue robots. "Fall back into the hallway!" The Dollet troops, those still alive, began to do just that, pulling back and firing as they did so.

The glass overhead shattered, and more Galbadians rappelled into the classroom from above. These men were also paratroopers, and they dropped among the Dollet soldiers, swords flashing and cutting many men down. Randolph cursed as he ducked a swing and smashed his attacker across the head with his rifle. He grabbed one of the man's grenades, pulled the pin, and replaced it on the soldier's belt before hip-tossing him into a pair of advancing Galbadian regulars, tripping them all up. He spun away and dove behind a terminal, and the grenade blew, blowing them all the bloody chunks. He quickly rose, firing even more as he retreated toward the door, out which were streaming more Dollet soldiers.

"Move, sir!" shouted a corporal, stepping behind Randolph and firing. Randolph nodded and rose, dashing for the exit. The corporal followed. Two paratroopers tried to intercept, one launching a bolt of ice magic at Randolph's back. The corporal dove in front of the blast and intercepted it for his colonel. The only thing Randolph could do to repay the man's sacrifice for his commander was to put a burst into the offending paratrooper's helmet before deflecting the other man's sword and crushing his jaw. He grabbed the stunned enemy special forces soldier and shoved him into the path of bullets from a half-dozen other Galbadians, and the man was courteous enough to take the sots. Then the Colonel turned and dove for the door. Bullets chased his leap, and one caught his right leg, but then he was outside, scrambling to his feet and ignoring the pain in his body as he spun around, pumping bullets into his enemies.

"Damn Galbadians!" he hissed.

" Three o'clock!" came a shout to the Colonel's right, and he spun, to see yet more of their enemies breaching another classroom, spilling out into the hallway. Dollet soldiers fought them hand-to-hand, but as robotic units, more paratroopers, and even more Galbadian regulars flooded into the hall, it was obvious that once again they wouldn't be able to hold.

"Pull back!" he ordered, emptying his rifle into a robot and finally dropping the war machine. Galbadians were bursting out of the classroom he had been fighting in now, but the single doorway they used to escape served as an effective bottleneck in which the Dollet troops trapped them and cut them down with concentrated gunfire. Even so, they enemy came on, heedless of their losses, and very quickly, Galbadians began to rush out with protective shields around them, magical spells doubtlessly cast by the paratroopers that gave the fanatical warriors of Edea the few extra seconds of life they needed to close in and tie up the Dollet defenders and allow even more Galbadians to burst free.

One of the walls nearby exploded outward, metallic and ceramic shrapnel tearing into the ranks of both the Galbadian and Dollet troops, and a dozen and more of the blue war machines leapt through the gap, firing and punching. Galbadian soldiers and paratroopers streamed out after them, followed by more war machines, and the hallway was suddenly transformed into a single massive, chaotic melee.

Randolph pulled a healing potion from his belt and poured the entire bottle onto his leg wound, instantly healing it up, and not a moment too soon as an entire squad of Galbadians rushed him and a pair of PFCs. They met the charged without hesitation, buttstocks and bayonets meeting enemy swords. The Colonel crushed one soldier's neck with a brutal swing and turned, smashing another man across his helmet and throwing him down. His fellow soldiers fought furiously as well, but the Galbadians matched them in ferocity, and even as a third enemy soldier was felled by Randolph, the two lower-ranking Dollet soldiers fell, one cut down across his chest while the other took a stab in the stomach and then had his head cloven.

Then, the Galbadian squad was blasted apart as a tall figure opened up upon the enemy from behind, precise fire from a pair of revolvers cutting the remaining enemy soldiers down. Then, as a pair of soldiers tried firing upon him, he spun around low, brown trenchcoat flying out wide as he crouched and fired twice from each weapon, dropping both men. Behind the new arrival were a small force of SeeDs, joining the battle with assault weapons and potent magic.

"Glad to see you, Kinneas," Randolph stated as he spun around, back to Irvine, and fired into a cluster of Galbadians.

"Figured I could make time to join ya'll," the sharpshooter replied, sliding a pair of speed loaders into his revolvers before rejoining the battle with a series of quick shots. "In between dropping presents off for my sister, baking a cake, and drafting plans for world peace." The revolvers ran empty quickly, and Irvine switched them out with a pair of AB-10 machine pistols. They spat streams of metal into the path of a Galbadian platoon, dropping over half of them before running empty. The sharpshooter then switched back to his Valiant, launching a heavy buckshot blast into the remainder of the enemy force.

Back-to-back, Irvine and Randolph traded fire with their opponents as the chaotic windstorm of death, screams, and blood swirled around them.

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Fire, lightning, and ice crashed into the Galbadian ranks as they rushed again, though their charge seemed to be a little less enthusiastic this time. The likely reason was that they were charging over the bodies of many who had fallen in the first assault, and many had already walked away from one battle against the SeeDs before. Nonetheless, they were heedless of the damage as Ifrit, Shiva, and Queztocotl tore into the first few ranks, and the SeeD spell casters and riflemen opened up once more. More than a hundred fell in that first blast, and just as many fell in the second barrage. Quistis and Xu, leading the battle, did two-thirds of that summoning.

But then, the artillery troops who had bombed the Quad returned to the battle, launching missiles and rocket-propelled grenades into the front ranks of the SeeDs, surprising them. The explosions blasted holes into their forces, and threw them into confusion under the missile attack.

Thinking quickly, Quistis did the only thing she could think of to salvage their formation before the Galbadians hit hard.

"Charge!" she ordered, and the SeeDs rushed forward, their battered forces meeting the equally battered Galbadians in a repeat of the hellish battle from before. The impact was not as fearsome or dramatic as it was last time, as the ragged lines met, but the battle was just as furious, vengeful Galbadians and desperate SeeDs smashing into each other. Only this time, the Galbadians were even more aggressive, and the SeeDs were still reeling from the losses of the previous battle and unexpected missile strike. The SeeD forces found themselves being pushed back under the sheer weight of the enemy press despite the fact that they were killing and dropping their foes faster than the Galbadians could do the same to them.

Quistis and Xu worked together to fight their foes, just like last time in the garage. Quistis avoided using her wide-flying whip in this battle, due to the dangers or possibly striking one of her comrades, and instead focused on using magic, both her normal stocked spells and her Blue Magic powers. Xu acted as a counterpoint to her, unleashing quick and brutal combos with her sai.

Three Galbadians rushed them, and one died before he knew he'd been hit. Of the other two, one was skewered with a bolt of shining magic from Quistis' eyes, and Xu danced around the last with a quick parry and two slices and a stab that traced a fine cross along his throat. Yet another opponent went for Xu as she was striking, but Quistis covered her with a quick blast of icy magic that laid him low. More enemies closed in, and the pair met them as well, working expertly to divide up and slice apart the enemy. Within seconds they had diced up a Galbadian Squadron and moved on, striking hard at enemy units that were attacking SeeD groups.

Even so, they were hard-pressed to hold. The Galbadians were slowly gaining ground, and if it hadn't been for their charge, they would have been fighting close to the actual archway leading into Balamb Garden. Even so, every minute saw them advancing. At this rate, they'd be pushed inside Garden. And if that happened . . . .

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"Clever bastards!" a SeeD cursed, slamming the butt of his polearm into the helmet of another Galbadian soldier. The man fell away, to the Quad below, taking another soldier with him down the cable. As the soldier dropped, the SeeD drew his knife and sliced the cable. Nearby, a cadet from Balamb faced off against a regular Galbadian soldier as another one tried climbing up into the cafeteria. The cadet managed to finish his foe and kick the soldier climbing up in the head as he poked it through one of the shattered windows, and the man dropped as well.

"Damn!" Zell cursed, as he danced around another soldier and planted a kick to his side that hurled him across the room. A mixed force of SeeDs, cadets, and Dollet soldiers was heading up a furious defense of the cafeteria, as the Galbadians who had remained in the Quad tried to climb up to the Garden's dining area. So far, they'd had little success, occasionally getting men upstairs but not long enough to gain a foothold. The SeeDs and soldiers kept beating them back.

The brawler had arrived, hoping to use the secure cafeteria to get into the Quad, but Galbadian soldiers still held the Quad. Many of their troops had been redirected to elsewhere, such as upstairs and to the front gate, but nonetheless, Zell was overwhelmingly outnumbered by the enemy still occupying the Quad. The small SeeD and Dollet force in the cafeteria couldn't help him; they were too busy keeping the enemy from escaping the Quad and causing trouble elsewhere, and didn't have the numbers to take the enemy in a stand-up battle regardless.

Zell had offered his assistance, but what he really needed at that point was a means to get into the Quad. But with the Galbadians still there, there was no way he could get inside and rescue Rinoa . . . Not to mention that he still didn't have any idea of how to reach her. The only ways he could see to get into the Quad without fighting an overwhelming force was to go over the rooftops or flying using a Galbadian hoverfoil - neither of which was an appealing option for him.

Zell took out his frustration on another unfortunate soldier, smashing in the top of his helmet as he climbed up. Maybe if they kept this up, they could bleed the Quad force enough to mount a rescue operation, but Zell wasn't certain. All he could do was pound the enemy and hope that an opportunity would show itself.

-----------------------

Squall, Selphie, and the SeeDs around him burst from the elevator as it finally arrived at the second floor. They found themselves in the middle of an impromptu hospital on the walkway overlooking the lower floors. Dozens of wounded Dollet soldiers were scattered around the walkway, with many medics crouched over them, administering healing potions to those either least injured and most capable of rejoining the battle, and those most injured and in danger of death. Nearby, a line of soldiers was laid to the side, but no medics tended their still forms. They were beyond any help.

Beyond the walkway, however, Squall could see a fierce battle raging. So far, the Dollet troops were holding the enemy from this walkway, but just barely, the commander realized. He stepped past the injured men, leading his small but capable SeeD force into the heart of the battle. They found themselves reinforcing a large contingent of Dollet troops in the hallway beyond, who had just beaten back a Galbadian assault and were tending their wounded and moving their dead.

"Who's in charge here?" Squall demanded, and a bloodstained soldier turned back, his insignia indicating a staff sergeant.

"Me, Commander," he replied. "We're pretty badly off, sir. Casualties are high and getting higher as we speak. Galbadians are hitting us with everything they've got, including robots and special forces. I don't think we can hold much longer. They're trying to bleed us all out."

"Where's the Colonel?" Squall demanded, and the staff sergeant pointed ahead, to the middle of a ferocious melee between the Galbadians and Dollet troops.

"On the other side of there, sir," he replied. "He picked up some reinforcements from the SeeD group that was up here and was rallying as many men as he could, but they've been pushed back all the way to the ballroom. The Galbadians just keep coming, but we're keeping them from setting up any real solid force. It's chaos all over the second floor. I got word that the Galbadians were massing for an assault on the ballroom to crush whatever the Colonel had brought together."

"How many men do you have here?" Squall asked, looking around at the Dollet force.

"About a hundred, sir," the staff sergeant replied. "We're trying to keep the elevator secure so we can receive more reinforcements."

"Hold your force here," Squall ordered, and looked to his SeeD group. Behind them, the elevator had returned, and another dozen or so SeeDs had arrived. They quickly formed up. Squall knew that all around the upper floor, other SeeD groups were assembling and fighting the enemy using the other elevators.

"We're going to go straight through," Squall told his group, and both the SeeDs he'd come with and those who'd just arrived nodded. "We blast our way clear through to the ballroom. Kill anything that's not Garden or Dollet on the way there, understood?" He received acknowledgements, and nodded to the sergeant.

"Hold here, and keep the door open for our troops. Tell any you see to go straight into the battle and kill as many Galbadians as they can." The man nodded, and the Squall turned back toward the fearsome melee, where Dollet troops hacked and smashed against Galbadians, and both sides had all too many dead lying along the floors. He raised his gunblade.

"Charge!" he roared, and the SeeDs rushed forward, brandishing their weapons. They were small in number, but they made up for that in sheer power behind them moments later, as they reached the outer edge of the melee, they proved their effectiveness as they cut into surprised Galbadian soldiers and blasted apart robotic units. Squall cleaved through two soldiers with a single cut, before shoulder-checking another soldier who was about to finish off a Dollet trooper. The enemy soldier was hurled to the ground, and Squall kicked him before he'd even hit the floor, launching him through the air and taking down a small crowd of Galbadians. A sword flew at him, and he parried and countered instinctively, cleaving off his attacker's arm at the elbow before smashing him with the butt of his gunblade. The surprised soldier was hurled against the wall, and looked down at his severed arm in confusion as the SeeDs blasted past.

Beside Squall, Selphie was focusing on spellcasting, launching potent blasts of magic precisely at enemy soldiers, dropping them in mid-swing. She juggled her offensive spell casting with supportive, dropping healing spells and defensive shields around wounded soldiers, restoring and protecting them. Every now and then she had to take up her nunchaku in defense, whipping the iron bars around like clubs and smacking aside any Galbadian who had struck at her. Behind and beside the two leading SeeDs, the remainder of the SeeD group cleaved and slashed, hurling magic and firing rifles into any blue-uniformed enemies they saw. As theyplowed through the chaos, the SeeDs found Dollet soldiers rushing in their wake, many men joining the offensive rush. The SeeDs soon found themselves the spearhead of a force that rumbled through the hallways toward the ballroom, blasting through Galbadian troops and pulling even more Dollet soldiers in their wake, while leaving other soldiers to battle the weakened Galbadians they had left behind. They occasionally even passed groups of SeeDs fighting Galbadians as well.

Within minutes the growing assault force led by Squall and Selphie had reached and breached the ballroom, to find the once pristine and beautiful chamber where Squall had danced with Rinoa had been transformed into Hell.

The dance floor was now the site of a battle even more insane and chaotic than the one in the halls as Dollet and Galbadian troops intertwined in a ballet of death. Nearly two hundred Dollet soldiers fought twice their number in Galbadians on the dance floor, and over half of those men were paratroopers, Galbadian elites. Other Galbadians and Dollet soldiers fought in the sheltered regions beneath the upper level, and both Galbadian and Dollet troops traded gunfire on the upper levels amidst the pillars up there.

Squall didn't hesitate, rushing forward, raising his gunblade and calling for another charge right into the middle of the dance floor. SeeDs and Dollet troops streamed down from the doors and into the middle of the war zone, striking the backside of the Galbadian force. Their sudden assault brought new hope to the rallied Dollet forces, and they fought on even more ferociously.

-------------------------

"Y'know," Irvine commented, reloading his revolvers, "If we could calm this spot down, that balcony out there would be a good place to start sniping from."

"I'll make a note of it," Colonel Randolph replied as he put a burst of machinegun fire into another Galbadian head.

"Reinforcements!" came a shout from one of the soldiers on the upper floor, and both Randolph and Irvine looked away momentarily from the enemy crouching behind pillars on the other side of the ballroom. The pair found themselves looking down at the SeeD force, leading an army of Dollet troops down into the middle of the chaos below.

"Damn good news," Randolph commented. He leaned around his pillar and fired another shot, dropping a foolish paratrooper who was looking out at that moment. Return fire caused him to duck beck behind safety. Beside him, Irvine had spun out, emptying a pair of handguns at Galbadians across the way, felling several. He came back behind his pillar and reloaded.

"I'm guessing Squall's leading that group," he stated.

"I'd love to give the Commander a hand, but we're a bit busy now," Randolph commented, firing another burst at a pair of ambitious soldiers rushing to another pillar, killing one and sending the other diving for cover. Something exploded nearby, and one of the huge blue robots burst through the floor, firing down below at some target. The sharpshooter, the Dollet commander, and the small group of soldiers clustered around them opened fire immediately, showering the robot with bullets and tearing it apart. It dropped to the floor, burning as parts of it detonated.

"Hate to say I agree," Irvine replied. He popped out again, and fired another shot, this time from a stolen Galbadian M4 rifle, and dropped yet another enemy soldier. He glanced down at the battlefield, and paused, spotting a familiar yellow dress, and its wearer launching magic furiously about the lower level. "Wait a minute," he exclaimed. "Selphie's down there!"

"What are you talking about, Kinneas?" the Colonel muttered, before watching in astonishment as Irvine suddenly rose, drawing both his Calicos. He rushed forward, around the pillar they were taking cover behind, and dove off the top of the upper level, right into the middle of the melee.

--------------------

Squall drove his gunblade into an opponent's side, ripping it up out of his back, before spinning around, planting a punch across a Galbadian's jaw and then slashing down with his gunblade into his enemy's chest. Beside him, Selphie covered his back with a blast of fire that blasted a pair of enemies away and scattered several more. A pair of Dollet troops rushed into the gap, smashing away with the butts of their rifles. Selphie covered them with defensive spells as Squall cleaved through another enemy and came around in a hard slash that split an opponent's skull. She spun low, jabbing the butts of her nunchaku into a nearby soldier's stomach, and as he doubled over, she smashed them into the top of his head, laying him out cold on the dance floor.

The arrival of a large, solid force of reinforcements had almost instantly turned the tide in the battle. The SeeDs, with Dollet soldiers behind them, had crashed through over a third of the battlefield like a tidalwave, pushing back or outright destroying any Galbadian troops in their path, and had linked up with the Dollet troops fighting in these areas, adding to their momentum. Even the Galbadian paratroopers, as skilled and well trained as they were, were being driven back by the enemy charge. Squall had focused on eliminating the paratroopers as soon as possible, as the more dangerous, spell-casting soldiers could present a threat to his force.

As Dollet troops tried fighting their way back across the battlefield to where Squall had rallied his force, the Galbadians began to gather as well, trying to crush whatever resistance remained. However, an explosion in the midst of their ranks threw them into momentary disorder, and that was when Irvine Kinneas chose to break through, pumping bullets out from one of his Calicos while lobbing a pair of grenades he had stolen from a Galbadian corpse. More explosions scattered and felled many more Galbadians, and he burst through the enemy lines and linked up with Squall and Selphie as they ripped apart another Galbadian squad.

" Irvine!" Selphie cried out as soon as she saw him. "Duck!"

Irvine threw himself to the floor and a bolt of lightning ripped past, forking between two Galbadian paratroopers trying to attack his backside. Squall leaped past Irvine and took down a third paratrooper with his swinging gunblade.

"Having fun?" he asked as he rolled over onto his back, emptying his Calico into another group of foes. The soldiers fell, except for a pair who rushed forward furiously. Squall intercepted one with a stroke that cleaved the man's head in half, while Selphie snapped out her nunchaku and smashed the other foe in the skull, denting his helmet inward. Irvine's free hand drew one of his revolvers, then put two shots into the Galbadian, dropping him. Selphie helped the sharpshooter to his feet, only for both of them to get thrown down again, as did a majority of the combatants, as Galbadia Garden rammed Balamb Garden again.

"That pilot they've got over there is really pissing me off," Irvine muttered as he jumped back up. Squall had managed to keep his feet despite the impact, and was taking advantage of the many collapsed foes around him. The SeeDs and the Dollet troops that were still standing did so as well. They rushed forward, driving the enemy back momentarily and earning the group a bit of breathing room.

"Let's take him out, then!" Selphie offered, and Irvine nodded. Squall had managed to fight his way back to them by that point, chopping down another opponent who had tried to rise.

"I overheard," he said. "Taking out their pilot won't stop them. They'll just put someone else up there."

"Not if we take out their controls," Selphie replied, a mischievous grin on her face. "Dollet's got plenty of heavy firepower on hand, right?"

"You two think you can do it?" Squall asked, and they nodded in unison.

"Snipe the pilot, blast the controls, easy," Irvine replied. Squall nodded.

"Do it," he ordered. "I'll take care of things down here." He threw them a quick salute and turned back to the battle. Selphie and Irvine broke away, he pausing only to fire at any opponents who had gotten close and she only to heal the wounded and cast supportive spells. They rushed through the fearsome battle, back toward the stairs leading up to the entrance. SeeD and Dollet reinforcements seemed to trickle in through the doors, coming in steadily and joining the ferocious battle as they beat back the enemy in the halls. They turned and rushed up the stairs to the second level, Irvine drawing his Calicos again and spraying gunfire across the way at the enemy on the other side of the second floor. The Dollet forces were doing well up there, as the sudden and ferocious arrival of Squall's force had evened up the battle below. Within moments they had returned to where Colonel Randolph crouched, reloading his rifle yet again.

"Kinneas, welcome back," Randolph said with a nod. "We've got them pinned down. That balcony you commented on hasn't quite been secured yet, but we've flanked the majority of them and are tightening the noose. Once we've got this handled we can assist your comrades."

"That's good news," Irvine said. "You got any long-range explosive on hand?"

"A couple of RPGs, but they're not going to be too useful. They're pretty spread out over there, can't put them to good use. We were saving them for a special occasion."

"Well, we've got one for you," Selphie replied with a devilish grin. "Where are they?"

"Over there, with Corporal Edwards. If you're going to use them, feel free."

"Thanks, Colonel," Irvine replied, and they scrambled across the battle field, dodging Galbadian return fire, Irvine and Selphie returning the bullets with bolts of magic and concentrated fire. Within moments they had made their way to where a group of Dollet soldiers were crouching, taking cover and trading conservative fire.

"Afternoon, gentlemen," Irvine commented. "Colonel said we could borrow some of your explosive toys. You mind?"

"Not at all," replied a soldier marked as a corporal, likely Edwards. He turned around and hefted a grenade launcher. It wasn't the large, boxy ones the SeeDs used, but rather a sleeker, twin-barreled weapon. Selphie took the weapon, grinning like a kid in a candy store, and scooped up two reloads worth of grenades as well. Suitably armed, the pair burst from cover again, pinning down the Galbadians with ranged firepower as they circled toward the balcony. Irvine, however, paused well before they reached the balcony, and took the PSG-1 sniper rifle off his back. He crouched behind a pillar, and raised the weapon, zooming in on the balcony. At most angles he couldn't get a good shot through the doorway, and a force of about eight or nine enemy soldiers were outside on the balcony, using the doorways for cover and keeping the Dollet troops from passing in front of the doorway. Not only was the balcony a good spot to snipe into Galbadia Garden, but it also would allow the Galbadians to command this upper floor and keep Dollet from flanking them.

Irvine's bullet punching into one of the soldier's faceplate suddenly challenged that tactical advantage. The Galbadians were startled by the sniper, and he was able to pick off three more before they took cover. Half of their foes dealt with, Irvine and Selphie moved again, rushing across the upper level and loser to the balcony. He exchanged his sniper rifle for the pair of Calicos, and surveyed the situation.

"Not good," he muttered, shaking his head. "I've got armor, but those soldiers will probably not be an easy assault. Can't go in front, they'd cut me down-" He paused as a transparent shield formed over the front of his body, and glanced back at Selphie.

"Protection spell," she replied, grinning.

"I'm not a fan of magic, buy hey, if it works," Irvine replied. He rose, readying his weapons, and then dashed toward the balcony doorway. The Galbadians outside immediately opened fire, but their bullets bounced harmlessly off his shield. Irvine's return fire, however, was far more effective, and two of the enemy succumbed to his gunfire before the other pair ducked back out of the way. The sharpshooter burst through the doorway, but spun low, Calicos crossing over his chest. He fired, holding down the triggers, and automatic fire sprayed on opposite sides of the balcony. Both men were cut down.

Selphie was right behind him, leaping out onto the balcony. Irvine quickly turned around, and spotted Galbadia Garden to his left. He took down his PSG-1 and readied it, leveling the weapon up at Galbadia Garden's top, scanning the front for the location where the pilot would be.

"Why not just let me blow him up?" Selphie asked as she readied her launcher.

"Because you might miss," he replied. "Those things aren't very precise. I'll probably only get one shot at the pilot, and if I miss, he won't let me get another one. Once I take him out, you can hit the control room and blow everything - there!" Irvine paused, stilling his breath as he spotted a lone Galbadian soldier, clad in red, manipulating a large lever similar to the one that Nida used to fly Balamb Garden. The pilot was at the very top of the cobra head of Galbadia Garden, an easy target.

Irvine settled the crosshairs over his target's faceplate, and brushed the trigger lightly. The distant glass shattered as the pilot paused to check something, and then the man crumpled to the floor.

"Okay!" he shouted, nodding. "Blast it, Selphie!"

"Whoo-hoo!" she shouted, and raised her grenade launcher. She took careful aim, and then white exhaust trailed a small explosive from one of the barrels. She fired a second shot, just to be sure, and that one also lanced out at the cockpit. It took several long seconds for the grenades to reach their targets, but then they struck, and a huge yellow fireball of exploding electronics and shattered glass flew out from the top.

"Booya!" she shouted, pumping her fist in the air. "Control's gone!"

"Better let squall know to back us away from Galbadia Garden so they can't send reinforcements in," Irvine added as they turned around and hurried back into the ballroom.

But it turned out that was unnecessary. Even as the pair rejoined the battle, the Galbadians seemed to have realized something was wrong. Perhaps it was that the Dollet and SeeD force that had assembled in the ballroom now outnumbered the Galbadians, or it was the heavy losses they had already suffered in the assault. But whatever it was, the Galbadians were already appearing to be on the verge of defeat. Within a minute or so of the pair's return to the larger battle, the Galbadian troops had begun a complete withdrawal from the upper levels, leaving only their robotic units to provide what cover they could.

Less than ten minutes after the duo had destroyed Galbadia Garden's ability to maneuver, the last of the Galbadian soldiers upstairs fell dead to the floor or had already retreated.

--------------------

Xu and Quistis paused, taking heavy breaths as the enemy retreated. Quistis quickly cast a spell, healing her left arm, which a Galbadian sword had sliced badly, while Xu turned her attention to a badly wounded cadet nearby.

The battle had been ferocious indeed. The Galbadians had pressed even harder this time against their front ranks, pushing the already battered force back to the entrance, the enemy scrambling over the turnstiles to get at them. There were a lot of wounded, but many more dead Galbadians than dead SeeDs and cadets. Even so, casualties had been high among their force, with nearly two hundred more out of the fight, dead or badly wounded. If the enemy had kept up the assault for much longer, then they probably would have broken through. Another attack like that one and they wouldn't hold at all.

"We're pretty badly off," Xu said grimly as she looked over the wounded, who were hard to tel from the dead with all the blood that had been spilled. Cadets desperately applied bandages to the wounded while others cast spells on injured fighters. Potions were poured over damaged or, in several cases, severed limbs. One group of grim SeeDs carried the mortally wounded to the sides, where they silently administered painkillers so those who could not be saved would die in peace.

"We can't hold if they attack again," Quistis added in the same tone, shaking her head.

"I don't think they can," Xu replied, nodding toward the destroyed control room on the enemy Garden. The Garden was getting somewhat smaller then, as Nida backed Garden away.

"Then we won?" asked a young cadet, who was casting a healing spell over a comrade.

"Not yet," Xu answered after a long moment. "The Sorceress is still on board that Garden. She can't attack us, not yet, but we can't leave her alone.

"We need to report back to Squall," Quistis added.

--------------------

Her arms burned from the exertion. Rinoa had been hanging on for a long time, many minutes, as she had heard the battle rage around her. Galbadia Garden had rammed them twice, and each time she had almost lost her grip. Even with the junctions, she wasn't able to hold on forever. Even the strongest man couldn't defeat gravity when his only lifeline was a slippery string.

The rocks she clung to slowly began to crumble under her grasp. She didn't have much time left at all.

Then they broke, and she went sliding down again, her hands clawing desperately for purchase. After two long, heart-stopping moments, a large crack in the wall found its way around her finger tips, and she grasped it frantically, holding tightly to her last lifeline. There was barely anymore stone below, and if she lost her grip, she was gone.

"Squall . . . ." she said, imagining him at that moment, and somehow taking strength in the thought.

--------------------

Squall was on the bridge, having discarded his coat, which had been torn, battered and shot beyond repair in the battle. Now he just wore a white muscle shirt, stained thoroughly with enemy blood, but none of his own. Selphie and Irvine stood with them as they looked at the damaged Garden.

"Squall!" came a shout from behind, and Squall turned to see Zell behind him, stepping off the elevator. He looked frantic.

"Did you save her?" he asked, but Zell's expression told him Zell hadn't.

"No way in hell I can get in there, Squall!" Zell replied. "Even when they pulled out, they still had more of those bastards in there! I can't fight through all of them! The only way to get to her is to go over the roof or fly, and I don't think either of those is gonna work."

"Dammit!" Squall hissed, pounding a fist into one of the consoles. Moments later, the elevator rose up, now carrying a bloody Colonel Randolph, along with Quistis, Xu, and, surprisingly enough, Doctor Kadowaki.

"How's the situation below?" Squall asked, and Quistis shook her head.

"We're very badly off. We've got a lot of dead and wounded. Another attack on the front gate and we won't hold."

"My men are hurting as well, Commander," Randolph said, tiredly. "Over half the battalion is dead or too badly wounded to fight. We just barely squeaked by when your people took that control center out. We can't survive an attack on the upper floors like that one again."

"A lot of wounded have ended up in the infirmary," Kadowaki stated. "The medics for both the SeeDs and the Dollet battalion are hard-pressed to care for everyone."

"Their Garden has more men and resources," Squall stated. "Though they've probably run almost completely out of paratroopers and robotic forces. Still, they've got more than enough regulars to overwhelm us in another attack. We can't defend here. I should have realized that. Our troops are better suited for offense than defense."

"We can still run, Commander," Nida offered. "Their drive system is down. We can escape."

"No," Squall stated firmly. "We are not running. They're wounded and depleted. So are we, but they've been hurt more. Our only option here is to fight. Otherwise, everyone who died has died in vain. They'll just hunt us down and crush us later. We have to end this here, now!"

"Yeah!" Zell roared. "Eliminate and annihilate!"

"But what about Rinoa?" Selphie asked. Squall paused, looking down at the lifeless gray deck. Rinoa . . . He couldn't let her die. But there was as much, if not more, at stake in the larger battle . . . .

"Whoa, wait a second," Irvine interjected. "You just gave up on her, didn't you?" Squall looked up, surprised to see Irvine's face set in one of the most serious he'd seen on anybody's. Ever.

"You didn't give up on her back when the monsters were attacking her in Deling City, did you?" he asked, and Squall shook his head. "Then don't give up on her now. Don't give up until you are _absolutely certain_ that you can't save her. There's a chance, no matter how small, right? Then take it!"

"But I have to lead the-"

"We'll handle that," Quistis stated, stepping in. "Go to her, Squall. Find her, and save her."

"Yeah!" Selphie added. "You have to! If anyone can do it, it's you!"

"We got faith in you, Squall," Zell added, nodding and clenching a fist. "You can do it!"

"We all believe in you," Nida added, turning away from his steering lever. "You don't know it, but everyone in Garden looks up to you, even the people from Trabia and Galbadia Gardens. You're our commander, and the biggest inspiration for all of us. We _all_ believe in you, Squall." He turned around, looking to each and every one of his comrades and fighters. He evaluated each of them as Nida's words filled his ears.

Zell, the ferocious brawler, fighting for Balamb, for Garden, for his family and comrades, and serving fearlessly beside Squall, following his lead. Quistis, the experienced SeeD who cared for everyone, commanding both the loyalty and respect of everyone within Garden, and had some of the deepest relationships with Squall, but one he had only just realized. Xu, one of the most experienced fighters and SeeDs in the room, who nonetheless looked up to Squall for guidance, trusting in him. Selphie, from Trabia Garden, who had seen her Garden destroyed and her friends disappear, who had fought alongside him in her first engagement and had remained a steadfast, if overlooked, friend all this time. Irvine, the sharpshooter who had reminded everyone about their pasts, and had followed Squall, even in battle against his own Garden, despite the fact that he was an outsider, and had fearlessly fought for all of them. Even Colonel Randolph, the Dollet commander who followed a man less than a third his own age, trusting in his judgment and that Squall would further make his nation secure and safe.

All of them had fought together with him, in the same cause, and trusted in him, despite their differing backgrounds, nationalities, and beliefs. All of them were his soldiers or his allies. And it was his job to lead them.

"Squall," Kadowaki said, nodding as she saw his evaluative gaze over each of his comrades. "You've just understood one of the tenets of leadership. You've come to realize that you are a leader of men, and what that responsibility entails. You know yourself and what you are." She nodded toward the intercom. "Speak with your soldiers, Squall. They need to hear your voice, to urge them on into battle. All of them, be they SeeD, cadet, or Dollet soldiers. This is your moment."

Very slowly, very solemnly, squall nodded. Nida reached for the intercom switch, but Squall shook his head instead doing it himself. The mantle of leadership was now resting across his shoulders, and he was now ready for it.

"Everybody," he stated after a long moment. "This is Commander Leonhart." He paused.

"How is everyone doing? I've seen the battles myself, and I know a lot of you are tired and wounded, and some of you can barely stand up. It's been rough, I know, but we _have_ held. Now, I need everyone to listen, because despite the pain and the ache and the exhaustion, one thing stands clear.

"We _can win this._ The opportunity is here. The tide is turning in this battle. We've got them hurting and bleeding, and they've surrendered the initiative they held throughout this battle. And we're going to take it. We're going to go in, we're going to take this war back to them, to fight on their ground, to remind them _why_ SeeD is the greatest military force in the world, _why_ Dollet was the greatest empire in the world, and _why_ it is our destiny to protect this world from the Sorceress who threatens its safety. This is our destiny, our clash against this threat to everything we hold dear. We're going in, we're going to hit them hard, and we're going to _crush_ them.

" Balamb Garden will ram Galbadia Garden head on. I want the corpsmen and the medics to take care of the wounded. Cafeteria defenders will remain to bottle up the enemy that is still inside the Quad. The remainder of our forces, everyone who can still fight, will assemble at the front gate. Colonel Randolph, Xu, Quistis, Zell, Irvine, and Selphie will lead the attack. We punch in, get inside, and drive them out and away. This is it, the final push. It's our only chance at victory, and we have to take it.

"Garden was founded to fight the Sorceress. This battle, here and now, is our destiny. The destiny of Garden, the destiny of those of you who have come here to fight. it's a grueling battle, and I know many of you are exhausted and wounded. But I do not want this to be a day which I regretted leading everyone here. This is not a day in which I want to look back and think that we failed. This is a day I want to look back upon and realize that this day, what we did, was what _had_ to be done."

Squall narrowed his eyes, and slammed both hands down on the console. "This is it! Our battle! For our future, we _have to win_ this! Today, here, _now_, we have to give everything we've got! For yourselves, for your homelands, your families, your friends, and for me!"

Squall went silent, and after a long moment, the comm system popped once, and then, a roar sounded over the intercom, the cheers and cries and claps and hoots and war cries of every soldier, SeeD, and cadet inside Garden. It went on for a long time, but Squall, already short on time, cut in through the middle of it.

"Everyone, assemble at the front gate. Let's win this." He then cut off the intercom and turned back to his comrades. "Don't worry," he told them quietly. "I've got this."

"That was beautiful," Doctor Kadowaki said, smiling. Then, she turned to Nida. "Ram 'em!"

"Yes ma'am!" Nida replied. Squall momentarily considered belaying that order. But he knew that Rinoa had her junctions, and if she hadn't been able to hold on with all the ramming that was being done by the enemy Garden . . . .

"Not too hard," he added as Nida rotated the Garden. The pilot nodded as he aimed directly at Galbadia Garden.

"Just give the order, Squall, and I'll ram this Garden right down their throats."

"No, not yet," Squall replied quickly. "There's something I need take care of before we move."

---------------------

Squall had given specific orders. He carried a flare gun on his belt, along with climbing gear, including a long, synthetic rope and self-inserting pitons. His plan was simple: go to the second floor, set a piton on the outside wall, and then begin to rappel down to where Rinoa was hanging. It seemed easy enough when Squall had first considered it, but as he found himself on the second level, running past what seemed to be a carpet of torn, bloody and mangled Galbadian and Dollet corpses, he realized how complicated this plan really was.

The complication was expanded as he turned down one of the halls toward a balcony. He neared an emergency door for escaping the second level of Garden in case of emergency, when the door to the balcony crashed inward and two hoverfoils featuring Galbadian soldiers flew in.

Squall cursed as he saw them, realizing they must have been either scouts or stragglers. Both of the enemy soldiers flew directly toward him, one clad in blue, the other in paratrooper green. Squall had time to launch a single bolt of lightning, blasting the nearer, blue-clad soldier away and sending his hoverfoil bouncing. Then the paratrooper slammed into Squall, knocking him on his back and throwing the air from his lungs. Squall quickly stumbled to his feet as the pilot swerved around in the middle of the hallway - no small feat - and accelerated, smashing him against the wall, right next to the emergency door. The pilot backed away, lining up for another smash. Squall gasped in pain from the impact; any normal human would have been killed.

Squall, thinking quickly, stepped to the side and slapped the emergency release for the door. It slid open as the hoverfoil's pilot smashed into Squall, who grabbed onto the front and held on for dear life.

They tumbled out the front door, and along the long inflatable yellow rubber slide that extended from the bottom of the door, intended to get people on the upper levels out quickly in case of emergencies. The slide dangled out over open air, and the hoverfoil tumbled down and then off it, dropping into momentary free fall before righting itself. Squall found himself on the underside of the hoverfoil, and reached up, grabbing the pilot's straps. A swift tug unbuckled one of them, and the pilot's mouth opened as he slid out. The paratrooper managed to hit a switch as he fell that extended a long towline beneath the hoverfoil. He grasped it desperately, and reached up with his other hand, pulling on Squall's boot. Squall, his grip not secure, slipped free and fell as well, also catching the line. Both of them slid down to the bottom of the line, before they were able to catch themselves, the paratrooper planting his foot on a ring at the bottom of the line, while Squall managed to coil the line around one of his boots and plant his other foot on top, locking him in place just above the bottom.

"SeeD punk!" the soldier cursed over the roaring wind as the hoverfoil flew on, uncontrolled. He reared back and punched squall across the face with his armored hand, smacking the SeeD and snapping his head back. "You're gonna die!"

He punched again, smacking Squall once again, but the SeeD turned his head with the blow and, gripping the rope tightly with his left hand, sent a powerful jab into the paratrooper's face. The man's head flew back, and Squall followed through with another punch, a right cross that struck the soldier's helmet. It hurt Squall's fingers, but he knew that the injury was minor in this sudden struggle hundreds of feet above the earth. Squall punched again, but the Galbadian managed to get his left hand up and absorb the hit on his gauntlet. He then reached forward and closed his hand around Squall's throat, trying to strangle him as they flew near the upper floors of Balamb Garden.

Squall got his right arm inside the grab and weaved the man's arm back out, before grabbing it and holding tightly to his wrist with his right hand. His left released the line and, using the soldier's left arm to hold himself up, he jabbed again, his knuckles crushing the soldier's nose as the hoverfoil broke away from Balamb Garden and began to move toward Galbadia Garden

Squall punched again, but the soldier lowered his head, the blow bouncing off the top of his helmet, and shoved forward, smashing his head into Squall's chest and blasting the air from his lungs again. The paratrooper yanked his arm free from Squall's grasp, and at that moment, it seemed the SeeD was going to fall.

But somehow, Squall managed to snap both arms forward and catch the cable again, an instant before he fell too far back and lost his grip. As the hoverfoil flew between the two Gardens, it began to dip uncontrollably. The Galbadian, tired of this slugging match, reached over with his right hand and pulled a combat knife free from its sheath by his shoulder. He stabbed down at Squall's left hand as he recovered, and the blade dug in, inciting a yelp of pain from the SeeD. He instinctively pulled his arm away from the blade and off the rope, and the soldier began to slash down at his right hand. But Squall dipped his left hand to his belt and tore one of his knives free and managed to angle it between his opponent's blade and his other hand.

"Hynedamned SeeD!" muttered the paratrooper as his knife was parried. He thrust the blade at Squall's face, but the SeeD angled his head back and snapped his own knife up, slicing the soldier's wrist. The man cried out in pain as his knife flew from his hand and dropped far below, and then Squall stabbed again, this time driving the blade into the soldier's stomach. The man gasped in pain, his hands reaching to the wound, when Squall reared back, releasing the buried blade and swinging his arm back. He twirled it once to gain momentum, and then it shot forward, a lightning fast smash that seemed to have picked up momentum from miles away and struck the wounded soldier in the middle of his visor.

The paratrooper was blasted clean off his perch and into the depths below.

Squall pulled himself back up the cable quickly, ignoring the pain in his cut hand, seeing that the hoverfoil was dipping low, having almost reached the antigravity ring of Galbadia Garden. He managed to get up to the pilot's seat and hit the ascension control, raising the hoverfoil up. Some careful maneuvers and positioning later, Squall was standing in the pilot's seat and maneuvering the hoverfoil. He'd never actually used one, but the controls were easy enough to understand, especially considering their simplicity and how clearly they were labeled. Within a few moments of seizing control he had the craft under his command and was flying it around Balamb Garden, toward the Quad.

He carefully surveyed the side of the Garden, watching intently for any hint of where Rinoa was-

_There!_ He spotted her hanging on tightly to a large crack in the stone of the Quad's foundation, and angled his hoverfoil in, flying above her and dangling the cable below. She looked up as he approached, hearing the roar of his engines, and her face lit up in exhilarated relief as he approached, the lifeline right in front of her. Rinoa grabbed it, hooking a foot into the ring at the bottom, and Squall pulled away, hearing her almost giddy laughter at the rescue.

He ascended, and then pulled the flare gun from his belt, almost as an afterthought, and fired it up in the air, past the bridge.

---------------------

"By Hyne, he did it!" Doctor Kadowaki commented as she saw the flare, and the small, distant figure of Squall on his hoverfoil, carrying Rinoa with him. Nida nodded, momentarily too shocked for words, and then reached down, flicking on the intercom.

---------------------

The combined armies of Dollet and Garden had assembled at the front gate, doing last-minute checks of their weapons and gear, hurriedly preparing spells or loading weapons and securing ammunition, and in a few cases, tightening the bandages on wounds that they were willing to ignore to be part of the end of this battle.

At the forefront of the army stood the six Squall had directed to lead the charge. Zell was moving around nervously, ready for battle and trying to conserve his energy for the final assault. Quistis did what she could to direct and order their troops, and Xu and Randolph assisted her. Irvine was reloading and checking all of his weapons, while Selphie stood anxiously at the head of the group, nunchaku held loosely in her hands.

They were startled out of their preparations when Nida's voice cut in.

"Attention, everyone! He did it! Squall saved her!" There was a collective cheer from the assembled armies, which was only tempered by the slight motion they all felt as Balamb Garden accelerated.

"We're moving in," Nida added. "Everyone, brace yourselves, we're about to ram them!"

"Yeah, baby!" Zell roared. "Let's kick some _ass!_"

-----------------------

"Sir Almasy, the casualty reports have come in," one of the majors who had survived the battle reported. Seifer, who was returning to the throne room Edea had fashioned, nodded absently.

"Almost all of the paratrooper and robotic units are gone, sir," the major continued. "We estimate that nearly half of our regulars are gone as well. We're still trying to regain control over the Garden's drive systems, but the damage in the cockpit is pretty severe. We're stuck here for now."

"In other words, they've got the initiative," Seifer answered, smiling. He turned back to the major, who was confused by his smile.

"Sir?" he asked hesitantly.

"Enemy casualty estimates?" he asked.

"Um, we estimate that we've depleted nearly half their forces, though many more of those are wounded as opposed to dead," the major replied. "We guess that the remainder of their force is something along the lines of five hundred or more SeeDs, maybe a thousand cadets, and a thousand Dollet soldiers. We've still got them outnumbered nearly two to one. We can break through if we launch another attack, though casualties will be high."

"Of course they'll be high," Seifer replied. "This is SeeD we're dealing with." He paused, and looked up at the ceiling, and his smile widened.

"They've got the initiative, which means they will come for us once they've caught their breath." Seifer nodded to himself. "Order your men. Tell them to prepare for an enemy offensive. They're coming in, and we'll meet them."

"Will you be heading the defense, sir?" the major asked, but Seifer shook his head.

"Delay them, beat them back, and bleed them," Seifer ordered. "I don't think we'll be able to stop their assault, but we can hurt them before they get inside. But tell your men not to worry, because this battle is still ours."

"What do you mean, sir?" the major asked.

"Because, even if they're SeeDs, even if they have Dollet backing them, and even if Squall himself is leading that charge, we still have our trump cards on board this Garden." Seifer pointed up at the ceiling. "We have me, and we have Edea. Let them come. They only think they've won, but we're going to show them just what it means to face a true Sorceress and her knight, and just why they're so feared."

Suddenly, a tremendous crash sounded throughout the Garden, followed by klaxons and shouts of alarm. Seifer grinned as the major looked around in shock.

"Well, speak of the devil," Seifer commented, laughing. He was actually _laughing_, at a time like this.

"They're here," he added. "Go to your men. Fight them, kill them, hurt them. We'll be waiting."

"Yes, sir!" the major replied with a quick salute, and he turned and rushed off. Seifer watched him leave, and then turned back to the elevators.

"Come on then, Squall," he whispered, smiling darkly. "It's time we put an end to our little game."

---------------------

The confusion was instant, immediate, and complete. Practically the instant the front gate had crashed upon the outside of Galbadia Garden, the entire united SeeD and Dollet force, with the six leaders at their head, had thundered out in a furious rampage. A few Galbadians had been outside the Garden's main structure when they had met, but they were quickly plowed under as the two thousand and more soldiers of Garden rushed out fearlessly, crossing the wide expanses of open terrain that Galbadia Garden featured. It took the enemy a long while to even react to the invasion, but then, from seemingly every doorway from every structure within the compact construction of Galbadia Garden, Galbadian soldiers rushed forward, many in the blue and red of Galbadian infantry and officers, with only a few in the green garb of paratroopers and maybe a few dozen surviving motorcycle troopers, rushing in a disorganized countercharge.

"Bring it on!" Zell roared, and a unified cheer went up among the Garden ranks, and then, the next instant, the leading edge of the unified Garden armies met the first of the Galbadians, and all order and sense of tactics were instantly lost in a maelstrom of chaos and fury, clashing blades, roars of victory and cries of pain and death. Magic sizzled and thundered amidst raging gunfire as dust flew high and explosions sounded across the battlefield.

It was entropy, complete lack of order as the opposing armies that had fought so hard in the last hours met in their final clash on the open fields of battle, tangling together in a thousand and more grim dances of death and violence.

Zell, Quistis, Xu, and Colonel Randolph found themselves in an impromptu alliance as they were lost in the swirl of war. An entire platoon of Galbadians rushed at the quartet, and the three SeeDs responded with blasts of magic while Randolph emptied his rifle's magazine into the enemy. The Galbadians staggered and were scattered by the barrage, and the group rushed in immediately, Zell and Xu side by side. A blast of fire ripped into a pair of enemies, launched by Quistis, and in the resulting confusion, the pair plowed in. Zell spun around low and sent out a wide-flying kick that struck a Galbadian in the gut and hurled him away, while Xu's sai flashed and interwove between two soldiers, cutting their hands and elbows and disarming them. Before they could react she had cut down both of them and taken a step back, spinning and stabbing with both sai into another soldier's chest. The man fell back and dropped to the dirt, his blood pouring out, while Zell crushed an opponent's throat with a hook and then caught another foe's swinging sword arm by the armpit and hip-tossed him to the dirt. A subsequent stomp finished his opponent. The Galbadians would have surrounded them, but Quistis and Randolph kept them at bay, magic and bullets cutting down any who neared the fighters, and the fighters cutting and smashing down anyone who got past the magic and gunfire.

More enemies came on, closing around the battling quartet and trying to cut them off from support. Randolph and Quistis found themselves engaged in brutal close-quarters battle while even more enemy soldiers rushed against Zell and Xu, trying to overwhelm them. Quistis snapped her whip around, the blade cleaving through an opponent's throat and then diving forward like a striking snake, cutting into a foe's chest and biting at his heart. She pulled the whip in close and wrapped the chain around a charging Galbadian's blade and spun, redirecting his momentum and hurling him off his feet and to the dirt. Another opponent came at her from behind, but Randolph crushed his helmet inward with his buttstock and then spun, impaling a foe on his bayonet. He tore the weapon free and fired a burst into another closing enemy before stepping back out of range of another Galbadian's sword swipe and rushing forward, inside the arc of the cut and smashing his chin with the stock of his rifle.

Beside them, Xu and Zell more than held their own, his lashing feet and fists and her flashing blades cutting up and blasting away any foe that dared to challenge them. A thrusting sword jabbed at Zell's stomach, but one hand slapped it down while the other rose up, an elbow solidly impacting against the Galbadian's nose and crushing it. Zell's left foot rose and kicked the man away. Zell then ducked into a crouch, evading the slash from another opponent, and rose in a jab that doubled his foe over. Zell then grabbed the man's arm and spun with him, hurling him onto another group of charging enemies. They fell into a confused heap of legs, arms, and swords, upon which Zell leaped and began pounding.

A short distance away, Selphie and Irvine had formed their own team, working to beat back any enemies that came against them and supporting other SeeDs and soldiers. Whenever a cluster of Galbadian showed themselves, they put their combined firepower to devastating effect, Irvine using his Valiant and its special ammunition and Selphie with he magic to blow apart unified groups of Galbadian soldiers. The enemy obviously didn't appreciate their efforts, but in the complete havoc, no organized force could come against them. However, more than enough Galbadians tried to take them on individually to keep the pair on their toes. Irvine often switched from his Valiant to one of his lighter machine pistols or his Calicos, sometimes even his revolvers and handguns to beat back enemy soldiers that charged in too close. Selphie put her nunchaku to effective use, snapping the bars out and hurling aside enemy soldiers as they came at her, and, when they got too close, beating upon them with the iron bars as if they were clubs.

One opponent rushed her, sword raised high for a strike, when she swept the nunchaku around and smashed him across the face. Selphie reversed the momentum of the attack and sent it back across, slamming the man on the opposite side of his head and throwing him down. A second foe closed in, too close to whip the bars at him, so she simply crossed the bars in front of her and took the blade where the two rods met. A quick twist kept one bar pressing down on the blade and holding it at bay while the other crunched into the man's chin, stunning him for the instant she needed to smash both bars into the soldier and hurl him away. Magic flew where he had stood, blasting another pair of soldiers who were bearing down on a pair of cadets.

Behind her, Irvine emptied the last shotgun shell he had loaded into his Valiant and switched to normal ammunition, not having time to load more shotgun shells. He fired furiously as a large number of Galbadians rushed him. They dropped, but not quickly enough, and he released his rifle as it ran out, instead drawing his AB-10s and emptying them into the enemy. A dozen soldiers dropped from the hail of lead that the machine pistols spewed forth, their highly inaccurate fire proving itself useful and deadly with so many massed enemies. But as they ran dry, a pair of the enemy that still survived rushed at him, almost within striking range. Irvine discarded the spent pistols and snapped out his revolvers, firing both of them point blank into one soldier and then spinning around the man as he fell. The other soldier tried hacking at Irvine but missed, instead hitting the falling man as Irvine used him as a shield. The sharpshooter fired twice again, and both bullets struck down the last soldier. He then ducked as another opponent hacked at the back of his head, and spun around low, jamming both revolvers into his foe's stomach and firing again. The man jerked as if a hundred-pound weight was thrown at his chest, and then fell away.

More opponents closed in on all sides, and the pair braced themselves, firing, blasting, and striking in the middle of the ferocious war.

----------------------

"We're going down, right in the middle of it!" Squall yelled to Rinoa, who clung to the side of the slightly overbalanced hoverfoil. She nodded hesitantly, but firmed her jaw. nonetheless.

"Don't worry," he assured her. "Just stay close to me!" She nodded again, and looked down to the hellish war below. The SeeDs and their allies were battling with all their hearts, driving the Galbadians back and overwhelming them. The enemy had the advantage of numbers, but that could only last for so long. And she knew, even more importantly, that when the SeeD army knew that Squall, their leader, was fighting somewhere nearby, that their ferocity and heart for the battle would grow even more.

By now, she could see the soldiers battling below, individual warriors dueling with their opponents. The battle had been overbalanced at the beginning, the Galbadians having more manpower, but she saw that many had begun to retreat, fleeing their powerful opponents, and many more lay dead or wounded, out of the battle, while the SeeDs held strong. The lack of organization among the Galbadians was proving to be more of a hindrance than anything, as they could not take advantage of their numbers in the confusion. It did seem as if they were trying to form some sort of organization, as a large force was congregating toward the center of the battlefield, under the direction of a Galbadian major.

Squall sent the hoverfoil flying low, and she saw the ground just below her feet. She dropped off, and Squall set the craft down a second after she touched down, and dropped into the middle of the battlefield. He drew his gunblade immediately as they were enveloped in the furious melee.

"We're going to punch straight through!" he shouted. "We have to keep them from forming up and driving us back!" She nodded, and Squall turned in the direction of where the Galbadians were starting to organize, and then glanced back to her.

"Stay with me," he said, more quietly, and she nodded. Then, Squall rushed into the battlefield, gunblade raised. Galbadian soldiers immediately stood in his path, some trying to attack him while others simply bumbled into his route as they fought other Garden soldiers. The former were blasted clean through while the latter would suddenly find a gunblade slicing into their backs or sides or cleaving through their necks or heads. Rinoa trailed right behind him, just focusing on keeping up with squall as he roared across the field of battle, and wherever he went SeeDs and soldiers fought their Galbadian foes with more ferocity, and many began to follow in his wake. Squall soon had an entire platoon of mixed SeeDs, cadets, and Dollet soldiers following in his wake as he tore through enemy platoons the spearhead for a wedge that drove straight through any resistance the enemy attempted to mount.

---------------------

"Motorcycles, heading our way!" Xu shouted a warning, and the quartet, along with a force of SeeDs and Dollet soldiers who had found their way into the group amidst the battle, wheeled to face the threat. Most of the surviving motorcycle soldiers, about thirty or so in number, where accelerating across the battlefield, directly at their position. It was not hard to miss the group, as Galbadian corpses had piled high around them, and every attempt at a concentrated assault on the now sizable group had failed miserably. They were an island in the chaotic sea of the war, and were growing greater with every passing second as more troops joined. The biker troops were clearly trying to break that island and any efforts at organizing their soldiers.

"Set up!" Colonel Randolph suddenly ordered. "Form a line!" The Dollet troops, and the SeeDs and cadets a split second later, formed up into a quick, rough defensive line, and as one, they opened up with magic and rifles as the enemy rushed in. The first of the Galbadian bikers stopped as if they had struck a solid wall, many of them flying through the air or their riders tumbling from their vehicles, but many more came on, rumbling toward the line and splitting up into a loose formation to make them harder to hit. The SeeDs and cadets unleashed another barrage of magic and gunfire, and joined in that assault was a stream of magical projectiles from Quistis as she unleashed her potent Blue Magic upon them. More Galbadian bikers fell in the assault, but then they were upon the group, and the Balamb forces had to break up or be crushed under their wheels. Zell leaped forward in one of his typically brutal attacks, and smashed an opponent off his bike with a single devastating punch. Quistis sidestepped another soldier who drove past, snapping her rante out. The blade sliced through her opponent's helmet and threw him from the bike. Xu stepped between two enemies and slashed with her sai, and both of her targets fell from their bikes, throats slashed. Concentrated gunfire from the Dollet soldiers, SeeD riflemen, and Randolph took down several more opponents, their bikes skittering across the battlefield. But even with the casualties, the motorcycle troops had almost done their job, and several Dollet troops and SeeDs were down, slashed or flattened during the charge. The bikers turned around for another assault, half their numbers depleted but fearlessly coming on.

Something exploded in their midst, throwing several bikers and their vehicles into the air, and the Seed and Dollet force opened fire again, magic sizzling and freezing many of the enemy and bullets dropping others. Within moments the bikers were reduced to only a handful, and they scattered before they could be attacked again.

Through the confusion, Irvine and Selphie appeared, he holding a smoking Valiant and she holding a smoking Dollet-issue grenade launcher, the same she'd used against the Galbadia Garden control room.

"Boom!" she shouted, pumping a fist in the air. With the failed motorcycle attack, even more troops were rallying to them, their numbers swelling to almost a hundred men in the sea of war. The Galbadians themselves were backing off from attacking the assembled and growing force. But only for the moment across the battlefield, beyond the continuing chaos of the war, they could see the Galbadians assembling for another rush, a large, organized counteroffensive. It would not be enough to drive the SeeD army back - too many Galbadians had fled or were dead, and the SeeD forces had almost reached parity with the enemy in terms of numbers. But the organized assault would do one thing: it would kill more SeeDs and Dollet troops, and that was doubtless what this entire desperate stand was all about.

"If they charge," Quistis said, pointing toward the assembled force.

"They'll do a lot more damage before we can stop them," Randolph finished. "We have to stop them before they can finish assembling and get more organized."

"But we don't have enough manpower," Xu protested. "There's got to be six hundred or more men over there. We can stop them, but break them?"

"We have to try," Randolph replied, shaking his head. "Many more will die if they launch that force in an organized manner. We can't afford to not try."

Then, there suddenly came a jubilant shout from across the field, and the group spotted a number of Galbadians fleeing from a large force of SeeDs, cadets, and soldiers bulling through the battlefield in a large, rough wedge formation. And at the tip of that wedge, cleaving fearlessly through the Galbadian ranks--

"Squall!" Quistis cried, and saw precisely where he was aiming: directly at the massing Galbadians. She quickly spun back to her comrades. "Hurry! We have to assist him!" The others nodded and, with a unified shout, they charged across the battlefield, directly at the amassing enemy. Now, with two large SeeD and Dollet forces moving to assault the massed Galbadians, it seemed they not only had a chance to break the enemy, but a very good one.

The Galbadians, of course, failed to miss the presence of two large (and growing) enemy groups pushing through the chaos of the battle, but the major in command knew that his army was in trouble. Still, he did not hesitate, and he sent immediate orders to his men to charge. They formed into their own wedge, to split the enemy force apart, and he sent them into a furious rush, intending to stop and break their charge and kill as many as he could. After all, those were his orders: to kill. Not to win, not even to hold out. Just to hurt the enemy. And that he planned to do.

They rushed in, closing with one another. Soldiers from both sides either leaped out of the way or rushed to join the assault, depending upon whose army was closer, and both grew, snowballing as they rushed across the war zone. Seven, then eight, of the Seed force rushed a few steps further, as even Rinoa was caught up in the charge. They drew closer, and then closer, to the point where they could see details on one another-

And they met, a sudden furious impact of violence and death.

The Galbadians' leading edge was simply thrown back by the impact with the SeeDs, and they bore in, striking and fighting with bloody abandon.

Squall led the charge and scored the first kill, an overhead cleave that bit into the top of one man's helmet and down through his neck and out of his chest. The SeeD commander spun, gunblade slicing up into an opponent's chest before snapping across into the space where his first foe had been standing, cleaving down another opponent beyond. Galbadians assaulted him, stabbing and slicing, but his gunblade weaved inside every strike to counter and parry, and many foes found themselves dead before they even realized they'd missed. He chopped, he cleaved, his fists lashed out, and in one case he head butted an opponent in the chin before chopping him down.

While Squall fought on sheer momentum and brutality, Rinoa, who stood behind him, used her magic to support SeeDs and soldiers, casting healing and defensive spells on her comrades. She kept a careful eye on Squall, and tried to stay near him, though in all honesty she was worried that he would possibly strike out against her in the instinctive, brutal mode he had slipped into during the charge. As the battle raged around her, she herself slipped purely into a supportive stance, only casting spells and, when an enemy appeared to be threatening her comrades, an offensive spell. All around her, the SeeDs and Dollet troops pushed against the numerically superior Galbadian force, but every passing second saw more Galbadians fall and more SeeDs and soldiers rush to join them. Squall's fierce fighting inspired all those around him and threw terror into the Galbadian ranks. As an enemy head was severed and Squall rushed in, chopping down with his gunblade into another foe's ribs, many Galbadians backed away, trying to escape from the brutality of the SeeD commander.

On the other side of the Galbadian force, the other Garden group bore in as well, Zell taking the lead on his side and crushing Galbadian troops directly before him. Quistis, in the tight press, could not put her whip to effective use and focused on magic, hurling potent spells into the enemy ranks. Beside her Selphie followed suit, launching magic as well, and the pair were able to drive their enemies back before their combined magical onslaught. Nearby, Xu and her sai flashed quickly and lethally into any foe who neared her, sending them sprawling to the ground as their limbs were slit and throats cut. Irvine stayed near Selphie and Quistis, using his rifle's wide-spreading buckshot shells to clear out entire squads of Galbadians at a time. Colonel Randolph stood with his fellow soldiers and fought ferociously, the elite members of Dollet's 125th battling for their distant homeland and its future safety. It wasn't long before the attrition from those six warriors alone began to substantially weaken the Galbadian force, and as more and more SeeDs, cadets, and soldiers broke free of the fighting across the field and joined the unified force, it became increasingly clear that Garden's warriors were going to emerge victorious in this clash.

Squall cleaved through two more foes and found himself facing a high-ranking Galbadian officer, a major, judging by his insignia. Not just any major, but the one that was directing the entire enemy effort. The Galbadian officer, fearing Edea's wrath if he retreated or surrendered, even when he was so clearly losing, rushed forward, preparing to open fire upon Squall with his arm-mounted cannons. But, in that instant, Squall had gestured toward the man, and a bolt of lightning struck the officer, staggering him back. Squall closed the distance between himself and the enemy commander in a heartbeat, and struck.

The major, behind his visor, blinking in confusion as he felt an intense impact in his chest. He looked down, to see Squall's gunblade impaling him. The SeeD commander tightened his fingers around the trigger, and the gunblade exploded, blasting the man in half.

The Galbadian major was very dead, and along with him went any possibility that the Galbadian army would hold under the SeeD onslaught. The massed Galbadian force began to disintegrate around the two forces boring into it, and any remaining sense of order was lost as chaos took the field once more, a chaos in which the remnants of the Galbadian army fled or were totally and brutally annihilated.

Within twenty minutes of the major's death, Squall Leonhart's gunblade had felled the last Galbadian soldier that had not retreated to the shelter of Galbadia Garden's interior.

Silence crossed the outside of Galbadia Garden, and Squall turned around, looking upon his battered and tired army, covered in dust, sweat, and blood, and blinked. They all stood as well, looking upon him where he stood over his last foe, in the middle of the field filled with torn bodies. He glanced down at his chest, and saw his white shirt was soaked in blood, stained a brutal crimson color. After seeing this, he looked back up, seeing his own army similarly bloodied, but standing tall and triumphant above their fallen enemies.

Squall raised his gunblade high above his head, and the cheer of victory, the understanding that they had not only survived, but they had _won_ against such impossible odds, sounded across the battlefield.

They had won that day, a disparate force assembled in a hellish war for survival, against an implacable foe. It had been a massive, painful, and brutal battle. It had been the first true war SeeD had waged, not for money or even out of duty, but a war waged for destiny and survival. And they had won.

History would forever mark that day, that hour when Squall Leonhart had raised his gunblade and committed his army to war, as the moment when SeeD had gone from a simple mercenary group to the definitive force that would guide the world into the future. It was the moment when destiny had been seized.

History never forgot that day.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alrighty, time to stop and take breather, because dayum. That was insane. One big, huge, wild, death-death-murder-kill war. Was immensely fun to write.

I apologize for this chapter being sorta late. ISP problems forced me to edit it and load it from the university. I had to take the edited version my editor sent me, so there may be errors or weird punctuation or whatnot that I missed. Let me know if you see something weird, that's probably the reason its there.

Next chapter: the final confrontation! Duels and Sorceress battles, and maybe a surprise or two.

Anyway, what next? Oh, yeah, shouting out to the peeps. Damn, there's a lot here, too. I guess I was right when I figured people would love last chapter.

-Daniel Wesley Rydell: Yes. Squall does indeed pwn.

-DBZ Fanfiction Queen: Ah, more craziness. XD

Yeah, if you go back, you'll see tons of errors, especially capitalization. That's what happens when you don't have an editor or spell-check.

Hey, now, I liked the second and third Matrix movies. I don't get why people don't like them.

-Prodigy: Wha? Huh? NO! You can't quit! Its, like, a tragedy on a monumental scale. Seriously. You're better at this stuff than I am, I admit that wholeheartedly. I'm a crappy writer (at least, in my own estimation) After all, it was competing with you that was one of my big drives to write this damn thing anyway.

Man, it kinda sucks to know you won't be out there doing this. I think I'm the last serious one. Nique's new author person hasn't updated in months, and what she has written is kinda . . . weak, in my opinion.

-Dragoon Swordsman: I always figured that the Garden cadets, at the very least, could fight a Galbadian soldier evenly in a straight-up battle. Not exactly at a twelve-to-one ratio as you're suggesting. I mean, these are Galbadian elites, and the regulars themselves are no pushovers . . . its just that Squall and Co. are so damn good and that SeeDs are very powerful fighters.

-Angelo di desiderio: Yeah, I did make Squall seem invincible, didn't I? Again, its that Aragorn influence.

-Aaron: Yep, I'm crazy . . . LIKE A SQUID!

-Kimahrigirl: Yar. Glad you liked it.

-Rusty Knights Productions: One of the big motivators for me to write this was to do the Garden war and improve upon it.

-Chris Ganale: I have Halo 2, and it is much awesomeness. I may just implement boarding, too. XD As a side note, Esthar's army will be very similar to the Covenant in their technology. Personal shields, energy weapons, hovering technology, and the generally alien feel of their culture.

-Xephon: The Dollet troops will not stay on Garden, I'll spoil that. However, I'm planning on writing a series of fics after this on that bounce off some of the aspects I developed, and one of them will be that Dollet and Garden are closely allied due to their history of fighting and bleeding together.

-OniRazz: Zell's speech was also partially inspired by a quote from a Marine in Halo, right after he pasted a Grunt. "Sit down, bitch." XD And yeah, like I said, I made Squall one badass mo-fo.

-Kaiser-kun: I think I will go sleep. I'm pretty tired. Damn you, Halo 2! Making me stay up all night!

Shadow Hearts sounds kinda like Hellsing. Alucard is the badass anti-hero while Paladin Anderson is the Vatican warrior. Very similar. Also, I think you have to be twenty-one here to get a firearms license, though I may be wrong. After all, you can enlist at eighteen, so maybe its at that age?

Akira Stridder: Thanks for the compliments!

-Cherieandpepe: If you want. I'll have to copy-paste all my older chapters, as my new computer doesn't have them on it. It may take a bit (again, ISP problems) but sure, I'll send it to you. Keep, uh, dogging me if I don't. I may forget. XD

I know what you mean when you say I should show the battle from the enemy's perspective. I have done it before, but for some reason it didn't mesh well with the rest of the battle here.

Seifer's bits are simply to show what he's doing and give an insight into the real status of the Ga;lbadian army and what they're planning.

It would be hard to get this published. FFVIII is Square-Enix's property. XD

-LordPanther14: I've said it before, I'll say it again, description is the name of my game, as if detail. I love details. That's part of the reason why, over the last few chapters, I went into detail on the status of Garden's fighting forces. It's a tough schedule for me to work on, but people like you guys are what often drive me.


	43. Endgame

_Chapter 38: Endgame_

Casualties in the massive assault had been high, considering the high rate of injures, the exhaustion, and the numbers of the enemy, but Squall was surprised that they were lower than he had expected. There were several hundred dead and about twice that injured, but considering the enemy's numbers and the shape that his troops had been in, the casualties were but a fraction of what they could have been.

Perhaps, Squall mused as he crossed the battlefield, that was what it meant to be a leader fighting alongside one's men. Standing alongside one's soldiers in battle had an intangible effect that defied cold arithmetic. Squall's presence had cut the losses to his forces significantly.

He paused to help a Dollet trooper carry one of his wounded comrades back into Balamb Garden, and once they had returned, he turned his attention back to Galbadia Garden, its red walls looming above his tired army. The few remaining Galbadian troops, only a few hundred, had retreated back inside during the last couple of hours and had buttoned up the interior of the Garden tightly, preparing for a siege. Squall nodded at the logic, and recalled the way the enemy had been fighting outside: not to win or even stop the SeeD advance, but just to kill. They were in this battle to make them suffer, and any assault they launched on the dug-in Galbadians would be precisely what they wanted.

The SeeDs and Dollet troops had set up a perimeter around the central Garden structure. Irvine was meeting with some of the higher-ranking SeeDs, Colonel Randolph, and Squall's own group, pouring over the plans to launch an assault, divulging all the information he knew about the interior of the Garden, which was quite a lot. Squall approached the makeshift command post, which had until the battle been a vehicle hangar. He stepped inside, past the SeeD and Dollet guards, and came across the group surrounding the table, where Irvine was pointing out entrances and exits and discussing troop numbers.

"So, with only a few hundred soldiers," he explained, "they can't hope to cover every possible entrance and exit. In fact, I'm guessing that they've probably pulled out of the outer halls and into the interior, around where the classrooms and are located, and holed up in there. That's where I'm guessing Edea is as well."

"If we attack, they're going to try to bleed us," Randolph added, to solemn nods from his advisors and the SeeDs. "A large-scale assault is just what they want. The Galbadians will do whatever it takes to maximize our casualties, even at their own expense."

"Why would they want that?" Zell asked.

"To limit how many of us go against Edea," Squall answered as he joined them. "That's what that whole battle we just fought was about. To weaken us so Edea will have an easy time with us."

"Well, as we are, we're spread pretty thin," Randolph added. "I've got three hundred more dead or out of combat, and your SeeDs and cadets have two hundred more down or out of battle. We're at less than half the force we had when we first began this battle. We can win if we launch a frontal assault on the interior of Galbadia Garden, but hundreds more will die before we take the interior."

"Not exactly leaving us much of a choice," Quistis added, shaking her head. "But the only other option is a covert entry."

"Plenty of entrances for that," Irvine added. "I can lead any team that tries to break in myself."

"It'll have to be a SeeD group," Squall added. "A small force. Five or six people, maximum. We slip in and accomplish the objective."

"Pardon me," added Randolph, confused. "But what would be the objective of this insertion team?"

"What we SeeDs are intended to do," Squall answered grimly. "We're going to find Edea. And then we'll neutralize her."

----------------------

"Well, obviously Irvine is on the team," Squall said, ticking the members of the group off on his fingers as he consulted with his comrades a few minutes later. The sharpshooter, who was checking and reloading his weapons on a recently cleared table, nodded. "He'll be our guide. But as for the remainder of the team . . . ." He looked around at Zell, Quistis, and Selphie, who, together, nodded.

"Matron was important to all of us," Quistis said after a long moment. "I'd rather face her myself than send someone in my stead."

"Same here!" Zell replied. "Who knows, maybe seeing us will snap her out of it!"

"Right!" Selphie added. Irvine simply nodded.

"Okay, that settles the insertion team," Squall said. "I'd like to add Xu onto the team, but with her injury, she won't be able to join us." The others nodded. Xu had suffered a nasty hit on her temple in the final charge and had passed out a few minutes after the final victory. She was in stable condition, but still weak and dizzy.

"I'll take a quick check to see about our remaining forces, and if anyone is qualified to join the insertion group," Squall added. The others nodded again, and Squall turned and stepped outside of the storage shed they were using, and walked out among the scattered and busy SeeDs and Dollet troopers. He had a good idea of who he would want to join the team, preferably someone with skills at lock picking and evasion to round the group out. His current team was pretty good, but they were heavier on the combat side as opposed to insertion and evasion.

He crossed the battlefield, and rounded a group of SeeDs guarding a sizable number of Galbadian POWs, then ducked between two Dollet troopers and a SeeD who were discussing plans for possible assaults on the interior of the enemy Garden. About three steps after that someone approached him from behind, and he turned quickly, a motion which startled Rinoa, who stood right behind him. Squall relaxed immediately, realizing she had been the one creeping up on him, not some hidden Galbadian assassin.

"Rinoa," he said, a bit surprised himself by her sudden appearance. He tried to hide the fact that his surprise was a pleasant one, but probably failed.

"Squall," she said after a moment, seeming a bit hesitant. "I just . . . I wanted to thank you for what you did back there. I didn't have time before, so . . . ."

"I understand," Squall replied. "It was . . . " Squall hesitated, realizing that he was about to say that rescuing her was very important to him, and quickly switched gears. "It was nothing. We're still under contract and all." Rinoa smiled and nodded, but Squall could tell from her smile that she had probably seen through the lie.

"I see," she said. "You know, when I was holding on back there, even with all the ramming and crashing, I realized something. I knew I couldn't let myself die because . . . Because I thought that I would never get to see your face again. That inspired me to hold on, imagining you there." Squall didn't reply to that immediately, surprised that Rinoa would have gotten so much strength out of thinking of him. It took him several long seconds to catch her _real_ meaning, but what she was saying surprised him even more, in spite of the fact that he had suspected it for a while.

Rinoa was not just a friend, she viewed him in a much closer and more intimate light, even closer than a comrade or combat buddy. It was deep affection, probably caused by all the time they had spent together in battle and in hardships. It could almost be called . . . .

The word jolted Squall even as he realized it.

"And another reason why I couldn't die," she said, cutting him off from his thoughts. "I have something of yours, something very important that I wanted to give back to you. Its your ring." She reached up and held up the chain around her neck, showing the heavy ring to him. "Zell gave it to me," she added as his surprised expression, which was partially due to her revelation about the ring and partially due to his jumbled thoughts.

_I'm gonna kill him,_ Squall thought after a moment, pushing back the other thoughts and focusing on the ring she wore around her slender throat.

"That's my favorite ring," he said, more annoyed than anything.

"I know," she replied, looking down at it. "It's really beautiful. What is it made of, silver?" He nodded. "I see. What's this monster on it?"

"It's not a monster," Squall replied quickly, surprised at his own tone. "It's a lion."

"Lion?" she asked, looking down at it and the powerful winged creature engraved upon it. "What's a lion?"

"They're not very common anymore," he replied, shaking his head. "They live on the plains of Centra and northern Esthar now. Great, huge hunting cats, the mightiest hunters. They're known for their great strength and pride."

"Hm," she said, looking down at it. "Great strength, pride . . . ." She looked back up at him, smiling. "Like someone I know. I see why you like them so much. They're so like you."

"I wish I was," Squall replied after a moment, shaking his head.

"Oh, you are," she assured him. "But this lion looks strange."

"It's not a true lion," Squall replied. "Or at least, not a normal one. It's the Guardian Force, Griever."

"Griever?" she asked, and he nodded.

"The most powerful one of all," he said. "Legends say that it used to serve and protect the Sorceresses of ancient times. No one in modern times has even seen it."

"I see," she said, nodding. "I like it. Zell told me he'd make a ring to fit me later, exactly like this one. Who knows, maybe I can become like a lion too? Wouldn't that be crazy? People would get the wrong idea about us, being so alike."

Squall didn't miss the subtext of her words, or her happy tone, as if she wanted everyone to get the wrong idea about them anyway. The others were already trying to get the two of them together. It was so obvious that even he could tell. And to tell the truth, Squall didn't find anything wrong with that. Rinoa had shown him a gap in his heart he'd never known about for so long because he refused to acknowledge it, and now that he was aware of it, he keenly felt the urge to fill it. Rinoa had already shown him the part that was missing from his life, and now, she seemed to be quite willing to fill that gap. But . . . was he ready for her to do that, yet?

Squall shook his head as he thought of that. Now was not the time to be considering this sort of thing. He had a mission to complete . . . And a reunion with his past.

"What?" she asked as Squall shook his head.

"Nothing," he replied. "I've . . . I've got to go. We're about to go in with a team and I need to find someone who can get past Galbadian security-"

"I can do that," she replied, and Squall blinked. She nodded. "Don't forget, I've been fighting Galbadia for a while myself. Whenever we did raids on Galbadian storehouses, who do you think was the one who slipped everyone past security? And how do you think we got those codes for the train?"

"You think you can handle it?" Squall asked, and she nodded firmly. After a moment, Squall reluctantly conceded. "Okay, then. Come on, we're planning things out over here." He turned and led her back to the shed-turned-planning center, and explained her part of the plan. Naturally, everyone was happy to have Rinoa, someone they could trust, on the insertion team.

"Okay then," Irvine added after Squall was finished. "But we've made an addendum to the plan."

"What is it?" Squall asked, curious.

"Well," the sharpshooter explained, "we figured that if one team could slip in past security, they might be able to make it so that others could do so as well. I know Galbadia Garden's security protocols, so I can tell you with some pretty good confidence that if we can clear a path and remove any sentries, we could get a big force inside and right at the Galbadians' backs. We could possibly end the siege without a drop of blood."

"Good idea," Squall replied, nodding. "Plus, if we're discovered, we won't have an army coming down on us alone. Let's do it."

--------------------

Squall stood before his team, as well as the heads of the SeeD and Dollet assault force, in the vehicle hangar that was being used as their field headquarters.

"We have four objectives," Squall stated, tapping the map of Galbadia Garden laid out before him. "First objective: a small insertion team needs to penetrate security. Our second objective: to clear enough of an entrance to get the assault team inside. We're taking a large contingent of SeeDs and the best surviving Dollet troops, roughly five hundred men. That should be enough to overwhelm what remains of the Galbadian force. I'd prefer it if we take them down before they can react. We can probably capture them and save time and energy.

"That's our third objective," Squall continued. "We have to eliminate the enemy inside. Irvine has told me that the front gate is probably very heavily protected, but that there is a rear entrance near the basketball courts that we can use. Once we get inside, we take down the guards protecting that entrance and slip our army inside. Once we've gotten everyone inside the Galbadian perimeter and behind their defensive positions, we deal with them. While this is being accomplished, our lead insertion team which has been clearing the route inside will locate Sorceress Edea and neutralize her."

"Excellent plan, Commander," Colonel Randolph stated. "Who will be in command of the assault force?"

"You will," Squall said. "You're the highest-ranking soldier here who isn't on the insertion team. We've already gotten the members of the assault team assembled. Once we've cleared the path you can get inside. Your men should probably try to back us up if we find that Edea is too much for our group to handle."

"Understood," Randolph replied.

"Any questions?" Squall asked, but no one said anything. "Familiarize yourselves with the layout of the Garden, and the spots that Irvine has marked as likely defensive points. We go in within the next half-hour."

-----------------------

"So, we go in through the rear halls, and then cross between the outer dorms complex and then go to the inner Garden structure?" Quistis asked, and Irvine nodded.

"There'll be a large track and basketball court between the dorms and the main structure," Irvine explained, attaching a silencer to the front of one of his handguns.

"How do we pass it?" Rinoa asked, and Irvine grinned.

"Well, I used to not have a big appreciation for magic," he replied. "But well, Selphie's changed my mind on that, just a little. And she's gonna be the one to get us inside."

"Simple, really," Selphie added. "A floatation spell. Easy to cast, and I've got a few of them that I refined just before the battle. I cast them on us, and we simply float across the gap."

"What about snipers?" Squall asked.

"Got that covered," Irvine replied, tapping his PSG-1, laying on the table, now equipped with a silencer. "Probably won't be many. I'll clear the path and then we float over. Once we get across, we take out any other sentries and then slip to the rear of the building and take out the guards. We'll need to be quick and quiet if we want to pull it off though, so we'll have to keep magic use to a minimum."

"Shouldn't be difficult," Squall said as he finished checking his gunblade. "Everyone ready?" The others nodded.

"Born ready!" Zell proclaimed.

"We're not going to hold back this time," Squall stated after a moment. "I don't care what our past was like. She's our enemy now. We can't back off this time. Its now, or never." The others nodded once again, and Squall sheathed the Revolver.

"Let's go."

----------------------

"The troops are ready, my Sorceress," Seifer stated quietly, within Edea's throne room. "They have assembled at the choke points."

"Good," Edea replied quietly, sitting back upon her throne. "Good. But . . . They are coming. Now. At this moment."

"I will warn the men to keep a sharp lookout for the enemy," Seifer said, but Edea held up a long, clawed finger.

"No," she replied, smiling. "No. No warning. My men have failed me, and for that failure, they will die. Pull most of the men from the rear entrance and all but a few of the snipers. Put them at the front gate."

"I . . . I do not understand," Seifer said, bowing his head slightly in respect.

"No, of course not," she replied. "I want them to come. I want them to overwhelm my men. I want an army to come to my door and challenge me. And then, I will crush them!" Edea clenched one of her slender hands into a fist. "I will beat them, blast them, annihilate them, burn them down to their very souls and then consume their hearts! These _insects_ have dared to challenge me, and for that, I will make them suffer . . . _myself_."

"Of course," Seifer replied, understanding.

"And furthermore, their leader," she added. "The one who harmed me. I wish to face him again. But first, I wish for you to face him, my knight. To avenge your disgraceful defeat at his hands. You will face him, alone. I will arrange it."

Seifer raised his head, his eyes meeting that of his Sorceress, and grinned wickedly.

"Thank you, my Sorceress," he said, sincerely, and bowed. "I will see to your orders at once."

---------------------

Twenty minutes later, the six intruders found the halls of Galbadia Garden to be very quiet, shrouded in hushed stillness. Irvine led the way, with Squall right behind. Rinoa trailed behind him, and Selphie and Quistis followed her. Behind them, acting as their rear guard and occasionally looking back behind the group, was Zell.

The white-painted steel corridors were empty, despite the group's expectations, and after securing the entrance, Colonel Randolph's sizable force followed, silently, none of them making a sound. Stealth was their ally at that point.

"Up these stairs," Irvine said after a while. He poked one of his silenced handguns at a recessed stairwell. "They lead to the upper floor, right where we need to go." Squall nodded, and they moved up the steps, eyes open and ears alert for any threat. They were vulnerable on the staircase, and they knew it. The six intruders moved up quickly, advancing to the third floor, and Irvine paused, hearing voices.

"Raijin," Zell muttered from the back, and Squall nodded. He stepped forward, taking the lead, and rose up to the third level of the dorms complex. He drew one of his knives and, as he reached the landing of the third floor, he raised the knife, poking it over the top and using it as a mirror to see what was beyond.

Raijin, towering over his sister, stood in the corridor, both of them looking tired and depressed.

"Man," Raijin complained. "Don't wanna, ya know? I mean, I know they said we should be fightin' 'em or at least keep an eye out, but I just wanna go home, ya know."

"AGREE," Fujin replied. "PEACE."

Squall pulled the knife back and sheathed it, then nodded to the others. They moved up the stairs, in full view of the pair beyond, who wheeled in surprise.

"Wha? Hey, they're here . . . ." Raijin said, but he made no move to pull his _bo_ staff off his back. Neither did Fujin reach for her chakram. The two groups stared back and forth for a moment, before Fujin broke the silence.

"REQUEST," she asked.

"We're tired of this, ya know?" Raijin continued. "All the fighting, all the violence. Man, its gettin' me down. Seifer wants to keep fightin', ya know."

"DISAGREE," Fujin stated, and Raijin nodded.

"Can't talk him out of it, ya know?" Raijin added. "Don't know what's going on anymore. We want our old friend back, ya know? So, we're leaving him for you to handle."

Squall nodded after a moment.

"If we can remove Edea, we might be able to help him," Rinoa added suddenly. "He's . . . he's not normally like this."

"AGREE," Fujin said.

"Where is Edea?" Squall asked.

"Old head honcho's office," Raijin replied. "Top floor, ya know?"

"Headmaster's office," Irvine said, nodding. "I know where it is. Thanks."

"FATIGUED," Fujin muttered, and Raijin nodded.

"We're sitting this one out, ya know?" he asked, and the others nodded.

"Wise decision," Squall answered. He glanced back to his team. "Come on, we have to hurry."

A pair of hallways and a short stairway later, the group found itself outside on one of the balconies of the dorm complex, overlooking the track between the main structure and the complex. While the remainder of the group shied back and stayed inside, behind cover, Irvine ventured out, crawling on his belly with his sniper rifle held in hand. He took a quick survey of the are beyond, and his response was surprising.

"Only a few snipers on the upper floors, maybe four or five," he stated quietly. "And I'm counting maybe a dozen men at the rear gate."

"What?' Squall replied, confused. "So few?"

"Maybe we hit 'em harder than we thought in the battle," Zell suggested, but Squall shook his head.

"There were a lot who managed to escape from the battle," the commander answered. "There should be several times that many at the rear gate."

"They could just be concentrated at the front gate," Quistis added, but Rinoa shook her head as well.

"The Galbadians usually put an even number of sentries around an area," she explained. "I don't know why they would have so few men there."

"Unless it's a trap," Selphie suggested. "Maybe they've got all their men hiding further inside and are going to ambush us when we charge in?"

"We still going in?" Irvine asked, and Squall considered. He weighed the possibility of a trap with the potential of getting the assault team inside. Finally, he opted to take the opportunity to sneak his group in.

"Eliminate the snipers," squall ordered. "We're going in and checking to see if there is or isn't a trap. If there isn't, we'll come up behind the sentries on the rear door as planned and eliminate them."

"And if it is?" Quistis asked.

"We go in alone," Squall answered. "Our objective is Edea. We remove her, we win, regardless."

"Gotcha," Irvine answered, and a moment later, his rifle seemed to cough a faint, high-pitch whine. He shifted slightly, and the rifle fired another silenced shot, followed by two more. He raised his head away from the rifle's scope, and nodded.

"Way's clear. Selphie, its your turn."

"On it!" she replied, stepping out, followed by the others. The tiny SeeD focused into herself, closing her eyes and concentrating, bringing forth magic, but strengthening it as she did so.

"This is your pretty standard levitation spell," she explained as she modified the energies. "Except that I'm changing the duration to just a few moments, and increasing the power. Normally, it won't get you higher than a few feet, but this one should keep you guys up until you can cross. You'll only get a second or two before the enhanced levitation aspect hits, and then you'll be floating pretty high, so step off quickly!" She opened her eyes and swept forward, and Irvine, Squall, and Quistis were suddenly hovering in the air, the tips of their boots a couple of feet above the balcony. Irvine seemed a bit disoriented, but the pair of Balamb SeeDs simply nodded and began to move forward, walking normally. Aside from a slight dip in their altitudes as they walked, they moved just fine. They quickly moved off the edge of the balcony and began to drift down for a heartbeat before rising again, standing almost level with the balcony and a window across the way. Irvine quickly followed as Selphie focused again.

"I thought spells like that could only be used on one person at a time," Zell commented as Selphie opened her eyes again a moment later.

"Most people can't," Selphie replied. "But at Trabia, we know how to get around those kinds of limitations. Its just energy, and casting involves manipulation. We just learn how to do it better." To add some punctuation to her statement, magic rippled out from her, and the remaining trio were floating. Not wasting any time, they stepped off the balcony and floated across to the other side, Selphie's modified spell easily keeping them aloft until they reached a window - one which, surprisingly enough, led into the very guest lounge they had stayed in during their last visit to the Garden. As the group settled down onto the floor, they fell silent. Squall moved to the door and opened it, peeking out, and saw no threats down either end of the hall.

"There's a stairwell down there," Irvine said, pointing down the hall. "It leads to the lower levels, and opens up into a hallway near the rear gate." Squall nodded, and gestured for Irvine to take the lead. He did so, advancing down the steps with a pair of Berettas drawn, silencers attached to the front of the weapons and ready to take down any foe that appeared. None presented themselves, however, and the group of intruders made their way to the ground floor without incident. Irvine led them up the hallway leading to the rear gate, again without incident, even when they checked side rooms and classrooms along the path.

"Something's not right here," Selphie commented, voicing the concerns of the entire group. No one answered, however, instead silently advancing until they came within sight of the rear gate, where a dozen Galbadian regulars stood by nervously, fingering weapons as they stared out the rear door. No paratroopers or even any officers were present, just blue-clad infantry.

"Silent takedown. Sleep," Squall mouthed, and the group nodded. Irvine raised his pistols, while the rest of the group focused, calling up magic. As one, they gestured forcefully at the Galbadians, targeting those alone or to the rear of the group. Seven men collapsed, four due to the spells cast by the Balamb SeeDs and the other three from Selphie. Even as their armor, clattering to the floor, alerted the other five guards, Irvine stepped into action, firing his pistols quickly. Two, then three, then four men fell silently, gasping for air or clutching their chests, and the last man was quickly taken down as Zell rushed in and put the man into a quick sleeper hold, arm constricting around his neck and robbing him of oxygen until he passed out.

And just like that, the back door was open. Rinoa ran out ahead and served as messenger, bringing up the assault group behind her, who moved with respectable stealth despite their numbers. They quickly assembled in the cleared hall, and after a quick conference, squall's group moved out ahead.

"Security is too light," Rinoa commented as they moved through the halls, the assault force a short distance behind. "We haven't encountered a single locked door at all-" She was cut off as Irvine paused at an intersection, and scanned, before looking back.

"Lifts are just down this hall, to the right. The one in the center leads directly to the Headmaster's office, but the door ahead is sealed. Elevators are just beyond."

"Looks like I spoke too soon," Rinoa added with a slight smile. "I'll take care of it."

"I'll cover you," Squall offered, and they moved out into the hallway while the others secured the intersection. They advanced down it, and Rinoa paused in front of the door. She looked over the lock, and shook her head.

"Simple setup," she said. "Shouldn't take long." She took out a set of Garden-issued tools and began to work on the device. Squall turned back and signaled to the group that she had begun, and had barely turned back when the door unexpectedly slid open. He glanced down at Rinoa, surprised, but his expression was mirrored on her face.

"That was too easy," she whispered. "Especially for this setup. Not even Galbadian security is this lax."

"I'll check it out," Squall whispered in reply, and stepped through the portal.

"Not without me," she hissed, and quickly followed. They passed through the doorway together, the SeeD only slightly annoyed by Rinoa's insistence, and secretly a little glad she had decided to follow him. He advanced, she right behind him-

And the door slid shut firmly behind them.

Then the alarms sounded.

---------------------

"Hynedammit!" Irvine cursed, and he holstered his Berettas and unsung his rifle. Not a moment too soon, either, as from all sides of the hall dozens of Galbadian soldiers suddenly burst out, rushing down the halls, roaring cried to Edea.

"It's a trap!" Zell stated the obvious.

"Fall back!" Quistis ordered as the enemy closed in. "We can't hold here!" Irvine launched a grenade down one corridor, clearing it of foes momentarily, while Selphie launched a blast of icy cold down another route that froze the leading soldiers in their tracks and blocked the next few.

The others nodded reluctantly, moving back away from the intersection as the enemy came on, all of them pausing to spare glances to the door behind which Rinoa and Squall had disappeared.

They knew they couldn't hold, however, and quickly retreated back to where the SeeD and Dollet assault group was rushing ahead, no longer concerned with stealth. All throughout the halls, Galbadian soldiers charged with fanatical fervor, rushing into battle against the powerful assault force, often in a confused and disorganized manner. Their foes met them and held them, but chaos quickly gripped the steel halls of Galbadia Garden as the battle raged.

The final conflict of the war had begun, but the Galbadians had to have known they couldn't win. Still, they came on, and the SeeDs and Dollet troops battled them with equal intensity.

But for the quartet of SeeDs, even while caught up in mortal battle with their foes, thought of their pair of comrades suddenly cut off from them, and worried for Squall and Rinoa.

---------------------

"It won't open!" Rinoa complained, fiddling with the lock. "Its locked out from this side. No way I can get it open!" Squall, behind her, kept his eyes open and gunblade raised for threats, but none presented themselves in the hallway lined with elevators.

As the klaxons of the alert sounded, Squall did note with sudden apprehension that one of the elevators, the one that Irvine had said led directly to the Headmaster's office, featured open doors, as if inviting him to enter. And something told Squall that the whole reason that they had been cut off lay beyond that elevator door.

"Forget it," Squall said after a long moment of consideration. Rinoa looked away from the door, and to Squall's face, which was suddenly set in grim determination as he stared at the elevator. He took a step forward. "I know what they want." Rinoa said nothing, but only quietly followed Squall into the elevator, readying her crossbow. The doors slid shut silently behind him, and the lift began to rise, slowly.

The moments ticked by, stretching into what seemed to be hours as it rose to the top of the Garden, the klaxons fading into silence, a hushed stillness that neither he nor she were willing to break. Then, after the empty eternity, the elevator reached its destination, and the doors opened. Squall stepped out, Rinoa right behind him, and entered the throne room of Edea Kramer, the Sorceress who had begun this entire war. She sat directly across from him, laying back like a bored spectator at a gladiatorial competition.

"Squall," came a call from beside the hammock-like chair upon which the Sorceress reclined leisurely, almost apathetically. Seifer Almasy appeared among the white gossamer curtains draped along the edges of the room, his boots sounding on the darkly-tiled floor. Above the chamber, white light streamed down from the skylights above, filtered through the ghostly curtains.

"Seifer," Squall answered, stepping forward into the room. Rinoa remained behind, watching intently, with a degree of fear in her eyes as the two men met eye-to-eye once again.

Slowly, dramatically, Seifer drew Hyperion, resting the slender blade across his shoulder as he walked out into the center of the chamber, to stand before his Sorceress. He grinned as Squall stopped about five paces away, the Revolver held loosely in his hands.

"Squall, I just wanted to say . . . " Seifer began, bowing dramatically. "Welcome back. We missed you."

"It ends here, Seifer," Squall replied, and the knight threw back his head, laughing.

"Of course it does," Seifer replied. "That's why we arranged our uninterrupted meeting. I was going to visit you in my old home, though. You really shouldn't have come knocking." Squall scowled, but simply tightened his grip on his gunblade. Seifer's smile grew, but after a moment, began to fade as he saw who stood behind Squall.

"Rinoa?" he asked, his voice softening. "What are you doing here? Are you here to fight me too?" She didn't respond, simply looking back and forth between Squall and Seifer. That was all the answer he needed.

"I see," he said. "Well then, this should be interesting, hm? Nothing makes a fight more dramatic than spectators watching!"

"Dramatic?" Squall asked, shaking his head. "You're just trying to salve your ego after the last defeat I gave you."

"Maybe I am," Seifer replied with a shrug. "But that doesn't change anything."

"You stand between me and Edea," Squall stated. "Get out of my way."

"You'd fight Matron?" Seifer asked, and the word jolted Squall. He knew? "After all she's done for us? And Rinoa? Remember the great times we had last summer?" Squall looked back to her, but while Rinoa seemed torn, she looked to Squall, and met his eyes.

"Leave her out of this," Squall snapped, turning back to Seifer. "If you want a fight, you'll have it. Just you, and me."

"As it always should be," Seifer replied, bringing Hyperion down off his shoulder, his grin widening even further. "Its about time, Squall. Let's have some fun, shall we? The knight versus the SeeD. Show me what you've got, Squall! I'll show you who's-"

Then he was charging, spinning around in a blinding flash, gunblade arcing up and then down, to be met by a ringing clash of metal on metal as Squall blocked with ease, the Revolver parrying Seifer's Hyperion. Both warriors saw their reflections in their foes' blades, and Seifer leapt back.

"-the better man!" he screamed, and as he hit the floor, he rushed forward in another charge, gunblade weaving and diving at Squall. The Revolver snapped up in a quick block, parrying the stab, but Seifer hopped back again and lunged forward with a straight thrust at Squall's chest. Squall's weapon smashed down on Hyperion, and the SeeD countered with a measured hack. Seifer's gunblade seemed to leap back, deflecting the cut and snapping forward in a brilliant counter to Squall's counter. The SeeD fell back a quick step, leaning his head back and away from the thrusting tip of Seifer's gunblade, and smashed his blade down atop Seifer's weapon, forcing it down and out to the right. Seifer spun instantly, pulling his weapon away and coming back around in a wild, arcing chop as he pivoted. Squall was already ducking as Seifer came around, spinning himself to face Seifer as he rotated. Hyperion sliced through the air above Squall's head, and the SeeD rushed forward, slamming his shoulder into Seifer's chest and throwing him back.

The knight, however, was moving even as he was hit, and turned the shove into a flying leap backwards, landing easily on both feet, in perfect balance, and met a pair of heavy slashes by Squall with deft swordplay, parrying both and countering with a short slice that Squall evaded with a quick hop back. He rushed forward at the knight as the blade passed by, cleaving hard at Seifer, who snapped his weapon back in to deflect the attack. Gunblade met gunblade with a loud, poignant ring of steel on steel, and then Squall's left foot rose and smashed Seifer in the chest, hurling him back almost to Edea's feet. The knight, however, managed to get his feet under him as he landed and rose, fiery magic exploding forth from his fingers as he charged once again at Squall. The SeeD caught the spell on his gunblade, his feet already set to absorb the shock.

Seifer lunged again, spinning his blade up in an arcing slash that started low and moved up. Squall managed to spot the attack an instant before it would have cut into him and ducked low. The Revolver shot forward at Seifer's gut, but the knight somehow managed to snap his weapon back down while hopping back, sucking in his stomach and even bending over to avoid the stabbing gunblade until his own weapon could parry it. As the Revolver was pushed out wide, Seifer rushed forward again, smashing into the ducking Squall with his left shoulder. He quickly laid his gunblade across his chest, point towards Squall, and stabbed at him as he fell back. Squall twisted as he retreated, evading the razor-sharp edge of his opponent's weapon, and ducked to avoid a subsequent quick slash from Seifer. He countered with a one-handed overhead chop of his gunblade, a mighty swing that Seifer had to leap back himself to evade.

He came right back in with a charging thrust. Squall stepped forward, directly into the attack it seemed, and brought the Revolver up in another one-handed maneuver, this one a parry that threw Hyperion out wide, Seifer's arm passing before Squall's chest. Squall's left fist then rose and shot across, impacting with the knight in his jaw hard enough to spin him around. Squall quickly stepped after Seifer, his left arm looping up and then down around Seifer's right elbow. Squall's left hand grasped Seifer's right wrist and tilted his arm straight up, Hyperion pointed at the high ceiling. Squall's left leg snapped forward, kicking out Seifer's right, and as he fell back, Squall slammed the butt of his gunblade hard into Seifer's stomach, driving him to the floor.

Seifer impacted hard, but excepting a gasp of pain, he wasn't slowed at all by the grapple and throw. A quick sweep of his arm sent Hyperion cutting at Squall's legs, which the SeeD had to hop over to avoid, and then Seifer was scrambling back to his feet before Squall had even landed. Squall rushed back in as Seifer rose, but his heavy strikes were deftly parried as another spell formed in Seifer's hands. Fire blasted out at Squall as Hyperion deflected the Revolver up high, and the SeeD had to spin away frantically, the magical fire raking along his back but somehow not setting him ablaze as the heat washed past him. He came back around in a powerful slash, which Seifer deflected, raising Hyperion up and setting his palm on its flat, absorbing the impact. He grinned, and spun Hyperion over, driving Squall's gunblade up and over as well, out of the way as the knight stepped in with an elbow to Squall's chin. The SeeD's head was rocked back from the impact, and Seifer spun, coming around in a high spinning kick that smashed Squall across his face. He spun away as Seifer came in hard, with a wide-flying slash that managed to catch Squall along his left flank, cutting shallowly and drawing blood.

Squall gasped slightly at the cut, but turned back at Seifer as he flipped his weapon over for another cut, and stepped away, out of range. The SeeD's own hand rose as Hyperion slashed back across, barely missing the SeeD's side. Squall spun to the side and gestured forcefully with his right hand, a powerful bolt of lightning lancing out at the knight. Seifer raised his weapon and caught the electrical blast, but the metallic gunblade did nothing to prevent its jolt from reaching the knight, and he was almost hurled off his feet from the impact. Squall rushed forward, fury in his eyes as he raised his gunblade in a mighty overhead chop.

Seifer had managed to recover as Squall rushed in with his blade held high, and just barely managed to raise his own weapon for a parry, holding Hyperion horizontally and once again pressing his free hand against the flat. His knees buckled with the power of the overhead hit, and Seifer's rear almost brushed the floor as he absorbed the powerful two-handed swing.

Squall then spun away, coming around in another of his mighty chops, holding the Revolver in both hands. Seifer raised his gunblade and managed to catch the attack on its edge, but his weapon was pushed aside by the mighty slash, and Squall's real attack slipped through, a rising, high side kick that smashed Seifer in his chin and hurled him nearly all the way across the room.

The knight landed hard, but managed to roll up into a crouch as Squall pursued, and his gunblade caught and deflected another cleave by Squall. Once again, Seifer loosed a fiery burst of magic, but this one impacted in Squall's face, the explosive blast jarring the SeeD and pushing him back, the only thing keeping him alive being his junctions. Seifer recovered the initiative and rushed forward, thrusting hard at Squall's chest. The SeeD was just able to recover in time to hop back and snap his gunblade up, even as Seifer's gunblade cut through his white shirt. Hyperion flew out wide, but Seifer spun around with the parry, coming up in a backswing kick that almost rocked Squall's forehead. However, the SeeD had managed to raise his left arm, the kick thudding off his forearm. Squall countered with a thrust at Seifer's chest as the kick was blocked, and the knight just barely managed to step back, the edge of the Revolver slicing along the front of Seifer's chest, cutting his vest and piercing his skin, drawing blood.

The knight leaped back, out of Squall's reach, and looked down at his torn chest. The wound was shallow and quite survivable. But the injury was like the wound Squall had left on Seifer's pride, and looking at it enraged him. He turned his eyes back to Squall, and raised his gunblade high, tip pointing past his head. Squall raised his own weapon over his shoulder, preparing for a cleaving strike.

Both warriors focused on one another, each staring at their rival, each looking at the scar that they had inflicted upon one another.

Then they charged, rushing at one another. Seifer's gunblade dipped low, dropping to his left, while Squall's weapon rose to his upper right. They closed in, brutally quickly, each preparing themselves for the clash. Both of them realized that at that moment, that single strike, may decide their entire battle. They continued to close, now less than ten feet apart, and as they were about to meet, Seifer spun, his gunblade rising into an overhead chop, high in the air and beginning to descend.

But Squall didn't stop to spin, or even to strike. He just charged in, turning his left shoulder to face Seifer, and smashed head-on into his foe. Seifer, expecting to either slice into Squall or to meet his gunblade, was shocked when he was blasted backward, his forward momentum completely stopped. He stumbled backward, gunblade still held high in expectation, and then Squall, his weapon still held over his shoulder, struck. The Revolver cleaved across.

Seifer blinked once in complete shock, before the pain hit him. At first, he felt an odd breeze pass _through_ his wrist. He blinked once in confusion as he fell forward, and in his descent managed to catch a glimpse of his hand. What he saw made his eyes go wide as saucers.

Squall had severed his right hand.

He let out a stunned cry of pain, and reached over, clutching his forearm as he heard his gunblade clatter to the floor. He grasped his arm and looked down, seeing Hyperion laying nearby, the fingers of his hand still wrapped around the handle, and the arm continuing on past the wrist a couple of inches before disappearing in a pool of blood.

"My hand!" he roared in outrage and pain, dropping to his knees as blood poured from his stump. "Fucking Hynedammit! You . . . You cut off my hand!" Blood began to soak his coat as it poured out, pooling on the floor.

"Seifer!" Rinoa cried out, rushing forward to stand over the fallen knight. She quickly began to channel forth her energies and cast a healing spell over his lost appendage.

Squall did not even pay much attention to his beaten rival, beyond kicking Seifer's gunblade away. The battle was over now - nothing stood between him and Edea. He turned to face her, watching as she almost lethargically rose from her seat. He narrowed his eyes and raised his gunblade. He hadn't been able to defeat her before, but now that he knew what he was up against, and had stocked himself with enough magic, and potent magic at that, he believed he might stand a chance against her.

"Worthless child," she muttered, and Squall didn't know whether the words were directed at him or Seifer. He didn't really care, and readied his weapon for battle.

Edea smiled, and raised a hand. Squall tensed, preparing to move, when the Sorceress just seemed to melt through the floor, fading away.

A pained laugh came from behind Squall, and he turned to see Seifer laying on the floor, his arm roughly bandaged by Rinoa, who had torn strips from his own coat to bind him up. Rinoa herself had taken a step back from Seifer, watching him intently. They may have exchanged something while he had been facing Edea, but whatever it was he didn't know.

"Squall," he muttered, grinning. "There's . . . Squall, there's no way you can beat her. No way in hell."

"What's below here?" Squall asked, ignoring the statement.

"Auditorium," Seifer replied, shaking his head. "But like I said, no way you can win. You hurt me, but she's on a whole 'nother level."

Squall did not respond, instead stepping past his opponent's body. He paused and looked to Rinoa, who reluctantly nodded and, exchanging one last look with Seifer, joined Squall and returned to the elevator. Wordlessly, they descended.

---------------------

Squall and Rinoa discovered, after stepping off the elevator, that Irvine had managed to find a way through, using an armor-piercing key. Once the door had been breached, he had simply walked through with no trouble, Zell, Quistis, and Selphie behind him.

"What happened?" Irvine asked, noticing Squall was battered and bloody, and not all of it from an enemy, either.

"Had a run-in with Seifer and Edea," Squall replied.

"Did you win?" Selphie asked.

"Yeah, you kick Seifer's ass?" Zell piped in.

"Seifer's out of the fight," Squall answered with a nod. "But Edea disappeared. I think she's in the auditorium."

"I know where that is," Irvine said quickly. "I'll lead ya'll there." The sharpshooter turned and pointed to the intersection outside, and the group began to follow. It took Squall a moment to notice that Quistis had fallen back to where Squall stood.

"Seifer," she began as he noticed her. She looked at him, obviously apprehensive.

"He's alive," Squall answered. "I . . . I had to hurt him pretty badly, but he'll live." Quistis sighed, visibly relieved that they hadn't killed each other. Squall nodded down the hallway. "What happened out here?"

"The Galbadians tried to spring a trap on us," she explained. "But we were able to beat them back. We've retaken most of the Garden and are just mopping up now."

"Then Edea is all that's left," Squall said grimly.

---------------------

"Hynedamn, that hurt," Seifer cursed, looking down at his bandaged wound. Rinoa's spell and the rough bandage would control the blood flow, but if he moved aggressively, it would open again. Couldn't have that.

"Edea," he whispered. He shook his head, recalling the words they had shared over the last few weeks. No, not truly Edea, but the one beyond her, the one truly pulling the strings. They couldn't hurt her, but nonetheless, it would be a disgrace if he did not stand beside her. The Sorceress Knights of legend had endured far worse before they had yielded or strayed from their duties, after all. How could he do no less for the greatest Sorceress of all?

"I'm coming," he muttered, and looked to his wound. He focused through the pain, and channeled magic into his left hand, and held his stump out before that magic. Seifer clenched his teeth and discharged the spell, and the fiery magic partially washing over the shortened arm, blackening and burning the stump. Seifer screamed in indescribable pain, and darkness consumed him.

A few moments later, he awoke, his arm throbbing with incredible agony. He lifted the stump, and saw the blackened end, and nodded. The wound was cauterized, stopping the blood flow and preventing infection. Healing spells would have been less painful, and would have worked as well, but would have taken too long. He needed to move, _now_.

Seifer rose and walked shakily across the room to where his gunblade lay, still clutched in the fingers of his inert right hand. With a great degree of difficulty, he pried it loose and held the weapon in his intact fist, then turned and strode toward the elevator.

"I'm coming."

---------------------

They entered the auditorium together, alert and ready for any threats, for a final stand of Galbadian soldiers, for ripping magic, anything. They got nothing, just a wide, empty chamber.

A semicircle of bleachers rose up above the entrance and wrapped around a central dais on the wall across from the entrance, upon which was a podium. A double staircase on either side of the podium rose up to the central platform, which Squall noted was large enough to fit a couple hundred people on top. Above the podium were a series of video screens, projecting data from around the Garden, including tactical information regarding the current battle. Doubtless this area would have been the enemy command center, but where were the Galbadians? There was nothing but silence and the occasional burst of static from one of the screens.

Squall led the way up onto the central platform, scanning the area as the others followed him up. There was nothing but stillness and emptiness in the large chamber, however.

"Where is she?" Rinoa asked.

Then the ceiling simply exploded, the monitors and video screens shattering in a brilliant downpour of glass and sparks, and Edea floated down into the chamber slowly, casting her gaze menacingly upon the SeeDs below. She settled down lightly, in the center of the spread-out group, and turned slowly, facing the SeeDs surrounding her.

"And so . . . ." she whispered, smiling, her amber gaze falling over each of them. "Thus, it begins. The beginning, of _your_ end. Make your peace with Hyne, SeeDs."

"You're not our Matron anymore," Zell growled, dropping into a combat stance as the others readied their weapons, fanning out to surround Edea.

"Whoever you are," Zell added, legs twitching. "I'm taking you _down!_" The brawler leaped forward at Edea in a blindingly fast motion, spinning around into a flying kick.

Edea spun to face him and flicked a finger, hurling the martial artist across the room and off the platform with a thought.

"Selphie, Rinoa, Irvine, cover us! Quistis, back me up!" Squall shouted quickly, rushing in at Edea. She spun toward him, her eyes flashing, and a pair of flaming tendrils rippled out at him like striking snakes. Squall's legs twitched and threw him aside as Irvine shouldered his Valiant and opened fire, .50 AE rounds blasting at the Sorceress, but pinging harmlessly off her shield. Rinoa and Selphie began castings spells as Quistis stepped in, snapping her whip out and striking at Edea. Like Irvine's bullets, the rante failed to penetrate her defensive shields and simply ricochet off to the side.

Icy magic shot from Rinoa and a bolt of lightning from Selphie as Squall hit the ground, dodging the fiery snakes. Rinoa's spell exploded before it could reach Edea, dissipated at a gesture, while the bolt from Selphie simply curled around Edea to impact harmlessly against the wall. Black lightning coursed down Edea's fingers and lanced out at Quistis, striking her dead center and tossing her backward, eliciting a cry of pain from the SeeD. Edea then whirled toward Irvine, smiling as he slid a shell into his rifle and fired. The grenade round arced through the air, but came to a stop right in front of Edea. A gesture from her sent it flying in Selphie and Rinoa's direction, and the two women had to leap aside as the grenade exploded in their midst.

Squall's gunblade bit into Edea's shield at that moment, and she spun, jabbing her left palm at Squall's chest as he struck. It impacted, and he was lifted into the air and hurled back with a telekinetic palm strike. A punch suddenly struck Edea's backside, and she spun again to see a returned Zell coming around in a spinning kick that bounced off her shield ineffectually.

"Forgot about me?" he asked, winding up for another devastating but useless punch. "Can't keep me down!"

"Never," she replied sarcastically, her smile widening, and as Rinoa launched another spell, Edea grabbed him with her telekinetic powers and moved him in the path of the attack. Rinoa's fiery spell exploded into the brawler's backside, and he cried out in pain.

Selphie's subsequent spell, however, struck home, another bolt of lightning that arced over Zell due to her Trabian magical skills, and connected along Edea's torso, jolting her slightly. Her eyes narrowed and she hurled Zell aside. Another grenade arced toward her, landing low, but the explosive shrapnel failed to penetrate Edea's shield as she materialized a shining spear of white energy above her head and hurled it at Selphie. The tiny SeeD spun away, but the spear dove in unerringly.

It bounced off a defensive shield Rinoa cast over Selphie, the energy barrier forming barely in time to stave off the attack. The spear exploded harmlessly across the barrier as an incandescent bolt struck Edea from behind, prompting her to spin around and launch a blast of wind at Quistis as she reentered the battle, Squall standing beside her, the energy from a healing spell still playing over her. Both SeeDs were hurled aside by the assault of wind, but then Zell was back in, launching a quick combo against Edea's shield.

She turned on him immediately, slashing across with one hand, raking magic following her attack and seeming to convey her cuts into Zell's chest. He fell back, blinking in confusion as blood flowed from a quartet of cuts along his torso, and she hurled the brawler back with a blast of lightning. Irvine's next shots bounced off Edea's shield, and he was marked as another target.

A quick gesture from Edea sent Irvine collapsing to the floor as powerful toxins simply materialized within his body. He dropped down, coughing and hacking, his body seeming to be on fire from the inside.

A concentrated barrage of magic from Rinoa and Selphie hammered Edea, a blast of fire and a wave of ice striking her hard. She turned back, seeming more angry than injured, and raised a hand, forming a ball of pure shadow over her head.

An energy blast interrupted the dangerous-looking spell, twin bolts of energy smashing into Edea from Quistis. The Sorceress spun on her, only to see Squall hacking away at her barrier. He struck once, then twice, and Edea grasped him in a telekinetic grip and hurled him aside again, smashing him into the podium. Quistis fired another barrage of eye lasers at Edea, who caught them on her palms and redirected the magic right back. Quistis was hit dead center in the chest and hurled off the platform. Squall rose unsteadily as Irvine fumbled for a restorative potion on his belt, and Rinoa and Selphie struck again with magic. Edea turned on them again as Zell reentered the fray with a roaring charge, which was almost casually thrown aside with one hand as the Sorceress loosed a forking bolt of electricity that spilt apart into multiple segments. The brawler rolled away as Rinoa and Selphie were struck hard.

"Leave her alone!" Irvine roared from the other side of the platform, now standing and drawing his Calicos. He leveled them at Edea and opened fire, streams of bullets storming out into her shield. She came back around, eyes filled with fury.

Zell, undaunted, kicked Edea in her backside, the shield flaring again. She spun once more, taking a step back so she could put both men in her line of sight, and launched black energy into both of them, launching them away.

Squall saw this as he stood back up, and noticed a pattern in her fighting style. Every time someone began to attack her at close range, she countered them immediately, regardless. No, wait, correction, whenever an attack struck her defensive shield, she countered immediately. That meant . . . What? She didn't take being attacked like that very well. Which meant that her shield was likely not infinite, nor could it block everything. Maybe if they kept hitting her hard enough and continuously, they could collapse it?

Squall nodded as he rose, and as Selphie and Rinoa, looking battered but still able to fight, launched more magic. Edea brushed their spells aside, but then had to redirect her attention as Squall stepped forward. He caught her eyes flicking to something behind him, and he spun quickly, in time to spot a silver flash diving for his face. The Revolver snapped up and caught the attack, parrying it perfectly.

"I'm the Sorceress' knight, Squall!" Seifer Almasy screamed in his face, hopping back and coming in with another left-handed thrust, his severed right stump blackened from the cauterizing fire magic he'd used. Squall parried, still shocked at Seifer's reentry into the fight.

"I'll never give up!" he shouted. "I can't afford to lose now! If you want her, you'll have to get through me!"

Seifer attacked again, sweeping low with a wild slash, which Squall hopped over, and countered. He deflected the chop with a hard parry and rushed in wildly, in an aggressive rush with his left-handed chops and thrusts. Behind him, Edea turned her attention on Rinoa and Selphie as they cast spells again. Irvine had run out of ammunition for his Calicos and was frantically reloading as a bolt of shadow struck Rinoa and threw her off her feet and into the bleachers. Nearby, Quistis, limping from a twisted ankle in her fall, was scrambling up the steps as quickly as she could. Selphie launched a potent fire spell at Edea, which was snuffed out in mid-air and countered with a telekinetic shove. She spun toward Irvine as he slammed a new magazine home into his second Calico and raised the weapons. Two gestures from Edea pulled the weapons from his grasp and scattered them across the floor. A second poison spell struck him, dropping the sharpshooter to the floor.

Zell rushed back in again, fearlessly, pounding away, and drawing Edea's ire. Fire exploded before her, tossing the brawler back, and she caught him in a telekinetic grip in midair. With the power of her mind, she hurled him back into the wall, then pulled him in and slammed him again, then a third time, and then a fourth time. The wall behind Zell was taking a beating, and the brawler himself wasn't much better off. Edea slammed him home again a fifth time and threw the battered martial artist aside as Selphie and Rinoa stood again, seeming to be on their last legs. A barrage of magical projectiles from Quistis bounced off Edea's shield as Irvine restored himself with another antidote vial. Edea hurled magic at Quistis, who threw herself to the side as the energy sizzled past.

"My dream!" Seifer roared, slashing wildly, almost too wildly for Squall to deflect or parry his attacks. "This is my dream! I will win! I will-" Squall suddenly rushed forward, kicking Seifer high in the face with a snap-kick, silencing him in mid-sentence. He then took the initiative, attacking brutally, forcing Seifer back on his heels with frantic defensive movements. The knight backed away, his burned stump waving wildly in the air as he parried furiously. Squall circled around Seifer as he did so, edging around toward the podium. Gradually, the knight began to regain parity with the SeeD commander, and with it, he regained his confidence.

"Its gonna end soon, Squall!" he taunted. "One way or the other, your war is over right here, right now! Either it's gonna be _me_, or it's gonna be _her_!" He thrust forward as Squall backed up to the podium. Squall weaved his weapon inside the attack and then leaped up and back, onto the podium itself. Seifer followed, intending to strike at Squall's knees, when the SeeD kicked off the podium and landed behind the knight. Seifer spun, slashing hard, but found his weapon hitting nothing as Squall ducked low. He rose, too close to strike Seifer with the blade of his weapon, but not so close as to strike him with the butt of his gunblade. The metal handle struck Seifer hard between the eyes, and the knight staggered back. Squall rushed forward again, left arm dropping low and shooting up in an uppercut that smashed Seifer in the chin and lifted the knight up, hurling him clear over the podium.

"No!" he managed to shout as he fell. "Squall!" He then impacted hard with the floor below. Squall quickly glanced down at him, to see him laying on his back, unconscious, and definitely out of the battle again. The SeeD commander spun back toward the battle to see everyone managing to rise up after another exchange with Edea, but they were all battered, bruised, and running on the last of their reserves. Irvine was popping a third antidote, now a bit disoriented from dealing with all the toxins, Quistis was limping and bruised, Zell looked like at least a couple of ribs were broken and he was aching all over, and both Selphie and Rinoa were burned and battered. Squall himself wasn't looking good either. Edea, however, wasn't even harmed, her clothing barely singed by the magic that had gotten through. She turned around, facing all of the SeeDs who had come against her, and smiled darkly.

"Is this the best that SeeD has to offer?" she asked. "Kind of sad, really."

"We haven't even begun to fight," Zell muttered, shaking his head, and dropping into a battle stance again. The others followed suit, readying their weapons again. Squall glanced around, and met Quistis' gaze. He closed his eyes, and it took her a second to realize what he was doing, before following suit.

The air burned before Quistis, and rainwater fell from the ceiling as a bolt of lightning shot out of nowhere. Zell nodded, grinning, and a moment later, fires burned in the air before him. Queztocotl, the god of lightning, Ifrit, the demon of fire, and Shiva, the goddess of cold, formed in a triangle around Edea, and as one, lightning, fire, and ice converged on her position in a tremendous explosion that shuddered the auditorium. The thunderous roars of clashing heat, frost, and electricity filled the chamber as Edea fought to deflect the power of three Guardian Forces summoned at the same moment, focusing on one target. Over the roar of the blasts of magical annihilation, however, another sound could be heard, the furious roar of Squall as he rushed in.

"Attack!" he ordered. "Break her shield! It's the only way!" Zell roared in compliance, as did Rinoa, Selphie, and Quistis. Irvine opened fire with his Valiant, dashing into the maelstrom of clashing magic fearlessly as the others closed in. Rinoa launched a crossbow bolt as both nunchaku and rante snapped into the clashing energy. Zell and Squall rushed in as magic battled and raged about them, their Guardian Forces hurling everything into the battle. Squall felt heat washing over him, which as then replaced by bone-chilling cold and then joint-popping electricity. He raised his weapon and cleaved hard. He impacted something in the chaos and the destruction and the rampaging energy. Somewhere beyond, over the thunderous roars, Zell could be hear roaring as he struck as well. Bullets whizzed past Squall as he recoiled and cleaved again, once more striking the defensive shield. Something flew past his head, perhaps a crossbow bolt, deflecting off the shield, and other impacts could be heard as the magical assaults continued. Squall closed his eyes and kept attacking, hacking and slashing with all his fury, and felt something shatter. He raised his weapon for another slash, and then everything exploded.

There was a flash of blinding pink light, and Squall was suddenly weightless. Then, an instant later, the air had exploded from his lungs, and he lay back, staring at the ceiling off the chamber in a dazed confusion. He blinked once, then twice, and tried to move. The only reward he received for his efforts was that his head flopped over on its side, and he found himself staring at Seifer' unconscious body.

He couldn't move. He was paralyzed, his body numb and unresponsive. He watched for a long moment as everything went still. Then, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye.

Rinoa. She was standing, but walking slowly, almost drunkenly, her head lolling to the side, eyes halfway closed. She stumbled over to Seifer's body, and dropped roughly to her knees before him. In a slow movement, she reached down and touched his head, and then lifted him up. Her lips hovered close to his ear, and he noticed them begin moving. The knight stirred, and opened his eyes, listening to what she was saying. Squall didn't understand as, several moments later, Seifer nodded and rose roughly, grasping his gunblade tightly. He turned and stepped out of the auditorium, not even sparing a glance back to Rinoa as she watched him leave. The only thing Squall heard from him were two words.

"Yes, Ultimecia . . . ."

As Seifer left, Rinoa turned once toward Squall, almost jerkingly, and then collapsed limply, like a puppet with its strings severed. An instant later, as Squall was regaining his sensations within his body, Quistis rushed over to Rinoa, crouching beside her urgently.

"Rinoa!" she called. "Rinoa!" She shook the woman's shoulders frantically, but Rinoa remained limp, her chest only slightly moving. Squall attempted to rise from the cold granite floor, to get to where Rinoa lay, to help her, but something cut through the air, a voice, one that he hadn't heard in over a decade.

"Squall," came a sweet, older voice. "Quistis, Selphie, Irvine, Zell." It was one filled with love and wisdom, and tempered by both sadness and regret. Squall looked up to the speaker, and saw above, standing at the podium, Edea. But something was different about her. The anger-filled, ruthless woman from before was gone, replaced by a woman who, despite her extravagant costume, radiated warmth and caring, and spoke with love and wonder in her voice, despite her seemingly frail and weakened body.

Squall saw her eyes had changed color, reverting to a dark green tone, and were within sagging eyelids, heavy from exhaustion.

"You have all grown so much," she said quietly, looking down at the scattered members of the group as they stood, looking up in wonder. "You've all become so strong. I had hoped for this day, and I feared it as well. Is it a joyous day? Is it an odious one? Have I protected everyone? Did I protect Ellone?" Squall watched, confused, but understanding deeply, within his heart, that the terrible Sorceress was gone. For the second time that day Squall breathed a huge sigh of relief, feeling as if all his troubles simply melted away. Despite himself, he felt a pang of joy, sadness and fear mixed together within his stomach. He felt his eyes begin to well up as he gazed upon the woman before him.

The woman above was not Sorceress Edea, but Edea Kramer, their Matron.

"Squall!" Quistis suddenly shouted, snapping him from his reverie. He looked to her, and saw Rinoa once more, laying limp. "Its Rinoa! She's . . . ."

Squall was jolted to his feet by the words, and rushed to where Rinoa lay, his heart suddenly filled with apprehension.

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Now, its time to collapse and have a heart attack after working so hard on that. I'm gonna go lay down and laugh myself silly.

Another era has ended. We've reached the end of the second disc, and the second book of The Gunblade Saga. We're not quite in the final stretch, but we're barreling toward it at high speeds!

Expect a sizable commentary to appear between this chapter and the next. There may be a bit of a delay between my next chapter and now, mainly because its getting close to finals, and my inspirational batteries are still recharging after the insanity of the last couple of chapters. However, I'm a bit rushed at the moment (Darn thanksgiving) so I'll have to, sadly, go without shoutouts, except to say one thing: if anyone is looking for this totally badass fic called "The Omega" that I've been touting, check my Favorite Authors section in my profile, and click on on "Daz Shier". You'll find "The Omega" in his profile. Go read it and be amazed.

Shout-outs will be rpesent in the commentary, however, so never fear! Ask away, and your queries will be answered, my faithful readers! And everyone, have a happy Thanksgiving (if you celebrate it, of course)

Till next chapter.....


	44. Insert: Second Book Commentary

_The Gunblade Saga: Book Two Commentary and Remarks (and stupid random rambling crap no one cares about)_

_Origins of the Epic (or rather, where this crack-brained idea came from and how its progressed)_

Well now, people, welcome back. In my original version of Gunblade (before I panicked and removed it due to weird site errors) I had a short little commentary at the end of the first book that covered random comments and questions about the series. Well, its back, and in earnest. This time, I respond to reviews and make general commentary on the second book and the series as a whole.

Its been one long, wild ride. The Gunblade Saga first percolated in my mind several years ago, back when I had finished FFVIII and was looking for info on it, wherein I discovered the joy of fanficcery. I read for a while, enjoyed it immensely, and began writing a fanfics, which was an FFVII/FFVIII crossover. Very action-packed, but lacked the emotional or similar content that I had seen in some other fanfics. I finished it, and actually felt kind of disappointed, because the fic seemed to have been below my standards, despite the fact that everyone who read it loved it. (for anyone who may be interested in seeing how my first fic turned out, its on a site called Check the fanfics section and look at crossovers. You'll find it there. Its titled "Resurrection") It was back then that I first thought of an FFVIII novelization, but discarded the idea at the time in favor of writing my next big thing, Foreshadow, an epic FFVIII fic that, after about a year of kicking around in my head, flopped bad. Maybe I wasn't ready for it. And on another note, it was back then that I first came up with the title "The Gunblade Saga" though I was going to use it for a series of fanfics as opposed to one single story.

Anyway, it was a little after that fic was completed that I found a site called that had a huge epic FFVIII prequel, with links to other fanfics sites, including our beloved as well as Both libraries really made me fall in love with fanficcery all over again, and exposed me to some truly incredible writers, among them Ashbear. It was also, of course, here that I found a group of FFVIII writers who were writing novelizations. They're a familiar bunch by now, Nique and Prodigy among them. I read their works and enjoyed them, though felt a little dissatisfied; Nique's was good but lacked the action of what I liked to read, and Prodigy's had a Squall characterization that irked me. I guess you could say that my dissatisfaction with their works made me want to write my own. Thus it was that, in June of '03, work began, almost on a whim, really. I considered some titles for the series, but couldn't think of anything really good, until I remembered the title I had come up with a year ago.

Thus was The Gunblade Saga born.

Its been a constant in my life over the last year and a half. I've changed dramatically since I began writing it. I've changed jobs, computers, internet providers, majors, universities, even future career paths (less than three weeks ago I changed from training to be a Marine officer to a Navy officer, in fact) but through it all, Gunblade has been there. Now that I look back at it, it seems kind of silly to have spent so long writing this thing. I started it up on a whim, and, well, look at it. We're a year and a half later and two-thirds of the way through, with maybe twelve or so more chapters remaining. I never thought that this point in the story would really come, but now that its here, I'm amazed at what I've written. Forty-three chapters. Two hundred and fifteen current reviews (and another two hundred or so in the original version) Two hundred seventy-three thousand, five hundred and seventy-one words. Nearly a year and a half of work. Its almost staggering. No, correction, it _is_ staggering. I'm amazed I could even write this much, and develop the characters so much. I've hit a point where I really can't imagine FFVIII not existing like it does in The Gunblade Saga (this has carried over into Synthesis, if you'll notice)

So, I discussed the past of the series. Now, what of the future?

There isn't a tremendous amount left. We're on the third book and the third disc of the series, and its winding down, beginning the final chapters covering the realization of the love story between Squall and Rinoa and the final conflicts. Its not as epic or action-packed as the last two books, but the tremendous character development in the final chapters of the game are enough to move people to tears. Squall carrying Rinoa on his back, the sequences in space, the Ragnorok, the Memorial rescue, and Squall's ultimate promise, not to mention the final two dreams of Laguna and their ultimate meeting . . . They're huge parts of the game that don't feature tremendous amounts of action. Of course, there will be some bloody battles before the end (Galbadian invasion of Esthar, assault on Pandora, the Propagators, the final Seifer duel, and the battle in Ultimecia's castle) but the level of action and violence drops off in this upcoming book, taking a backseat to the development of the characters. And I'm fine with that. My desire to write war and death in this story was sated in the last few chapters. I'm ready to write for the characters and not for the action now.

_Chapter-by-Chapter Commentary (also known as Peptuck's pretentious self-important ramblings about minor stuff)_

-_Interlude: Fragments of Memories_

I was kind of sad that this was the only Laguna interlude in this book, and it was relatively short. I did enjoy writing the Laguna/Ellone interaction. Laguna is a lot like myself: goofy, naive, kind of childish, and very idealistic and loyal. Of course, you saw a lot of myself in the second Laguna interlude when he tried talking with Julia. Nonetheless, I love the goofy lunk of a soldier. The banter between him and Kiros was fun to write as well.

As I reread the chapter, I'm thinking that maybe I should have put more into Raine? After all, this is the only point where we'll even get to see her, and she is a very important character, even if she's very minor over the course of the storyline.

And as a side note, I know that in the game, Laguna's room in in the building beside Raine's pub. It just made more sense for Laguna and Kiros to rest in Raine's house instead.

_-Behind Bars_

I like to refer to this as my "Metal Gear" chapter, especially the interrogation sequence. Much of what happened to Squall was reflected from Metal Gear Solid, especially the lack of shirt and the occasional MG line thrown in there. I also liked writing Squall's futile fight against Seifer. I was planning to include some bits in the story where Squall has to fight like an ordinary human, without junctions. As a side note, it seems to me that Zell gets abused a lot in my fics. The guard beat down (both here and in Synthesis) Edea tossing him around like a rag doll, the fight with the Gerogero, etc. I dunno why I do that. XD

Oh, and the Moomba introduction. I liked that too. I always approached the Moombas as being known by a lot of people around the world, and I modified that bit about the characters knowing nothing about the Shumi or the Moombas.

-_Prison Shooting Spree_

What can I say? it's a culmination of every action flick involving guns I've seen in recent memory. Irvine's moment to really shine and show off his arsenal! I also included a bit of annoyed FPS stuff as well (opening the lock, taking the long way, etc.) Stuff you see in some first-person shooters that gets annoying. XD

There's not much else to comment on in this chapter . . . I was toying with the idea of having Irvine junctioned, but opted not to, both for character development and to make him seem cooler. He doesn't need junctions, he's got guns!

-_Diverging Paths_

This chapter was really just a bridge between the prison and the missile base arcs. I did a lot of tying up loose ends and setting up for the future. There was plenty of fun writing the battle sequences (my editor got mad at me because I kept having Zell use soccer kicks instead of stomps. XD) and showing off the Brothers in all their twin GF mace-bashing glory. Selphie with a grenade launcher was also a fun little bit to write.

And one thing that surprised me that no one called me down on: The Brothers' names were switched by accident. The big one is Sacred, the little one is Minotaur, but I've been getting it backwards! Why didn't anyone point it out? XD

-_Tactical Espionage Action_

Finally, a chance to show off the heroes' skills at infiltration! I enjoyed writing the infiltration and the methods by which the heroes evaded and interacted with guards. Selphie's cute-yet-lethal nature especially came out in this chapter. Irvine, also, was instrumental in this part, especially because being a Galbadian, he could talk easily with the other Galbadian soldiers. I also liked covering the Galbadian technology. The final battle with the Iron Clad kicked ass to write.

I was considering having Irvine outright kissing Selphie at the very end, but decided to save it, as it would make things a bit . . . Weird for the heroes later on. I'm probably going to have some Irvine/Selphie development in the next book, however.

-_Unfriendly Fire_

With the exception of the Seifer duels, this is the only real chance we get to see Squall take on cadets or others with junctions. Even so, the battles themselves are relatively short ones, in which I wanted to show how Squall was leaps and bounds over the cadets in terms of skill. Otherwise it was more or less just a straight run through Garden to a few key points, followed by the meeting with Xu and the Headmaster. I was planning on throwing a T-Rexaur into the mix, but opted not to.

Writing the sequence in the MD level was tough, but I liked how it turned out. I'm not a fan of "traveling" sequences, where the characters are shown moving through a dangerous area or dealing with terrain. I don't know why I am that way, but . . . . Whatever.

-_Proprietor_

This chapter was a challenge, actually, and a bit short for my tastes. Well, at least in the NORG conversation. I had some fun screwing around with NORG's "language". Writing the bit where Squall was custom-making Lionheart was pretty fun too. I like talking about futuristic technology and stuff. Little details like that are fun for me.

Making the Faculty Shumi was a decision influenced by Sowing the SeeDs. It was in that fic, and made a lot of sense, so I went ahead and did it here, too. I'd been planning it for a long time (you'll notice the elongated fingers from way back at the beginning)

-_The White SeeD_

NORG gets owned. XD

I'm surprised no one commented on the conversation between Squall and Kadowaki in this chapter. I put that in as blatantly foreshadowing the relationship between Squall and Rinoa.

Trent and the White SeeD return here, and I like writing the conversation between Squall and Ellone. The Cid and Squall talk was also cool to write too.

-_Over the Horizon_

I figured the expanded battle would surprise some people. I loved covering the battle between the SeeDs and the Galbadian destroyer, and also Squall's Solid Snake/Sam Fisher exploits. The Leviathan summon was something I was itching to write, too, along with a description of FH.

Squall's angst at the beginning, however, was what really shone in this chapter, at least for me. That scene practically wrote itself, flowing out from my screwy mind and into the keyboard and onto the screen in a long, beautiful series of angst paragraphs. I impressed myself writing that bit.

One part I didn't enjoy and blazed right through was the meeting with Dobe. I didn't like the rude way he treated Squall, especially after the battle. Ungrateful hippie bastard. XD

-_Burdens of a Hero_

There were some fun conversations in this chapter, especially the ones between Squall and Rinoa and Squall and Irvine. Some angst here too, nothing major, and not quite as free-flowing as the last chapter's.

The various characters and their instruments were also fun to write. I was originally going to have Irvine use the violin (reference to the party scene in the middle of Starship Troopers) but the saxophone seemed to fit more in line with him. Still, I may have him know how to play a few different instruments. Zell and the bass guitar seemed natural, and Selphie and the electric guitar was a throwback to the opening credits sequence, showing her with one in hand. I always figured that would be the best instrument for her.

My editor commented that Squall's semi-formal outfit he was wearing to the concert made him look like Hellsing's Alucard. I gotta agree after he said that. On a side note, I liked writing each of the character's alternate outfits: Irvine's white suit, Zell's Mike Shinoda-style outfit, ('nother LP reference XD) and Quistis in her uniform.

-_Under Siege_

This chapter really began the war between Garden and Galbadia. The bits on Garden's organization were intended to cover the behind-the-scenes layout of the armies so when the battle began it would have an underlying order. Updating the info on the Garden's troops each chapter was an important part that I made sure to include.

The Balamb siege was a fun bit of the game, but was hard to write. I didn't want to have the heroes wandering all over town to find one stupid officer, and I thought that the inclusion of the heroes in Galbadian uniforms would obviously make sense.

The Squall/Seifer confrontation was a spur-of-the-moment idea that hit me last chapter, and I liked writing it in. I sort of makes sense, doesn't it? There were a bunch of Hellsing lines thrown into their dialogue, too.

-_The Art of War_

I had this idea for an original chapter for a long time, and only just now began to implement it. I wanted to show more behind-the-scenes stuff. Writing Irvine's pirate raids, prepping the army, etc. were big things I enjoyed. Showing some more development of the Squall/Rinoa and Irvine/Selphie relationships was also a big objective here. I liked adding a bit more to Irvine's mentality, especially his Han Solo-style approach to magic.

Rinoa and her father's reconciliation was a very emotional part for me. I was tearing up as I wrote it, actually. The way I always imagined it was that Caraway may have been responsible for the car wreck that killed Julia, and that may have been part of the reason why he and Rinoa had their falling-out.

The notion of including Dollet troops started back about three or so chapters before this one. My editor commented that there weren't a huge number of troops, and I thought about it, including where they could get more men. Well, who else is Galbadia's enemy? Dollet. Thus, I began laying out plans for the Dollet troops' joining Garden.

-_Forgotten Innocence_

This chapter was enjoyable, but I went through it rather easily, not really pushing myself, and saved my energy for the big battle in the next few chapters. The Trabia sequence was a bit of a tear-jerker, and I tried to make it that way, especially with Selphie in the graveyard, and Irvine comforting her. My editor made some crude jokes about it, too. XD

Including Colonel Randolph was kind of fun. I based him off the Marine Gunnery Sergeant at my ROTC unit, who is one hardcore mo-fo.

The "reunion" was interesting to write, and I had fun there, even if I screwed up a couple of lines. I opted to avoid doing the mental flashbacks to the original orphanage, as they were kind of weird and made no sense to me.

-_Raise Thy Sword_

This chapter was, beyond a doubt, tremendous fun to write. Every paragraph was a labor of love. I enjoyed writing the first few pages, which created tension, especially for you guys who knew what was coming. Added in some foreshadowing of the entry of Esthar into the story, too.

Zell's speech was a tremendous amount of fun to write. Straight from Halo, baby!

The actual battle itself was heavily inspired by Lord of the Rings, especially the Helm's Deep charge and Aragorn standing on the wall in front of the enemy army. Seifer's line as the battle began was direct from King Theoden.

I'm actually surprised with the length that the opening barrage covered. The description there was very intense and I had loads of fun writing it.

Commenting on the individual segments of the battle is about impossible. I just wrote up whatever I could think at each engagement, throwing myself into every paragraph. The orgasmic war action you see in this chapter was the result. My ultimate goal was to surpass Daz Shier's huge battle toward the end of "Omega" and I think I succeeded.

-_Only a Plank Between One and Perdition_

My editor kept bugging me about the chapter title, and I finally gave in and switched. XD

I began this chapter thinking "How am I going to beat what I did last chapter?" I still don't know how I did it, but I did. I wrote stuff out as it hit me in the head, and followed the general progression of the battle, adding in all these awesome fights and battle sequences. They seemed to flow from my fingers. Ever get that feeling? That's when you know you've started writing something great when you don't even think, you just let the story tell itself through you. Its an amazing experience.

And yeah, Selphie used some of Halo's almighty "Spankers." XD Every character had their role in this story, and I think they covered them beautifully. It really makes me happy to hear someone say that Randolph was badass and that they liked him. I tried making him just as important as the heroes, at least in this arc.

The ending to the chapter was heavily inspired by Daz's work and the battle he wrote. It was beautiful and intense and the ending, speaking of how history would never forget that day, sent goosebumps up my spine.

-_Endgame_

When I wrote Endgame, I set out to surpass both battles with Seifer and Edea from Scars of Circumstance. I envisioned the fight between squall and Seifer to be less about acrobatics and dialogue and much more on the nitty-gritty close-quarters side of the battle. A lot of punches and body blows and throws and kicks and the like were hurled and hit, but not very many hits with the weapons. With the exception of a few minor cuts exchanged, the only real injury was Seifer's hand. On that note, I had envisioned Seifer's hand getting lopped off a long time ago, right about when I was writing the first duel in Scars of Circumstance. He will get better, though, don't worry. Its only a flesh wound.

The bit where Squall and Seifer charge at the end was obviously intended to be cinematic and dramatic, but it was also based on old Japanese movies about samurai warriors and how they would face off one-on-one and charge at each other with lightning-fast slashes. I tried replicating it here.

The battle with Edea was over the top, and that was precisely what I was aiming for. Lots of variations on magic, too. As a raw source of magical energy, Edea (and any other Sorceress) would just hurl energy in whatever shape she wants. And she has telekinetic powers, obviously (not actually based off the Force, despite what some people are saying. XD) and that shield. If anyone was wondering, the shield can be broken with enough physical damage, but can be recharged. Essentially, every attack was draining her shield, but in the brief period between each attack Edea recharged it to full power.

Okay, now that that crap is done, what else is left? Oh, wait, yeah, my little happy thing I like to do. Shout-outs! -cracks knuckles- this is probably going to be random selection and such of reviewers because of the way is spazzing on reviews and how I've got to cover two separate chapters' worth. Ugh. X.x

-Daniel Wesley Rydell: I'm sorry I hurt Xu. XD

-Rusty Knights Productions: Thanks. As I've said before, one of my goals is to improve wherever I can on the game. And yep, the weapon Selphie uses is a Spanker.

-Squall's Number One Fan: I noticed while I was going back over the story that Squall's wardrobe gets pretty heavily abused. I wonder why I do that to him? XD

-Chris Ganale: Oy. I amaze myself sometimes, though I don't think the almighty Master chief would bow down to my measly chapters. MC rocks the box, dammit. And no, Esthar will not have blasters. I've already got too many damn Star Wars references in here already! XD

The, uh, charge you mentioned wasn't based off the charge in Solo Command, though. XD Was kinda surprised you thought it was.

The one about the fist coming from miles away was actually a reference to the first Doom novel, where the Doom guy punches his commander with a fist that starts miles away, though I get why you thought it was a reference to Adumar.

Blame my editor for the Smith/Neo lines. Revolutions rocked.

Edea's telekinetic weren't based on the force, actually, just random metal tossing people around. I guess it could be interpreted as the Force, though . . . .

Don't worry about lots of chapters of ass-dragging. I fully intend for there to be gunfights and beatdowns within a couple of chapters after the next book starts.

DBZ Fanfiction Queen: Ah, yes, Alexander. We are sad to see him go. He will be missed and ever recalled fondly for his Holy MOAB. XD But I didn't have Alexander get Drawn for the same reason why they didn't Draw Carbuncle. No time to even bother searching. That and Edea don't need no stinking GF.

-Akira Stridder: You really think so? Thanks!

-Solarious: Who? Huh? Wha? Oh, you. I remember you. Sort of.

I agree that I've been getting better. You can see between the first chapter and the latest one how I've evolved as a writer. In my personal opinion, I really took off around Ascension.

Wow, that's the first time I've heard someone tell me I write too much. XD Making breaks and interludes really doesn't fit my style. It seems to steal the immersion from what I'm writing, somehow.

-OniRazz: Happy (belated) birthday, dude! And yeah, Randolph does kick ass, but then, he is based of my Gunny, so he can't not be.

-Spikestrife: Wow, man. Have fun rereading it! Its so long even I can't go back over it and reread the whole thing!

It pissed m e off how the fight with Seifer was three-on-one later on. I always wanted to have Squall take it to Seifer mano-a-mano.

-Xephon: Bahamut will likely be in, and Griever can't be in without ruining the storyline.

-Dragoon Swordsman: The idea for bit where Selphie and Irvine took out Galbadia Garden's cockpit snuck up on me like a ninja and suddenly hit me without warning. XD

Seifer's hand will be lost for good, but he will get the problem fixed.

-Shootski: I probably will have Bahamut in here, if I can figure out a way to make his capture work without ruining the storyline.

-Angelo di desiderio: I didn't actually change that part. It was more or less direct from the game. I view cut scenes as gospel, after all. XD

-Sherif: AHAHAHAHAAAA! Oh, man, I can't believe Falsehead actually put me in her guide! I'm quite shocked, yet satisfied. I sent that email to her, like, two years ago. XD

-LordPanther14: Thing about me is, I hardly ever get a game or movie or whatever unless I feel that the story is both action-packed and very good. That's why I love things like Halo, Hellsing, etc. because they have amazing stories behind them. Which explains my obvious love for FFVIII.

Wolf of Light: Long time no see, dude! Yeah, Seifer was pretty hardcore here, using a fire spell to cauterize his own wounds. XD

-Virulent Enmity: I got a thing for knowing weapons and combat. I've considered Squall and Seifer's blades and fighting styles. Seifer fights like Yunsung the sword-dancer and Raphael the fencer in Soul Caliber II, while Squall weirdly enough, uses lots of slashes and cleaves, like Mitsirugi, the samurai. In fact, it seems that squall does fight a lot like a samurai warrior, doesn't he? I mean, yeah, he uses a bastard sword-styled gunblade, but he focuses on a lot of wide arcing slashes with his feet spread apart, almost samurai style. I guess he's a mix of Aragorn and a samurai warrior, at least in my mind.

-Rikke Lionheart:I liked writing that little talk between them about the ring.

The Squall-Seifer duel was intended to be detailed and technical. It's the anti-thesis of the way Squall slashes through hordes of Galbadian soldiers, taking a long time and showing how skilled both warriors are. Detailed, technical duels like that are one thing that I love more than anything else.

-Chloe: Poor Seifer. But yeah, he'll get something to fix up his wound. I'm not going to badly injure a character like that without some form of means to make him all better! Seifer's one of my favorite characters in FFVIII, after all.

-Kaiser-kun: whoa. Best in your whole life? I'm . . . very, very flattered. I am quite proud of what I've written, and there are some points where I'll simply stop and gape at what I have done thus far and simply shake my head and think "I wrote that? Me?"

I wish I could say I put my heart into everything I write. There are some points where I just have to stop and sit back, and do nothing, because I'm not in the mood. Like now. I'd be writing the next chapter, but I'm at a bit where I can't think of anything to do. I tend to write in spurts, though some are longer than others. The last three chapters, for example, were a nonstop labor. I have some methods of getting my groove back and putting my heart into the next chapter or paragraph or whatever. For example, when I can't think of anything else, I look ahead to what lies beyond, and that gives me inspiration to continue. Other times I simply fall back to something completely separate and work on it. That's part of the reason why I write Synthesis: its something different from what I've been writing, and switching off from the standard rut helps jog my ability to write. That's why I'm also doing a Metal Gear novelization and am considering a novelization of Halo 2 as well. I may never get them published online, but I still have them.

The next arc is creeping along slowly but steadily. Its been a labor to recover my inspiration ( I mean, the last few chapters REALLY took it out of me) but I'm moving along as best I can. I do what I can to honor this greatest of RPGs.

Is that everyone? Wow. Phew. Okay, that's enough from everyone's favorite schizophrenic Dr. Pepper-chugging, unshaven and unshowered military novelization writer. I'm gonna go play Halo and then sit my ass back down here at my computer and write some more.

Oh, and before I go, I'm planning on establishing one of these C2 thingies for FF-based fanfiction. Let me know if you're interested in joining the staff.

Till the next chapter . . . .


	45. Cold

Ninja surprise update! I wasn't considering adding this, but then, well, I had a bout of Ah, Screw It Syndrome. Lucky for you guys, eh?

_**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

_**The Gunblade Saga: An In-Depth Novelization of Final Fantasy VIII**_

_**Book Three: Semper Fidelis**_

_**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

_Chapter 39: Cold_

Squall had not moved once in the last hour. He simply sat there, unmoving, like a stone statue, in Balamb Garden's infirmary.

The room was quiet, though it hadn't been that way a couple of days ago, as the medics and SeeDs had been rushing about, busy mending and tending the hundreds and hundreds of wounded left in the wake of the final, titanic clash with Galbadia Garden. It hadn't been until a week after the battle that Dollet ships had arrived, and had ferried the many wounded and dead away from Balamb Garden back to Dollet, and had taken the Galbadian prisoners of war. The Garden was much emptier now, with a sizable number of cadets and SeeDs taking the damaged Galbadia Garden to Fisherman's Horizon for repairs, and the surviving Dollet troops - little more than a quarter of their original number - had returned home, exultant in their victory alongside their Garden allies. There was talk that the Galbadian government was reeling from the defeat, and words of a new, strong alliance between the Garden and Dollet would rise up in the future. And with Edea's defeat, the shadow that had been cast over the world seemed to be lifting. Garden had won, and the world was safe once more.

But Squall Leonhart, the man who had led the combined armies in their finest hour, and the man who rightfully should have been leading Garden then, was at possibly the worst state in his entire existence. He had won, and had lived through the final, terrible battle against Edea herself, but now, it seemed as if he was dying. Not from a wound or a disease, but from something that had felled many great men before and would do so to more men in the future.

He was dying because of despair.

Squall was dying because Rinoa was dying.

She was cold, like a corpse, unmoving and still, not even the slightest flutter of motion, with the exception of a barely perceptible rise and fall of her chest every half a minute. For an entire week, she had been like this, and for almost all of that time, Squall Leonhart had sat beside her in the infirmary, keeping a never-ending vigil over her. He seemed to be living in an existence of tortured expectation, waiting for each breath from the still woman across from him, and as he chest lowered, exhaling the shallow intake of air, he had watched intently, terrified that that motion would not repeat itself again.

Squall had barely eaten or slept during the week between the victory and now, but had simply stayed by her side, not moving. Rinoa's loss had hit him harder than he ever could have imagined, like the loss of Ellone so long ago, only multiplied a hundred fold by guilt and pain. He felt that he could have done something, _anything_ to prevent this from happening.

He was sitting there, waiting silently and expectantly, when a hand fell on his shoulder. Squall looked up slowly to see Quistis standing beside him, her own eyes on Rinoa, a mix of pain and concern in her own expression.

"Is she any better?" Quistis asked, to which Squall slowly shook his head, looking back just as Rinoa's chest rose again, before slowly dropping.

"You don't look too good yourself," Quistis added quietly. Squall didn't answer. He'd reached a point where he didn't care much more about his own well-being. With Rinoa in this state, Squall almost felt like he, too, had slipped away from a mobile, reactive life, reverting to a vegetative state.

"Squall," Quistis said after a few moments. "Cid returned yesterday. He's gone with Matron to the orphanage, but she said that she wanted to talk with us soon."

Squall nodded slowly, and sighed.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice cracking. It wasn't until then that the SeeD commander even realized he hadn't spoken at all over the last couple of days.

"Apparently she knows what it was that caused her to do everything," Quistis said. "I think its important we find out, in case this sort of thing happens again."

Squall closed his eyes. He didn't really care right now, so deeply had he been struck by Rinoa's coma. But perhaps Matron knew something that could help them. She was a Sorceress, after all . . . .

"All right," he said after several seconds. "Let's see what she has to say."

The orphanage was in shambles, Squall noted as he, with Selphie, Zell, Irvine, and Quistis following, entered their childhood home. What had once been a beautiful, majestic structure constructed entirely of white marble and stone, overgrown with vivid green ivy and with thick grass sprouting among the cobblestones, was now a wreck. Stone pillars were seemingly sliced in half, and one of the structures had collapsed in on itself. Everywhere were the signs of decay and destruction. Squall could only imagine what had happened between the time he had left the orphanage twelve years ago and now.

"I'm kind of scared," Zell muttered quietly. "Its been so long."

"Me too," Quistis added. "I'm sort of nervous meeting her again."

"Whatever she has to say must be important," Irvine commented as Squall approached the central structure of the compound, a large building where all of the orphans had lived in. Squall himself was only a little apprehensive, though he had understood why the others were a bit nervous. Before, they had been fighting a woman who almost certainly was not the motherly figure they had loved as children. But now, she was returned to them after over a decade. What would she be like now? And what had possessed her?

Squall didn't know, nor did that question matter much to him at the moment. All he cared about was Rinoa.

He opened the door leading into the main house, the old wood creaking as if it would fall apart in his hands. He stepped into the next room, and saw, once again, signs of neglect and destruction all throughout the central room. Scattered stone, splintered wood, and shattered furniture abounded, and Squall could smell the salty ocean air through the ruined and open walls.

He heard footsteps to the right as he entered, followed by his comrades, and saw the headmaster standing in a ruined doorway that overlooked the ocean. Cid Kramer looked older than he had in a long time, but he also seemed to be relieved and almost happy. He seemed to be a man who had just had a terrible burden lifted from his shoulders.

"Squall," he said, and smiled as the others followed him. "Good to see you all again. I want to thank you for what you've done." He paused.

"Is something wrong?" Quistis asked, and Cid managed a chuckle.

"I was worried," he stated. "I knew that whatever happened would be a terrible loss to me. If you lost, then you would be wiped out, by your own foster mother, no less. But if you had won, Edea would have died as well. But somehow, neither of those events happened. You won, and Edea is alive, and even more so, she is back to her former self."

"What happened to her?" Zell asked quickly.

"I think you should ask her," Cid replied. He turned around and walked out toward the beach. "She's waiting out here." Squall and his comrades followed him, out into the open air and onto the beach beyond. Aside from scattered stone and some ruined wooden poles, the only other thing on the beach was a slender wisp of a woman, with long black hair and a simple black dress. As they stepped out, she slowly turned toward them, casting her eyes over her children, now raised into adulthood. Squall could see that she was barely holding back tears at the sight, though of sadness or joy, he couldn't tell.

"My children," she whispered, walking slowly across the beach to where the group stood, and Squall knew from the tone of her voice, just like back in Galbadia Garden, that this was his Matron. "My children. Please . . . Forgive me for what has happened. I raised you as if you were my own, but still . . . ."

"We know, Matron," Squall answered. "We fought you, knowing who you were to us."

"You are SeeDs," she answered with a nod, and a tear-filled smile appeared on her face. "You cannot back away from your destiny. You were magnificent." She paused, and a shudder seemed to work its way along her body, a motion which quietly frightened Squall. What was she afraid of?

"However, even if the war is over, our troubles may not be," Edea continued. "What happened before may come to pass again. And if it does . . . ." she trailed off again.

"What happened?" Quistis asked.

"I was possessed," she replied in a soft tone, her expression shifting to both fear and disgust. "I was possessed by another Sorceress."

"Who?" Squall asked, immediately alarmed.

"Sorceress Ultimecia," Edea answered. "A terrible and powerful Sorceress."

"Another one?" Zell muttered. "Fine. We'll have to kick her ass!"

"It would not be so easy, Zell," Edea answered, smiling at his aggressive attitude. "Sorceress Ultimecia does not exist in our world. She dwells beyond, in the future, many generations ahead of us."

"Future?" Selphie reacted with surprise.

"Yes," Edea explained. "Far beyond ours. She is somehow able to send her consciousness back across time and into others' bodies, where she then exhibits control. Only the strongest of minds can resist her pull, and my mind was not strong enough."

"What does this bitch want?" Zell growled, now infuriated.

"Ellone," Edea answered. "As you well know, she wishes to find Ellone. Ellone can send others back across time, and so through me she was attempting to find her. But she could not send herself far enough back across time to seize me while Ellone was in my care. She is a very fearful Sorceress, her heart full of rage and sin. She is nothing less than a demon in human shape." Squall heard the vindictiveness and fear in his matron's voice, and knew not to take her words lightly.

"When she possessed me, she touched my soul, and I touched hers. She tried to rob me of my knowledge, and I did not have the will to fend her off. The only option I had was to seal my soul away, from beyond her reach, but in turn she would seize control of my body, fully and completely. Only from your actions, with so many threats pressing against her and weakening her hold, was I able to finally regain control. I fear our struggle cost me a large portion of my power, but I still hold enough to be a danger if she attempts to seize me again."

"And if she does?" Squall asked, absorbing the information.

"I will make a stand against her," Edea replied. "I will not be her puppet, and I will not give her my body again. But I will need aid, from all of you, if that were to happen again. And if I fail to stave her off . . . ."

"We understand," Zell said quietly.

"Ultimecia must know I am weaker," she continued. "I believe she will instead seek out another Sorceress to control. The only one I know of is the Sorceress who once ruled Esthar, Adel."

"Yeah, I know about her," Irvine said. "No one has heard anything about her for seventeen years."

"Indeed," Edea said with a nod. "The Galbadians must have believed that I was the one who had received Adel's power, but I am not. I received my powers from a Sorceress when I was only five years old, and again much later, twelve years ago." At this, she turned a significant look to Squall, but precisely what that look meant the SeeD didn't know.

"I believe that Adel is still alive," she continued. "And that with the loss of much of my power, Ultimecia has released me to seize Adel. But Adel's mind is strong. If Ultimecia tries to seize her, Adel may very well come to wield her power instead, and the dangers of such a thing happening are simply terrifying."

"Then we have to stop her," Squall said with a nod. He then paused, and let out a quiet breath, and shifted the subject. "Matron, do you know happened to Rinoa?"

"The girl in blue who was fighting alongside you?" Edea asked, and Squall nodded. "What happened to her?"

"After the battle," Squall said, and paused, swallowing. "She went cold and limp. She's not moving anymore . . . ."

"Has she died?" Cid asked quietly, concern immediately appearing on his aged features.

"No!" Squall answered, and everyone was surprised at the emotion in his voice at the denial. Edea considered his words for a long while, and finally shook her head sadly.

"I do not know what I could do," she answered. "But I will come with you to see to her."

"Matron . . . Thank you." with Edea's promise, Squall seemed to recede back from the conversation as the others moved in.

"So, why exactly does Ultimecia want Ellone's power?" Selphie asked.

"To send her consciousness back in time further than she can now," Irvine replied. "At least, it seems that way."

He heard the words, his mind registering them, but Squall's thoughts shifted back to Rinoa, still laying so still and cold in the infirmary. So different from the person she had been before, so vibrant and full of life. He distinctly remembered her brown eyes, penetrating deep into his heart and laying bare his innermost thoughts and feelings. But those eyes were closed now, maybe forever.

"What's she want to do in the past?" Zell asked as Squall thought.

They had their disagreements at first. Squall had been much more distant shortly after he had met her, and his cold ways had angered her. But somehow, despite her anger and his standoffish nature, she had steadily grown closer and closer to him, and he to her. Rinoa had exposed something inside, chipping away at his emotional armor so subtly he'd never noticed until the concert at Fisherman's Horizon.

"Time compression," Edea answered Zell.

"Eh?" the brawler replied.

"Time compression?" Selphie and Quistis echoed, confused.

Something had been happening between them over the last few weeks, something strange and new and both terrifying and welcome, and Squall had not known how to respond. With all his responsibilities as a leader, he had never had the opportunity to fully understand what they had been experiencing. And at the very moment when things had calmed down, when the entire war seemed to have been finally over, and the moment would have come for Squall to really, truly understand what it was he was going through, Rinoa had been ripped from him.

"Temporal magic," Edea continued. "A very powerful version of time magic that brings all existences together, compressing them into the basic existence of the past, present, and future. From there, it can be further compressed into one point in time, and further from there into one person or place. If that were to happen . . . ."

What had he missed? What had been stolen from him before he could even truly understand it? Rinoa was gone; any possibility of _anything_ between them had vanished, and that notion sent a bolt of despair through Squall. Just as with before, with Ellone, something he had cared for was gone, and he couldn't bear the notion of it vanishing from his grasp again. He'd already lost one person he cared for. He couldn't lose Rinoa, no matter what it took.

"Squall, you paying attention?" Zell demanded suddenly, and Squall glanced up.

"So, all we have to do is keep Ultimecia from getting her hands on Ellone," Squall said, and the others were a bit surprised that he had heard every word despite his mental distance from the situation.

"More or less," Irvine replied. Squall nodded.

"We're heading back to Garden," he stated after a moment. "We'll start our search from there."

"What will we be looking for?" Zell asked.

"Ellone's last known whereabouts," Squall replied. "The White SeeD ship."

"You mean Trent and his followers?" Edea asked immediately. "You've been in contact with them?"

"Yes, Matron," Squall replied, remembering Trent's words about being "Edea's SeeD". "Ellone was last seen boarding their ship. Do you know anything about them?"

"They are my personal escort," she replied quietly. "And they serve to protect Ellone. It is their duty to protect the Sorceress. But those children are very cautious. You will not find them unless they wish to be found. But I can help you."

The next day, Balamb Garden was moving through the blasted remnants of what had once been the northern continent of Centra. Deep ravines and inlets marked the continent, spreading outward around the impact crater from the Lunar Cry from eight decades ago. An impact so powerful it shattered a continent; Squall had a hard time imagining the raw, destructive power involved.

He stood on the bridge, silent and brooding as he watched the barren brown landscape float past, offering only one-worded responses or simple nods to Nida's questions concerning navigation. He kept his eyes open for the familiar form of the White SeeD ship, but also kept an eye on the horizon for any threats. The mysterious "ghost ships" that the picket Salamanders had spotted had not made a reappearance, but Squall wouldn't have been surprised if they did. He had the feeling that Esthar was watching them . . . .

The intercom beeped, and Squall tapped it.

"Bridge," he said quietly.

"Squall?" came Matron's soft voice, and he stiffened visibly.

"Yes, Matron?" he asked, not saying Rinoa's name. The word was caught somewhere in his throat.

"Could you come to the infirmary?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Right away," he replied, and flicked it off. He glanced at Nida. "Continue the search. Let me know if you find anything."

"Aye-aye," Nida answered, but Squall was already moving, heading toward the elevator. He descended through the Garden and exited onto the first level, before moving out into the infirmary. He entered the silent room, seeing Doctor Kadowaki standing in the doorway into the small room where Rinoa lay. Within the room, sitting in the same chair Squall had been residing in over the last week, was Edea, a perplexed and frustrated look on her face. The Doctor heard Squall's entry and moved out of his way, so he could enter the small medical room.

"Matron," he said quietly, almost hopefully, but Rinoa still lay there, silent and still, only faintly breathing at her agonizingly slow pace. She was still pale, and as Squall looked to Edea, it looked like she was just as white. Edea shook her head before Squall could ask any questions.

"I am sorry, Squall," she said. "Perhaps it is because my powers are so much weaker now, but I cannot sense anything. There is nothing in her. I cannot feel anything."

"You mean, she's . . . ." Squall began to ask, but did not finish the question, instead being gripped by a new fear. Matron quickly shook her head again.

"She is alive," Edea replied. "But I cannot feel her. I have tried for many long hours, but I cannot sense her life force. It is not because my powers are too weak to sense them, as I can detect yours and those of everyone else around me. But Rinoa . . . She seems to be sealed away, in some type of suspended animation. I cannot feel her. I am sorry, Squall. I do not know what I could do, even if I had my full power."

Squall stood there in silence for several long moments, looking back down to Rinoa. All of his hope had drained away and the despair was returning, flooding back into his heart. Slowly, he reached down and grasped one of Rinoa's icy hands, tightening his grip around it and hoping that she might do the same.

Nothing happened, however, and he was left sitting there in the silence, alone.

"What can we do?" Squall asked after a couple of minutes.

"Perhaps we cannot do anything ourselves," Edea answered. "we are only human, even those few of us gifted - or cursed - as Sorceresses. But there are forces at work in this world that are beyond the power of the flesh, Squall." She reached across and placed a hand atop the one he had placed over Rinoa's.

"Sometimes, Squall, we must put our fates and our lives in the hands of our faith that things will be better. But even so, you must keep your eyes open. One never knows what form salvation will take." Squall considered her words for a long time, and finally nodded.

"I understand, Matron," he said quietly, and Edea smiled.

"Now, you go to your room and get some sleep," she added, and Squall glanced up, not entirely receptive to the notion.

"You've gotten barely a night's worth of sleep over the last week," Doctor Kadowaki added, reentering the room. She put her hands on her hips scoldingly. "That's no way for an extremely important commander to act, especially around his mother." Squall looked back and forth between the Doctor and his matron, his expression seeming betrayed, but he reluctantly conceded with a nod.

"And don't worry, Squall," Edea added as he rose slowly, not taking his eyes from Rinoa. "She is in good hands, better than you can imagine."

"I know, Matron," Squall answered quietly. He gave Rinoa one final look, and then did what could have been the hardest thing he had ever done: give her safety to someone else.

Moving back through the halls of Balamb Garden, Squall felt his footsteps weighed down, and exhaustion creep over him. He was more tired than he imagined. All the stress and guilt had taken an incredible toll on his body.

The SeeD commander stepped back into his dorm room after what seemed to be an eternity of walking through the halls. He managed to get his boots off before collapsing onto the bed. He tapped a button on the wall above his head, and the lights dimmed so that only pale streamers from the curtains cut into the small chamber. Squall rolled over on his bed, looking out across the room to his unfinished gunblade, sitting in its case in the closet, and wondered what it would look like once he'd finished it. It was a random thought in his jumbled mind, one final thought as he felt the drowsiness sweep over him, finally being let in after being staved off for so long.

A single remaining thought cut through the mental haze as darkness consumed him: the depth of this sleep and the speed it was coming were so profound and swift that it didn't seem normal.

I was considering continuing this chapter, but then realized that it would lead into another Laguna interlude, and I didn't want to break my own tradition of separating the interludes from the main story. XD Its short, but hey, you guys get my commentary too, so don't complain.

The title of this book, Semper Fidelis, is from the motto of the United States Marine Corps. Its Latin for "Always Faithful." I don't think I could have possibly found a better title for this book, myself.

Also, while you kiddies get an extra update this week, it may be a bit before you get another. I haven't even started on the upcoming Laguna interlude, and finals are a couple of weeks away, so be patient.


	46. Interlude: Dragonslayer

_Interlude: Dragonslayer_

Laguna tightened the straps around his backpack one last time, thoroughly securing the gear on his shoulders. He jostled his backpack, making sure nothing rattled or tinkled within, and once that was secured, he scooped up his rifle. The former soldier, then freelance journalist, and now hapless explorer began to inspect the rifle when a light knock came on the door.

"Hey," he called as he checked the sight, and then belatedly realized he had left the safety off. The explorer snapped the safety on as a large figure entered the comfortable, cozy dome-shaped house. Its light blue and purple robes swished along the floor as it straightened, standing a full eight feet tall, with pale yellow-white skin and thick, fatty cheeks and a lipless mouth.

"It is time for you to leave?" the Shumi Elder boomed, seeming sad. Laguna couldn't really tell from its expression, even after spending a couple of months in this village of the reclusive northern people. Their eyes were always wide open and entirely black, making it difficult to tell what they were feeling at any given moment.

"Yeah," Laguna replied, a bit disheartened too. He was happy for spending his time out here in the hospitality of the Shumi, even if it had been unintentional. It was better to spend a few months letting a broken leg and a million other injuries heal than die freezing and bleeding to death after falling halfway down a mountain.

"Hate to go, Elder," Laguna continued, finishing his check of his weapon. "But I can't stay any longer. Gotta get to Esthar. My little girl's waiting for me." He slung the rifle over his shoulder as the huge Shumi sighed, a deep exhaling noise.

"I wish that you would be able to stay," the Elder said after a moment. "Our conversations were most enjoyable, as was the time you spent with us teaching us of the ways outside our enclave. But we all understand why you must go. Family and community are two things we Shumi treasure most dearly."

"Like I said, really not happy about leaving," Laguna added. "But the wild brown yonder calls for me."

"Brown?" the Elder replied, and Laguna blinked a few times.

"Jeez, been down here too long," he said after a moment, smiling. He extended his hand toward the Shumi Elder, who glanced down at it, confused momentarily, until he came to understand. The Elder, too, extended his hand and grasped Laguna's, the huge, elongated fingers wrapping around the soldier's wrist and partway up his forearm.

"We knew you would be leaving," the Elder continued after the handshake ended. It gestured outside. "So we have prepared this for you." The tall figure moved out of the dome-shaped house, and Laguna followed. He opened the door from the cozy, yet modern, home, and stepped into the wide cavern that housed the Shumi village.

The ceiling arched far above Laguna's head, nearly two hundred feet above. In the center of the cavern's roof was a single powerful ultraviolet light, simulating sunlight perfectly, shining down upon the underground village. The cavern itself, composed of a smooth, blue-gray stone, was shaped and hewn into a multitude of terraces and paths, with hundreds of dome-shaped homes dotting the area in no real orderly fashion. Lush plant life, green grasses, ferns, and trees, overflowed in the spaces between the structures, and a wide clear lake teeming with fish formed in the center of the cavern, fed by icy waters pouring down from the south end of the cavern. Birds could be heard calling in the dense plant life, and thousands of insects and butterflies flitted about among the flowers and reeds surrounding the lake. Everything in this place had been constructed as a paradise, an oasis of warmth and life.

It was rather ironic that, only another hundred or so feet above that cavern roof, was one of the coldest and most inhospitable places in the world, the northernmostTrabian snowfields at the end of winter.

Dozens of Shumi were gathered outside Laguna's door, though none of them were the same height as the human. In fact, they were barely over four feet, clad in thick purple and blue robes much like the Elder's. With the exception of their height, they were virtually identical to the Elder. Ringing the Shumi were an equal number of the small but strong orange-furred Moombas, who were much more animated and playful than the relatively lethargic and laid-back Shumi. Two of the smaller Shumi flanked an object swathed in folded cloth, and as soon as Laguna came out into their cavern, they hefted it.

"We understand your needs and your haste, Laguna Loire," the Elder explained, and it reached out to the cloth and, with surprising deftness, pulled the layers of cloth away to reveal a trio of folded coats, made of thick white and gray material, and with light blue lacing running all along their lengths. The lacing seemed to almost glow with an inner light.

"Thus we have prepared these," the Elder continued, holding one of the coats up for Laguna to see. "Laced with a special mineral filament that we prepare here. These coats are laced with the energies of cold and frost, and will ward you from those effects. Far more efficient than any form of cloth most humans make." The Elder held the coat out reverently toward Laguna, who took it with equal reverence. This was no small gift; Laguna knew the Shumi rarely gave away items that they had made with their own unique knowledge and innovation.

"Thanks . . . ." Laguna managed to say after a few moments. "you don't have any idea how much this means to me! But, uhh . . . ." Laguna paused. "Why are there three coats?"

"'Cause you got three people on your quest, you big knucklehead!" came a shout from behind the Shumi crowd. The familiar voice instantly brightened Laguna's face as he saw two familiar figures come move through the crowd of Shumi and Moombas. One was slender and lithe, and the other was huge and hulking, both bearing massive grins and heavy, thick winter clothing.

"Kiros, Ward!" Laguna exclaimed in joy. He rushed forward, hugging both of his old friends, who returned the hug with equal enthusiasm. "Wow! What are you guys doing here? How did you guys even find me way out here in the middle of nowhere?"

"Well, when you write for a major magazine about the places you've been traveling to, itssimple to keep track of where you're going," Kiros replied. "Been quite the adventure following you around. Back to Timber, then to Galbadia, then Dollet, even way down south in Centra. You get around, my man." Ward nodded and pointed to the ground. Kiros glanced at him and nodded, and Laguna could see the nasty surgical scar across his old friend's throat.

"Ward says that when you wrote an article about how the Shumi were treating a visitor so well, even when he was injured, then we knew you'd be holed up here for a while. And by the way, you have got to tell us how you hurt yourself." Ward tapped the smaller man's shoulder, and Kiros looked up to see Ward shaking his finger at Laguna, with a mock expression of anger on his face.

"Ward says that we'll find out after he gives you the cuchi-cuchi for running off without telling anyone. At least you could have invited us."

"Sorta slipped my mind, guys," Laguna replied. He turned back to the Elder. "Elder, your generosity is unappreciated more than you can imagine."

"Uh, Laguna . . . ." Kiros said quickly. "No 'un' needed, man."

"Wha?" Laguna said, confused, and then his face exploded in red. "Oh, wait, yeah!" He scratched the back of his head as a ripple of amusement moved through the crowd of Shumi and Moombas.

----------------------

"Those Shumi sure do know their stuff," commented Kiros, sitting in the passenger seat of the rugged, treaded all-terrain transport. The white-painted metal of the vehicle blended in well with the snow, making the transport hard to see as Laguna maneuvered it across the rough terrain of Trabia.

Ward grunted in the back seat, sitting beside their gear. Kiros nodded.

"Too bad our heater went out," Laguna said. "Glad we got these coats, though. They'll really take the bite out of a cold summer n- er, _winter_ night."

"See that, Ward?" Kiros exclaimed, slapping Laguna across the shoulder as he rose over a hump in the rough snowy path. "Managed to catch one of his screw-ups! There's hope for you after all, Laguna!"

"Aw, shut up," Laguna muttered as he drove. "And check that map, will ya? I think we're coming up on the Damascus Outpost. I wanna get this thing fixed and grab some chow."

"With what money?" Kiros asked. "You spent the last of our reserves renting this old clunker." Ward grunted again and stomped a booted foot into the floor in the rear of the all-terrain vehicle. "And I think Ward agrees."

"Bah," Laguna replied. "We'll find a job. Besides, I finished writing up my article about the Trabian forests and the Bika Snowfields. Once we get to Damascus I can type it up and compress it and radio it to Timber Maniacs. That should get us a bit more spending money." Ward frowned and rubbed his index and middle fingers together with his thumb, a universal sign for money.

"Yeah, I can't get how we lost all that cash you got from your series about the Shumi village, either," Kiros agreed.

"Winter gear ain't cheap," Laguna replied with a shrug.

"By the way, how did you end up with those oddballs?" Kiros asked, and Laguna glanced at his friend, surprised.

"'Oddballs'?" he answered. "Never heard the Shumi called that before. Well . . . If you want to know, it was kinda my fault. Got turned around wandering the mountains and ended up on the northern region of Trabia, about two weeks off-course."

"That's an understatement," Kiros replied. "You ended up on Winter Island itself. I don't even know how you got that lost."

"Bad information," Laguna admitted. "Thought that the little sea between northern Trabia and Winter Island was just a gap between two areas of Trabia, and I hitched a ride on a freighter running up their way. Well, turns out I still have a bad sense of direction. Couldn't even find the Shumi village when it was only a few miles away from the dock. Started wandering around those mountains northwest of their village, and I spotted those steam clouds coming from that environment dome they have around their elevator. Started heading toward it when my boot found ice and then my face found an incline that ran all the way down the mountain. And on the way was a few rockslides' worth of boulders, which I think I managed to hit all of before I stopped."

"Laguna Loire, Hero and Adventurer Extraordinaire, strikes again," Kiros commented, and Ward laughed.

"So, some Shumi were out wandering around, looking for a good spot to set up observation posts to warn them in case Esthar troops came around, and they found me in the middle of a snow slide. They dragged me back to their village and put me back together. While I was there I wrote my series on the Shumi and their society."

"And that's how we found you," Kiros concluded, and Laguna nodded. He glanced down at the map, and looked out into the white expanse all around their vehicle, before spotting a distant cluster of buildings far to the east.

"Hey there it is," Laguna commented, nodding toward the distant Damascus Outpost. He accelerated as he spoke, and the distant outpost started to grow.

"Last bastion of civilization in eastern Trabia," Kiros said. "Surprised Esthar hasn't destroyed it or taken over."

"Esthar doesn't really care about Trabia," Laguna replied. "No way to get in there from the north. Or at least, no way that the Galbadian armyknows of."

"You think you'll be able to find a guide that can get us past the Trabia Crater?" Kiros asked, and Laguna shrugged.

"We'll need to get some more money," Laguna said as they drew closer to Damascus. "There's probably plenty of guides here, what with winter already passing. But if they're going to take us near Esthar, its going to cost us quite a bit of gil."

"You even have a plan once we get inside Esthar?" Kiros asked after a few minutes. "They aren't the most tolerant of nations. We'll get shot first and not questioned later."

"We'll figure something out," Laguna replied as they pulled into Damascus. "It all depends, really. But I can't just sit here, not when Ellone's in trouble." He parked the all-terrain transport near a line of similarly designed vehicles and opened the doors. The trio clambered out into the cold spring Trabian weather.

Damascus was still referred to as an outpost, but it had become something of a small town, with a total of about a thousand people, mostly hunters, guides, explorers, and the like. There weren't very many permanent people there, especially during the winter months, and lately the town's populace had been shrinking bit by bit due to the ever-present threat of Estharian invasion. Still, the place was lively, despite being on the far end of western civilization. Laguna, Kiros, and Ward moved through the dozens of well-made log cabins and structures, homes and businesses catering to the needs of anyone who wanted to come out this far from the rest of the world. They passed one building, a sizable restaurant, and the mouth-watering scents of freshly cooked meat and hot coffee and chocolate reached out to the group. As one, the trio stopped and, after a quick glance to one another, they ducked inside.

A few minutes later, the last of the cold was being chased away by the toasty interior of the restaurant and mugs filled with steaming hot drinks. The three comrades sat together in a booth, enjoying comforts they thought that they'd left behind at the Shumi village a fewweek ago.

"So, you going to tell us what happened?" Kiros asked after a few more minutes. Ward nodded from beside his lithe friend, looking at Laguna concernedly. Laguna was still for a moment, before sighing and nodding.

"It was a couple of months after the wedding," Laguna said. "About a week after Raine told me she was expecting. You guys had been gone from Winhill for a few months. They came at night, right about the break of dawn, when the Galbadian soldiers were least expecting it. They were using that damned active camouflage, new models, so they were almost impossible to see." Laguna shook his head.

"Probably were cyborgs," he continued. "Elites. They slipped in and took out the entire Galbadian command post first, before anyone even knew they were there. I was out on patrol. I saw some Bite Bugs getting to close to Miss Arnay's fields the other day, so I was trying to get their nest. I heard the gunshots when the Galbadian sentries managed to figure out what was going on, and started to run back, but by the time I managed to return to the town plaza, all the soldiers were dead. I heard Raine crying, so I ran inside the bar, where she was sitting on the floor, sobbing. She told me that the Estharians had grabbed Ellone right from her arms and disappeared in the night.

"Well, a couple of days later was when I left. I promised Raine I'd chase the Estharians down and get Ellone back. Been doing that for a few months now, and this is the closest I've gotten."

"Well, we can't stop here," Kiros replied as Laguna finished. "I'm sure that these folks could use some skilled monster hunters around here. In the meantime you should be sending off that article you wrote, remember?"

"Whoops, almost forgot!" Laguna exclaimed. He started to stand but then paused, before dropping back down into his seat. "Not yet, though. Still have plenty left to drink!"

Ward grunted, and Kiros chuckled.

"Ward says that wasting good hot chocolate out here is a crime against humanity," the lithe man said. "Speaking of which, I'll go get some more."

"Kind of you," Laguna said with a grin, sitting back as Kiros rose and crossed the room. He and Ward continued to drink, watching their friend go up to the counter and order another round. As the bartender moved to grab some more, the smaller man paused and glanced at a bulletin board on the wall next to the bar. After a moment, he reached up and pulled a paper down, and once the bartender returned with fresh mugs, Kiros returned to the table. Ward arched an eyebrow curiously as Kiros tossed the paper to Laguna.

"What kinda melee weapons were you trained in back in basic?" Kiros asked as he pushed Ward's mug across the table. Laguna furrowed his brow as he glanced over the paper.

"A lot, I suppose." He paused as he spotted one line. "What? They need melee specialists? Come on, you know I'm no-" Laguna froze, and suddenly a grin formed on his face. He glanced back up at Kiros. "Gunblade? They prefer someone who knows how to use a gunblade?"

"Pay looks pretty good, don't you think?"

"Seems kinda amateurish," Laguna replied, going back over the advertisement. "Never tried out my acting skills before. But hey, why not? Lemme write down this guy's number . . . ."

---------------------

"You know, there's one thing worse than being on a cold, empty Trabian mountain," Kiros commented.

"What's that?" a shivering Laguna replied as an icy wind whipped past, not slowed at all by the barren, black stone of the mountain range.

"You wearing that freezing-cold armor suit," Kiros answered, grinning. Ward chuckled. Laguna frowned and spun toward them, the shining armor costume rattling as he did so.

"Oh, ha ha," Laguna replied. "Laugh it up. While you guys are sitting over there in your warm coats, my face is going to be appearing all over the movie theaters in Deling City!" Ward hooted.

"He says you're the bit actor in the first five minutes who gets eaten by the dragon," Kiros explained.

"Still!" Laguna replied, putting his hands on his hips. "I'm in the movie, you guys aren't. You should be glad they got someone who's actually trained with a gunblade!"

"That was how many years ago?" Kiros asked, and Laguna snorted. He reached down to his side, where the weapon was sheathed, and drew the light, rapier style gunblade. He waved it around like a fencing blade and made a couple of deft thrusts. His armor squeked a couple of times as he did so.

"Easy money, this job," Laguna said. "Thirty thousand. Not to mention they brought us all the way across the crater in those helicopters. Once we get done with this we're right on Esthar's border."

"We don't even need to stay on the team," Kiros commented. Ward nodded. "Why stick around to film this part?"

"Hey, I don't back out on my promises, okay?" Laguna replied. "Director needs a gunblade guy. I'm it. We stick around for a few more days, get paid, and head on out." Kiros sighed, and Ward shrugged.

"Hey, Laguna!" came a shout from down the slope. Laguna turned to see the movie director jogging up the narrow trail, clad in a thick warm jacket and with a heavy film camera balanced on his shoulder. He paused and appraised Laguna in his costume. "Hey, the armor fits you pretty good! Okay, we're getting ready to start the scene! Everyone else is ready down below, we just need you to go down there. You know your lines, right?"

"To perfection," Laguna replied, grinning. "By the way, I like this gunblade. Looks almost too real."

"It, uhh, is real," the director commented. "Belongs to my brother, out in Dollet. Okay, so, you know how the scene's going to work, right? The dragon comes down, starts attacking, and you fight it. Just, Y'know, make up whatever moves you know, and then, when you get the signal, the dragon's going to leap at you. That'll be it for the scene. Got it?"

"Bingo!" Laguna said with a thumbs up. "I'll head on down!"

"Okay!" the director said, grinning. Laguna bounded down the trail past him, and the man turned back to Kiros and Ward.

"Hey, you two!" he said quickly. "If you guys need some extra cash, the guys who were going to use the dragon animatronic are sick. Its real simple to operate, its right down there around the corner on the slope."

"Sounds easy enough," Kiros said, and Ward nodded.

"Great! Just guide it around the cliff face. When you get the signals, have it attack and lunge. The buttons and levers are already labeled. Got it?"

Ward grunted, and Kiros nodded. The two quickly followed the director down the slope, where the rest of the film crew, about twenty people, along with Laguna and the woman who was starring in the film, dressed up like the Sorceress she was going to portray.

"Okay, people, places!" the director shouted, and the crew scrambled around, setting up and checking the lights and cameras. Within moments, everything was set up. Laguna took up a spot across from the Sorceress actor, and Kiros and Ward moved out of sight, around the side of the cliff face. The pair could hear the director call for the beginning of the scene as they came across the animatronic device, and paused.

"They want us to use this thing?" Kiros muttered, looking at the rather small dragon puppet that, in all honesty, seemed rather shabby and poorly built. Ward shrugged and moved around behind it, before stopping and laughing.

"Wha?" Kiros asked, and Ward pointed. Kiros rounded the shabby puppet and grinned.

"Oh, I get it. That's the one were' supposed to use." He moved down ledge, where a much larger and far more realistic dragon puppet lay along a wide portion of the cliff face. "Looks like the power's on. Wow, I didn't know these guys had the budget for something so realistic. Its even got breathing movements." He looked over the machine, noting the long neck, narrow face, wide body and slender but strong wings, and the black horns cresting the top of its skull.

"Now, where' the controls?" Kiros asked, sticking his head behind the still dragon puppet. He paused when his hand touched the thing's skin, and noted the odd warmth.

Ward managed a yelp of surprise, and Kiros looked up at his friend, to see the big man pulling his harpoon off his back. The smaller man was confused, up until the dragon's head rose of its own accord, and then the thing pushed itself up to its full height, stretching out its neck. Kiros bolted away, spinning back to see the dragon finish rising, blinking its eyes and then looking down at the pair. It snorted once, and opened its mouth, showing rows of razor-sharp fangs.

"I don't think this is a puppet, Ward," Kiros said the dragon took a thunderous step forward. He glanced back, to see Ward already running. The smaller man agreed with Ward's idea and bolted as well.

----------------------

They were already halfway into the scene, and Laguna's leg was starting to cramp up again. He gritted through it, however, and tried his best to continue his part in the scene.

"Don't worry, my Sorceress!" he proclaimed, brandishing his gunblade. "I'll defend you from the dragon!" He suppressed a grimace at how campy the dialogue was. "The beast shall sample my blade!" Behind him, he could hear a dull rumble, and turned as he had been told, expecting Kiros and ward to come around with the dragon puppet. He readied his gunblade as he heard the dragon approach.

_Jeez, how big is this thing?_ he wondered, and then, the ledges above where the scene was being shot rumbled. Laguna glanced that way, to see a massive dragon puppet moving quickly and fluidly down the mountain. The former soldier blinked and silently applauded the director for coming up with a dragon the realistic, but when the work crew suddenly scattered and the director let out a scream of terror, Laguna knew something was wrong.

"Uh, wha?" he asked in confusion as the dragon opened its mouth and roared, a thunderous sound that reverberated and echoed along the cliff faces and walls. An instant later, Kiros and Ward bolted around a corner along the ledge, and came to an abrupt halt upon seeing the dragon.

"How did-" Kiros asked, and spun around. "Oh, holy hell! There's more than one of them!"

"What are you guys talking about?" Laguna asked as the dragon above him advanced down the ledges above, eyeing the armored human with hungry intensity. Laguna froze as his mind caught up with the events. "Wait! That's a real . . . ." Laguna let out a panicked scream as the dragon rushed down the zig-zagging ledges above, and started running down the mountain trail after the movie crew. Kiros and Ward were already ahead of him as he fled down the mountain face. The dragon followed as quickly as it could, before finally stopping and just leaping down the side of the mountain.

Laguna ducked through a narrow passage, where two walls rose up on either side of him, and bolted toward a more open area. Then the dragon landed right in front of him, blocking the exit from the narrow path. It spun and let out a bone rattling growl, before its head snapped toward Laguna like a striking snake. The ex-soldier skipped back, the teeth snapping right in front of him, and more out of desperation than any real intent to fight the dragon, he thrust forward with his gunblade. The slender blade stabbed into the dragon's nose, and the creature snapped its head back, roaring in outrage.

The head came back in right away, however, and Laguna fell back, pressing his back to one of the close walls as the dragon's head flew past. He smashed the gunblade down on the beast's head, the blade cutting into the back of its skull but deflecting off the hard skull. The dragon withdrew again in outrage, but its black crest caught the gunblade's edge and tore it from Laguna's grasp.

Without even really thinking, Laguna dashed outside, chasing the dragon as it retreated, and ducked around its legs. The maneuver was insane, but then, so was the situation, and it seemed to be working as Laguna somehow managed to avoid a third snapping strike by the dragon. He spotted the gunblade as it clattered to the ledge about twenty feet behind the dragon, and ran for it. The beast spun around, chasing after Laguna, its claws digging into the stone as it came about. Laguna barely managed to reach to gunblade, scoop it up, and spin around when the dragon lunged.

The creature's huge jaws closed around Laguna's left shoulder and bit it, punching through the metal armor and closing around his bones. Laguna cried out in pain as the dragon shook him ferociously, and slapped the side of the beast's head with his gunblade. Only the flat hit, however, and as the dragon shook him again, Laguna swung his arm out wide, angled the blade toward the dragon's face, and thrust. The gunblade dove in and stabbed deep, diving into the dragon's unarmored eye and into its brain. The creature shuddered and cried out in suffering, and released Laguna. However, rather than fall free, Laguna retained a death grip on his gunblade, and somehow managed to squeeze the trigger. There was an explosion inside the dragon's skull, and the beast went limp instantly. Laguna flopped to the ground, his armor costume rattling as he did so. He managed to sit up, breathing heavily, and looked over the dead corpse of the dragon.

"Phew," he managed to gasp, and looked down at his armor. He blinked in confusion. The armor around his shoulder, where the dragon had bit him, was rent like wet tissue paper. but underneath, though bloody and torn, his flesh and bone were largely intact. Scratched and damaged, yes, but intact.

"The faeries," he muttered, shaking his head. "The faeries were watching over me." Laguna shakily rose, and stumbled over to where the dragon lay, he saw his gunblade sticking out of the dragon's skull, and tore it free, shaking his head again as he did so.

"This thing was loaded?" he mused. "Not very smart for a movie set, but it saved my ass, that's for sure."

"Laguna!" came a shout from behind, and Laguna spun, to see Kiros and Ward rushing up, both fully armed, and Ward bearing Laguna's backpack and gear over his shoulder.

"Where were you guys?" he demanded. "Had to kill this dragon all by myself!" Still, he wasn't mad, and in fact was pretty glad to see them there. Ward managed a concerned grunt and grabbed one of the potion bottles off his belt and tossed it to Laguna. The ex-soldier caught it and quickly poured the contents over his wound, which mended swiftly.

"Did that thing take a bite out of you?" Kiros asked as Ward handed Laguna his pack. Laguna nodded as he reached up and unfastened the armor's straps. The gear clattered to the ground as he stripped it off, and replaced it quickly with his traveling clothing. Once Laguna had put on actual warm clothes and had fastened his grenade and ammo bandoleer around his waist, he felt much better.

"Yeah," Laguna said as he fished his rifle out of his pack. "But I think the faeries were watching over us today."

"Damned lucky, too," Kiros added, grinning. Ward chuckled. "Come on, man, let's clear out of here before the other dragon catches up." Laguna nodded and, almost as an afterthought, wiped the bloodstained gunblade on the ground and slid it and its sheath into the straps of the backpack as he put it on. He adjusted the straps when another roar reverberated around them, rattling the stones.

"Ahh," Laguna said, looking up. "Let's get the hell out of here!"

"Won't dispute you on that!" Kiros replied, and the trio began to flee down the mountainside.

The dragon itself was not particularly dogged in its pursuit, and broke off after a few minutes of chasing the trio through the mountain trails. That didn't stop Laguna, Kiros, and Ward, who kept running as fast as they could. A few times this was a little too fast; Laguna tripped over a few rocks along the way, but Ward and Kiros were there to pick him right back up and keep fleeing.

It was perhaps an hour later that the group finally came to a stop, and Laguna let out a gasping breath, shaking his head.

"I think we lost him," he said, and Kiros nodded. Ward made an affirmative grunt, and then paused. He tapped Laguna on the shoulder and pointed.

"Huh?" Laguna said, and looked in the direction Ward was pointing. "Hey! We're . . . We're on the south side of the mountain!"

"Which means," Kiros added. "That we're looking at Esthar."

Laguna nodded, looking out across wide, rolling plains of green-blue grass below, as far as the eye could see. He stopped his survey when he spotted something in the distance, what looked to be a massive blocky shape on the horizon. He couldn't tell what it was, but it had to be massive to be visible from this far away.

"What is that?" he asked, and he glanced to his friends. After a moment, Laguna hefted his rifle. "Guys, this is what we came for. My little girl is in there somewhere. Let's go get her."

"Right behind you," Kiros replied with a firm nod. Ward's chin dipped in assent as well, and the three adventurers set out down the mountain and into Esthar.

---------------------

Emptiness. It was a void, a dark place without anything, not light, not sound, not even flesh. He existed within a vacuum, floating on nothing but confusion and questions. He didn't even have a body, it was only his mind and emotions suspended and drifting across an endless expanse of nothing.

"_I can't disconnect."_

The voice reverberated upon nothing, but it was existent within the void, and he reached out, clinging to it, grasping to the words with all his mental might.

"_What . . .? What is this? Where am I?"_

"_Squall? You can hear me?"_

"_Ellone? What is this? Where are we?"_

"_You're still asleep. I'm sorry. I don't know why I can't disconnect . . . Oh, wait, I think I understand. I'm asleep too. This . . . Hasn't happened before, though, but I think that's why I can't control it. Let me focus."_

"_Connect?"_

"_It what I call it, Squall. My power. How I can send others' spirits back across time."_

"_How did you get it?"_

"_I don't know. There's nothing like this in any of the literature about Sorceresses, so its not that kind of power. I don't really understand it."_

"_Why? Why me? Why send us back?"_

"_I have to see. I want to see him again. I want to see how he was when I couldn't."_

"_Laguna?"_

"_Yes. Hold on, I think I'm ready. I'm sorry, Squall, I need to use your spirit a little longer. I'm going further back . . . ."_

---------------------

Thick sheets of rain poured down from the clouds above, but Laguna was already ready to move on, despite the weather. He stood near the marble overhang, ready to move on, and turned to the woman he had been speaking to.

"She's not here either," Laguna said after a moment, shaking his head. "Sorry to bother you, Ms. Kramer."

"It was nothing," Edea replied, smiling. Her expression shifted slightly. "But why are you searching for this girl, Ellone?"

"Esthar soldiers kidnapped her from my home," he replied after a moment. "I thought that they might have let her go or someone had rescued her, and she might have come to your orphanage, but no luck. If she's not here, then the only other place she could be would be in Esthar itself."

"Adel seeks a successor," Edea mused, and Laguna nodded.

"Yeah, which is why I have to save her!" Laguna said emphatically.

"She is your daughter?"

"Well, not quite," Laguna replied. "Not biologically. I've got one of them on the way, though. Heh. But Ellone is . . . Oh, I need to hear her voice again! She's not mine, but she's like a daughter to me. I'm sorry I wasted your time, ma'am. I need to get moving!" Edea opened her mouth to protest, but Laguna had already ducked back outside, into the driving rainstorm, not letting a little thing like the weather stop him on his quest.

------------------------

Squall felt a sudden empathy for Laguna. Like the soldier in the past, he wanted to hear the voice of someone he cared for, but for him, it was Rinoa. He didn't care if it was in the past or not. He just wanted to hear her, to see her eyes again.

"_You can't change the past. I learned that the hard way. When I was kidnapped, Laguna went on a journey to find me, but because he did, he wasn't there when Raine died."_

"_Raine is dead?"_

"_Yes, she died after she gave birth to her baby boy. She kept calling out to him, even at the end, and all I wanted was for him to go back, to be there for her when she died. But I couldn't. I couldn't do anything to change the past. I can't even make it back to that moment in time. Squall . . . I'm sorry, I can't keep the connection any longer. I'll try to talk to you again this way later."_

"_No, wait! Sis! Ellone! I . . . ._

"_Ellone, I need you. I need you to send me back to when Rinoa fell! Please!"_

There was no answer in the void, and Squall felt the darkness lightening, heralding his return to the real world.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ah. Completed! Merry Christmas to all of you guys! I apologize for the delay in getting this chapter out, but finals sucked to ever-living existence out of me. This may have updated late (or maybe early, depending on how you view it)

This chapter was enjoyable to write. I apologize for the small battle scene here, but I'm still not up to writing a major battle like before. That and, well, these chapters aren't all that heavy on combat. It'll be a while before a real battle scene begins. I'm probably not even going to have the Abadon encounter. But I've got ideas for a wild Laguna flashback battle for after that.

Hm. What else? Not much, really. I had fun writing the banter and conversations between Laguna and his buddies here, but writing the movie scene was difficult for me. I was dreading doing that, but I'm glad its past. The rest of the fic should be smooth sailing, but the emphasis is on "should." XD I also enjoyed adding in the extra stuff too, like Damascus and the Shumi village. I wanted to include the part of the game where Squall and the others go to the Shumi village and find out about Laguna's stay, but I figured a bit on him actually being there worked even better.

Slight Halo references in this chapter. Damascus was the name of a research facility in the Halo novel The Fall of Reach, and the all terrain vehicle is the arctic Warthog that I think you find in the multiplayer map Sidewinder. I think.

It may take some time for the next chapter to emerge. Even though I'm on break, I'll be a busy man this Christmas. One of my Marine buddies is off on special leave for three weeks, as he's heading to Iraq (lucky bastard XD) in March, so we're going to paint the town red, then scrape that paint off and paint it all blue. And I've got a writing tournament I'll be in from the 27th to the 4th, so I'll be busy with that, too.

Oh, and all you that are in my C2? Start cracking! XD Don't worry about any kind of approval from me, find what you like and put it in there. I've already put The Omega in my list, too, so if anyone wants to read it, go for it.

And now, for our ultra super mega spectacular fruity-but-with-less-filling-and-fattening flavor, the shout-outs!

-Kaiser-kun: You've got point, though I always viewed Ultimecia as the true enemy. Once I'd played through the game, whenever I replayed I always thought "Hey, this is Ultimecia, using Edea like a puppet."

Arg. I still haven't done anything with the MGS novel, have I? I'm still just at the beginning of the nuclear building. Interesting translations, by the way.

Spike-strife: I like writing Squall as a bit more casual, though maybe that's just me and my writing style. I always wanted to make him much more human, and I think that my showing him warming up gradually to Rinoa helps ease the relationship along a bit. I don't like portraying him as a very cold person.

I figured you'd at leats know "semper fidelis" I know "siempre" means "always" but I'm not sure what the Spanish word for "faithful" is.

-Kimahrigirl: Well, I got one vote for the Halo 2 novelization! XD

-DBZ Fanfiction Queen: I hate it when people kill off Laguna. Laguna is cool, dammit!

Seifer's hand will get fixed, also. Maybe not becoming a full-on cyborg person, but he will have a robot hand.

Oh, shid, I forgot about Carbuncle, didn't I? XD I was originally going to have him be a GF for Xu and her give it to Squall.

I may actually use that suggestion for Bahamut, but then again, maybe not. It depends really on how I want this to progress. You never know.

Yeah, writing Squall's speech was one of the best parts of only a Plank Between One and Perdition. I had a lot of fun with that, and rereading it made even me tear up.

I actually did rather well on my exams. Well, most of them. My Japanese exam was hard as heck. But now I'm done studying, so its time to rest and kick some ass!

-Daniel Wesley Rydell: Huh. I'll try resending it. Sorry about Xu, again. XD

-Akira Stridder: When I first heard "Cold' I was all "Dude, this is SO Squall!" So, naturally, I had to include it.

Lizardios: I'm not divulging any details about Lionheart. Its very important that I don't, because, well . . . I'm not saying anything. XD It will be there, though in a rather surprising way.

-Ark: Thanks for the support. You actually do a better job tracking fics than I do. I barely read any myself!

-Rusty Knights productions: I will admit, a lot of my inspiration for that chapter came from a fic called "Falling Forever" I read waaaaaay back on IcyBrian. (check profile for link) It was pretty good, I forgot the author's name. Puts my work to shame, though the angst is practically dripping from it.

Wolf of light: Let me know how you love Synthesis. XD I could use more reviews for it, would make me actually get back to work on it.

-Knightowl2425: those are some interesting ideas. Not so sure about Cloud, though, he seems a bit to far from the one in the game, though that may not be a bad thing, seeing as how I really don't like that bland DBZ rip-off. I'm being a bit harsh there, but I really don't like him at all.

-Shootski: A lot of people are telling me it does a lot to calm things down. I didn't realize it, but that part of the game really does do that, doesn't it? XD

Virulent Emnity: Yeah, that was part of the reason why I used Cold. The acoustic version is even better.

A couple of you guys didn't get shout-outs this time, mostly because your reviews were a little too short for commentary. I may be a good writer, but I can't put down a paragraph in response to a one-word review. XD

Peace out, all you guys! You probably won't see me again until after Christmas. So, enjoy your reading and don't get killed or anything silly


	47. Rinoa

_Chapter 40: Rinoa_

Squall awoke with a start, crying out in shock. He glanced around, and saw that the formless void had given way to the familiar interior of his room, now darkened in the dead of night. He stopped and paused, realizing he was breathing rather heavily. Finally, after several long moments, Squall rose from his bed and moved to the window, staring out at the glittering ocean as it passed below, and thought about what Ellone had said.

He had asked her to send him back, to when Rinoa had fallen. He couldn't change the past, that much he understood; if Ellone couldn't change things, then neither could he. But perhaps, by going back, he could see something, some clue, some aspect of how and why Rinoa had fallen that could reveal what had happened. With that, there could be a chance . . . .

The likelihood that he'd find anything was slim to none, but he had to try. He had to do something, anything. Squall Leonhart could not sit there helpless and powerless. If there was any chance at all, he had to take it. But the only way he could go back was with Ellone's help.

She said she would contact him again, but when? How? Would it even be in time? Or would Rinoa draw her last breath before he could talk again with his sister from so long ago? That thought jolted Squall, and terrified him more than anything else. If Rinoa died, what then? What would that mean for him? Could Squall even continue on after something so wracking?

Hyne, what was happening to him? Why did he feel like this? Logically, it wasn't his fault or responsibility, but tremendous guilt tore at him, and if Rinoa died . . . the results would be unthinkable. Squall literally didn't know what he would do if he lost her.

He had to move. He had to do something, anything. He knew this. But what? What could he do for Rinoa, now? Ellone was the only chance he could think of, the last thread he could grasp at. But he would have to wait for her to contact him again. Either that, or wait until they found the White SeeDs and their ship.

But there was nothing he could do now, there, standing at his window, watching the ocean fly past. There was only one option at the moment for him, precisely what Edea had told him: pray, and hope for the better.

Squall did just that, standing at that window for hours, as the sky lightened and turned to dawn, and as the sun rose, looking to the stars and the sky, asking for hope and guidance from whoever and whatever could be listening. None truly came to him as he stood his vigil, but finally, just as dawn was finished coming, a knock on the door caught Squall's attention. He opened the door, to see Quistis standing outside.

"Hey," she said quietly. Squall nodded, and opened his door, letting her in. She walked in, slowly, and turned back to face Squall.

"What is it?" Squall asked.

"I went up to the bridge an hour ago," Quistis said after a second, fumbling around with the words. "A couple of minutes ago we spotted a ship. I'm not sure, but I think it fit's the profile of the ship you saw back when Garden was drifting."

"We found them?" Squall asked, his voice reflecting his suddenly renewed hope.

"We're hoping so," Quistis answered, surprised, but pleasantly so, at Squall's change. "Listen, if Ellone is on that ship, we're going to have to keep her safe, or at least as safe as we can. I'm thinking moving her to Dollet, but I don't want to risk a possible invasion from Galbadia, if they're still under Ultimecia's control."

"We'll need to find out more about Adel," Squall replied, moving toward the door. "Esthar may have answers we'll need, and I think I know of a way to get there, too. Let's get to the bridge, quickly."

"Why the rush?" Quistis asked as Squall stepped outside. He paused and looked back to her.

"I need to see Ellone," he stated. "If I'm right, she may be the only hope I've got to save Rinoa."

-----------------------------

Seifer flexed his hand slowly, hearing the minute gears whirring within. Using his right hand was rather annoying, though the doctors assured him that once the skin had finished growing around it, the noise would stop. He certainly hoped so. He was also looking forward to getting back all of his tactile senses; as it was, he could only feel pressure on his hand, not heat, cold, or motion, and certainly not pain.

He glanced down at the hand. The cold metal being seen there was somewhat disturbing, even to him, so he tried to ignore. Still, he couldn't help but glance at it from time to time, to make sure the metallic alloy was not rusting in the ocean's salty mist.

From the ship's bridge, Seifer could see the work progressing. Below, on the deck of the heavy salvage cruiser, Galbadian sailors rushed about as divers went overboard, scuba gear strapped to their backs. Others prepared boats to range outward to see how extensive the structure was, while others readied cranes and underwater sensors. Additional salvage cruisers could be seen in the distance, performing the same operations on the rolling ocean waves.

"How's the recovery progressing?" he asked the ship's captain, who turned away from the screen showing the sonar images of the structure beneath the waves.

"Quite well, sir," the man replied. He turned back to the screen and tapped it. "We're almost done mapping out the width and length of the structure. Quite impressive, I have to say. This is a deep part of the ocean, but this structure is less than two hundred feet below the surface. We're estimating it has to be at least two miles high. Massive, simply massive. Initial reports show that the metal isn't even starting to corrode. Those Estharians know their metallurgy."

"Have you found any access ways yet?" Seifer asked, and the captain shook his head. He tapped another part of the screen.

"One of the other ships had a diver that found a circular depression about a hundred feet down the western side. We're wanting to get a submarine over there to have a look, but we think it may be an entrance."

"Good," Seifer replied, nodding. "Keep this up, and you may get your hands on an armed ship." The captain smiled and went back to work as Seifer strode away, flexing his cybernetic arm once again. He stepped outside the bridge, and into the ocean winds.

"Where are you, Squall?" he asked to the air. "You think I'm out of the game? You think that we're finished? Maybe I'm not as good as you, but I've still got my cards I haven't played. Our little story hasn't finished yet, and I'll make sure you know that when the time's right."

-----------------------------

The White SeeD ship was docked in a small inlet, hidden from prying eyes. Nida had been lucky to spot the ship from his spot, having just barely seen the top of one of the wide, fin-like sails from his high spot on the Garden's bridge. At Edea's advice, Squall had ordered the Garden to move close, at least close enough to be seen, and then had taken a Salamander from the parking garage, so as to be less threatening. Edea had opted to accompany him to ease things; Edea had said that a large group would not be well-accepted. The White SeeDs, she had, said, were very skittish and did not like to be approached themselves.

A dozen of the white-uniformed SeeDs were standing on the front of the deck as the Salamander came in. All of them were armed, though none of them had drawn a weapon, but looked quite willing to do so. Squall stood on the top hatch, at the machine-gunner's position, but stayed away from the weapon, and raised his hands in a gesture of friendship.

"State your business," came a call, and Squall recognized the speaker. It was the captain of the ship, Trent, a man Squall had seen more than a few times in the past.

"My name is Squall Leonhart," Squall stated. "Commander of Balamb Garden."

"I know you," the captain said after a moment, nodding. "The graduation ceremony, correct?" Squall nodded. "What business do you have?"

"I need to see Ellone," Squall stated, and there was a startled reaction from the SeeDs on deck.

"Why?" Trent stated cautiously.

"The war is over," Squall said. "Edea is back to the way she was, before she was possessed. She told us we could find you here.'

"Matron is returned?" one of the other Seeds asked, and Squall nodded.

"Can we come aboard?" he asked, and after a moment, Trent reluctantly nodded. Squall called back down into the ladder shaft, and then leaped from the gunner's position to the deck. The Salamander drifted closer, and finally, Edea emerged from within the ship as it sidled up alongside the White SeeD ship. She stood up in the gunner's turret for a moment, and the White SeeDs stood still, not believing what they were seeing. Finally, after a few silent seconds, Trent bowed, which was mimicked by the other White SeeDs on deck. Then, he moved forward, and along with Squall, helped Edea down onto the deck.

"Matron," Trent whispered, smiling in happiness. "We thought you would never return to us."

"I have, Trent," Edea replied with an equally honest smile. "You have done your duty well, my child."

"You came here seeking Ellone?" the SeeD captain asked, and she nodded.

"I am sorry, Matron," he answered. "She isn't here."

"What?" Squall exclaimed, looking as if he'd been gutshot. "Then where?"

"It . . . It is a long story, Commander," Trent answered. "As I suspect yours is. Come, to my cabin. We can talk there." He gestured toward the aft end of the ship, and the pair turned to follow him as the rest of the White SeeDs returned to their tasks around the ship. They moved across the deck, squall noting that, with the SeeDs' standing down, a number of children had begun to emerge from the cabins at the rear of the ship. They passed under an archway toward the rear of the craft, upon which was the ship's bridge. As they walked beneath it, Squall heard a shout from above.

"Wow! Long time no see, sir!" Squall came to a stop and looked up, to see a very familiar figure bound down the steps arcing up to the bridge.

"Sir, I didn't expect to see you here!" Watts continued. Squall was a bit shocked to see the resistance fighter on the White SeeDs' ship, though he wasn't surprised to see a second familiar figure appear from the bridge.

"Whoa! Look who's here!" added Zone as he came down the steps as well. "Squall! What are you doing way out here in Centra?"

"I could ask you the same question," Squall replied to the two rebels, who he had last seen hiding from the Galbadian army in Timber. "How did-"

"Crazy story, sir!" Watts answered with a grin.

"Oh, yeah," Zone replied, nodding. "After you left, we hid out for a while, but those Galbadian bastards eventually tracked us down. We took off from Timber with them hot on our tails. Managed to make it to a harbor town by the ocean, but they cornered us there."

"I thought we were dead, sir," Watts explained. "Zone went nuts and had this crazy idea to escape by swimming out across the ocean."

"Hey, it was a plan," Zone snapped back. "All you did was whine like a baby. 'We're gonna die! We're gonna die!' And look who jumped in first! You, you numbnuts!"

Squall shook his head as the pair traded insults, wondering to himself how the pair kept on surviving.

"So, after we nearly drowned, me managed to get back on land and sneak on board a fishing ship," Watts explained. "Stole it and sailed it right out of the harbor, with the Galbadians shooting us up even as we escape. We managed to get clear, but then our ship began to sink out on the open waters. We were certain we were going to sink and drown, but that was when the White SeeDs showed up. Ellone managed to convince the boss to save us."

"I'm still not certain why I agreed," Trent answered dryly. "They have proven useful, though. Zone and Watts have shown themselves to be proficient with sailing the ship."

"Not as easy as it sounds," Zone commented. "So, how's Rinoa doing? Where is she?"

Squall didn't immediately answer, and that fact alone made both Zone and Watts glance worriedly at each other. Finally, after figuring out what precisely to say, Squall explained.

"Rinoa was with us when we fought the Galbadian army," he stated quietly. "After the final battle, where we freed Matron from her possession, Rinoa fell. She's unconscious, and resting in Garden. We're . . . not sure what happened to her. I . . . ." Squall paused again, and swallowed his guilt. "I couldn't protect her. I'm sorry."

Zone seemed rooted to the deck where he stood, and then suddenly bolted forward, grabbing Squall by the collar of his shirt.

"You lying _bastard!_" he roared in Squall's face, the words flying out of his mouth in a furious jumble. "What the hell did I tell you? Huh? What did I say? I told you to protect her! I told you to keep her safe! You promised-"

That was all Zone managed to say before Squall clenched his teeth and struck back, reacting to the venom in the skinny man's words. With almost casual ease, he threaded his right arm in between their bodies and shoved out, knocking Zone onto his rear. Zone scrambled to his feet as Squall stepped back, evenly spacing his feet to absorb any attack. Watts quickly moved between them as Zone stepped forward.

"Zone!" Watts shouted. "Come on, sir! Easy!" He planted both hands on Zone's chest, stopping him in place, and surely keeping him from ending up in a world of suffering.

"Rinoa's safe!" Watts continued. "They just don't know what's wrong with her, that's all! Squall would never give up on her, would he? Huh?" The rebel glanced back at Squall, eyes almost pleading. "Am I right, sir?"

"We're here for Ellone," squall answered after a moment, sliding out of his combat stance. "We're supposed to be here to protect her, but I want to see if I can get Ellone and Rinoa together. Maybe, with both of them, we can find out what happened to her."

"You see?" Watts explained to Zone, who was relaxing, but still obviously angry. 'I told you! Rinoa's going to be fine! Squall's not giving up on her."

"You mean it?" Zone asked Squall, who gravely nodded. "Fine then. But I'll tell you again, if something happens to her, I swear . . . ." Zone didn't finish his threat, but instead turned sharply and stomped up the stairs leading to the bridge.

"I'll try to calm him down, sir," Watts said after a moment. He nodded to Edea, and then followed Zone up to the bridge.

"I'm sorry about that," Trent commented, shaking his head. "This girl, Rinoa, she was very important to him. He and Ellone talked about her a lot." He nodded toward one of the cabin doors. "Please, come inside."

Trent opened the door, and Squall and Edea followed him down into a cabin that was rather large for the size of the ship. The White SeeD gestured toward a table surrounded by chairs, and the pair sat down. Trent pulled up a chair from across the room and sat as well, against the back wall so he could look out a porthole that overlooked the deck.

"I must say it again, I am glad to see you returned to us, Matron," Trent said with a sincere smile.

"Its has been too long since I was last here, Trenton," Edea replied, and the SeeD captain seemed a bit put off by the formal name. "I am sorry I had to leave the command of this ship to you at such a young age." Trent quickly shook his head.

"No, Matron, I understand, and no apology is necessary," he stated. "The Black SeeDs like Commander Leonhart here are eligible at the middle of their teens. Nothing less can be expected of your own personal guards." Trent paused and shook his head. "You aren't here for small talk, though. You want to know about Ellone."

"Yes," Squall replied, nodding. "Where is she?"

"To our best knowledge, Esthar," Trent answered, and Squall nodded.

"How?" Edea asked. Trent took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"As you remember, we picked her up from Balamb Garden shortly after it took off and was set adrift at sea," Trent explained. "We sailed east in an effort to get away from the Galbadian fleet, but they were right on our heels. We neared the coast of Esthar and knew we didn't have much further to run, so we turned back and managed to maneuver between several battle groups, just barely evading them. As we swung by the coast of Timber, those two friends of yours managed to get on board." Squall grunted, obviously not considering Zone and Watts "friends".

"The Galbadian fleet managed to catch back up to us, so we fled south, with the entire fleet on our heels. We managed to lose them in the crater of the northern part of the continent, but then our engine failed on us, due to our running it too much and too hard in the effort to escape. The Galbadian fleet began to catch up with us as we were stuck on open waters, and we prepared ourselves to launch an attack and seize one of their ships. But then, Esthar's fleet intervened.

"They materialized out of nowhere, obviously because of their camouflage technology. They opened fire on the Galbadian fleet immediately, using magnetic accelerator cannons and energy torpedoes. The Galbadians returned fire, but the Estharian navy's weapons were far beyond the Galbadian fleet's. They beat back the Galbadian warships, and one of their ships moved alongside ours. The Estharians told us to abandon ship and get aboard theirs, putting special emphasis on getting Ellone off our ship. Naturally, we refused, and they continued trying to convince us. The Galbadian fleet came back in force and launched a counterattack, and the Estharian ship had to withdraw to reinforce its fellow cruisers. But, as it pulled away, Ellone did something I'll never forget."

"What?" Squall asked, almost urgently.

"She ran to the bow of our ship and called out for the Estharian cruiser to wait. The shi stalled momentarily, then began to drift back toward ours, and then she leaped onto the Estharian cruiser. She almost didn't make it, but one of the Estharian sailors caught her and pulled her on board. They pulled away, and I could swear I saw her smiling.

"By that time, the Galbadians had been badly damaged, and withdrew, with Estharian ships pursuing. However, the cruiser that Ellone had boarded went immediately back into camouflaged mode and slipped away to the east, toward Esthar.

"After they left, we managed to restore our ship to partial operation, and managed to take cover in this inlet. Once we've fully repaired the ship we'll head for Esthar to find her." Trent glanced at squall, and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Commander. We couldn't protect her."

"Don't worry," Squall replied honestly. "I understand." _All too well._

"So, Ellone has gone to Esthar?" Edea asked, and Trent nodded.

"We believe so," he replied.

"Then its settled," Squall replied, standing. "That's where we're going next."

-----------------------------

A week later, Balamb Garden was docked once again at Fisherman's Horizon, ostensibly to pick up information about the eastern nation of Esthar. What data had been gathered was not promising.

"So," Zell explained, propping his feet up on the table in the briefing room adjacent to Cid's office. Squall and the rest of his comrades, as well as Edea and Cid, were present. "The people of FH are the only ones who have had any contact with Esthar over the last seventeen years. Mayor Dobe led a bunch of engineers and scientists out a while back, while Adel was still in power, and they escaped by train across the bridge, to the old construction rig used back when they built the thing. They're pretty much the only people who have been out of Esthar in the last two decades."

"No diplomatic contact, only occasional contact with the Estharian navy," Quistis added. "Esthar has completely closed itself off. Even that mountain pass you said Laguna used is closed now. Some set off an avalanche to seal that route off. High cliffs around the coasts prevent naval approach, and high mountains cut off land routes. When I asked Nida if he could fly into Esthar, he shook his head and said that the only way Garden could get in would be as a wreck trying to get through the mountains. Estharian fighters will run off any aircraft trying to get inside their airspace."

"Not to mention that Esthar doesn't seem too friendly to begin with," Cid added. "Completely closed off. Even the massive city that's supposed to be their capital is gone, as if it simply vanished. There's nothing there. It's a complete enigma."

"Tough nut to crack," Irvine commented, and Selphie nodded.

"No way to get inside," she said. "At least, no way that won't get us blasted into tiny glowey bits of metal."

Squall sat back and stared into the screen on the far side of the room, showing a map of Esthar, the most recent and up-to-date version available, taken a decade before. He surveyed the wide country, which took up the entire continent. A massive shaded area, nearly a third of the landmass of the continent, indicated a vast urbanized portion of the nation, the capital and center of the nation's power. Other features, such as the mountain ranges around the country, were highlighted. A yellow line indicated where the Horizon Bridge met Esthar's western border, and a white patch between that and the city indicated what was now known as the Great Slat Lake, a lifeless, barren region marked by fossils and white salt flats.

This was Esthar, the place he needed to go to find Ellone. But how to get inside?

There was a knock on the door, and the group glanced up as one.

"Come in," Squall called, and a SeeD from Galbadia Garden opened the door, an excited look on his face.

"Commander, there's news from Galbadia! We just got it from alive feed over FH's HD cable!"

"Patch it through," squall ordered, and the SeeD nodded, moving back out into the hallway.

"What is it?" Selphie asked, equally excited, and moments later, the screen changed to show a rough, grainy feed from a camera outside the Galbadian Presidential Palace in Deling City. A single reporter could be seen, and behind him was a massive crowd of screaming and cheering people, waving flags and, if Squall wasn't imagining things, hurling Molotov cocktails, rocks, bottles, and all other kinds of random objects at squads of sorely pressed Galbadian riot police.

"This is Mike Johnson, Timber News Live, reporting directly from the scene at the Galbadian Presidential Palace," the reporter quickly shouted, ducking as a flaming bottle flew past his head. "The situation is steadily growing worse as Galbadian military officials have been fleeing the building in helicopters. We're hearing sporadic gunfire inside the compound as Galbadian troops are battling one another."

"Could you recap what's going on inside for those who have just joined us?" came another voice, from the studio.

"Sure, Steve," Mike replied. "Roughly two hours ago, Galbadian soldiers began to move into the capital city in massive numbers, apparently under the direction of the former head of the homeland defense divisions, General Hibrom Caraway. This was apparently done in direct response to the absence of Seifer Almasy, acting head of the Galbadian military and current ruler of Galbadia in Sorceress Edea's absence. Large numbers of Galbadian military officials loyal to the government that the Sorceress Edea set up a few weeks ago began to flee the city as this was happening. There have been reports of seizures of command at various Galbadian military bases by regular soldiers, sailors, and airmen, as well as by lower-ranking officers. Higher-ranking officials who were appointed by the late Vinzer Deling or by the Sorceress have either been killed, arrested, or fled the bases with whatever loyal troops they could. Some holdouts remain, but the last bastion of Galbadian troops loyal to Edea's government are holding out inside the compound and-"

The reporter was cut off as a pair of soldiers rushed in, moving in between him and the camera, one stealing the reporter's microphone.

"Freedom for Galbadia!" the soldier roared. "Those bastards that Deling or the Sorceress put in charge are gone! No way in hell is Galbadia going to be a Sorceress' puppet anymore! Down with the Sorceress! Down with Almasy! Down with those bastards that would have us all die for nothing!" Mike Johnson reappeared, wrestling with the microphone as other news crew rushed in, grappling with the two overeager soldiers. It took a few moments to sort things out, before Mike regained control of his equipment.

"As you can see in the studio, Steve, things are pretty crazy around here. We're hoping to be able to set up an interview with the former general Caraway so he can explain why this sudden revolution is happening, and also speculate on where the Galbadian loyalists are fleeing to. More when we can get back. Hey! Get those guys away from the camer-" The visual and sound went dead.

"Well, this is unexpected," Irvine commented. "I knew the soldiers were dissatisfied with the leadership, but I didn't expect a revolution."

"One less problem we have to worry about," Quistis interjected.

"Does this mean that we're not at war with Galbadia anymore?" Selphie asked, and Quistis nodded.

"We should see what we can do to contact the General, and find out what we can," Cid stated. "This is very, very good news, for everyone. With the Galbadian army out of our enemy's control, things are looking very up. What do you think, Squall?"

Squall sat back, and said nothing for a moment.

"There won't be any interference with us getting into Esthar, now," Squall finally said. 'I agree that we should contact the General right away. Quistis, put together a team to go intoGalbadia and meet with the General, and provide any support he needs to finish the takeover. We should send our best. He may have intelligence that can help us get into Esthar, as well." Squall sat forward.

"This is an opportunity we can't let pass," he added. The others nodded quickly, and plans began to be laid out to contact the general immediately.

Squall let the others handle things, instead sitting back and staying out of the conversation, except to put in that he should remain behind at Garden to keep an eye on things. They quickly laid out plans, understanding that he would need to stay here, not the least reason of which was because of Rinoa and his hesitance to leave her.

Squall wondered how eager they would be to go on this mission if they knew that he was taking advantage of that for his own reasons.

-----------------------------

Two days later, Squall approached the door to the infirmary. It was in the dead of night, the Garden silent and still, excepting the occasional guard patrol which were conveniently elsewhere in the building due to certain orders Squall had made that morning. The garden itself was largely empty, as Xu had taken a group of Salamanders laden with SeeDs on a mission to Galbadia to assist the revolution and meet with General Caraway. Her departure had left things quiet around Garden, quiet enough to do what it was he had realized he needed to do.

The SeeD slid his personal ID card into the security lock for the infirmary, and stepping inside. Sometimes, it was good to be the Commander. He crossed the darkened area, and moved into the room where Rinoa lay, her figure softly lit by the faint lights that the Doctor had left on when she had left for the evening.

He paused over her bed, and stared down at Rinoa's still form. After another eternity of waiting, she took a single shallow breath, and Squall released a sigh of relief. Quietly, he reached down and took her hand.

"Forgive me," he said quietly. "Selphie, Irvine, Zell, Quistis . . . Everyone, forgive me. This is the only way. The only way to save myself."

Then, without a whisper of noise, Squall lifted Rinoa up by her arms and cradled her in his hands. She was so light; how much weight had she lost just laying there, wasting away over the last weeks? A sudden sense of urgency gripped Squall at that moment, and he looked around the infirmary, before stepping back outside, quietly locking the door behind him and moving out. He ran quickly through the Garden, only pausing to ensure that the patrols between the infirmary and the parking garage were where he had planned for them to be, far away from him. Once he was through the main structure, Squall used his keycard again to open the doorway into the garage and slipped in.

Normally, Squall wasn't this duplicitous. But, in all honesty, this was the only thing he could do to keep his sanity. Rinoa's illness was tearing him apart, and every day she kept wasting away, descending deeper and deeper into this coma or suspended animation or whatever the hell it was. And as she wasted away, so too did Squall. Nothing could be done, except the single slight hope he had with Ellone. Only with Ellone's help could Squall understand what was happening.

Squall also knew that getting into Esthar would be damn near impossible. More likely than not, he was going to get killed trying to get inside. So be it. But he couldn't let his comrades come with him on something that was so obviously a suicide mission.

But if that was the case, why try to bring Rinoa with him? He wasn't certain. Maybe, deep down inside, he believed he could get her through with him. Maybe he wanted her presence with him to remind himself of why he was doing this. But for whatever reason, he was bringing her along with him.

That was the reason why he had deceived everyone. He had set up the mission to go to Galbadia in an effort to get some of the SeeDs out of Garden, and it had worked. Xu and a large force had departed for Galbadia, but the principals of Garden, Quistis, Irvine, Selphie, and Zell, as well as Cid and Edea, were still there, meaning he had to be careful. Moving at night, manipulating the patrols, everything was done for this moment, to get Rinoa out of Garden and to go along with him on the only route he knew that would allow them into Esthar.

The Horizon Bridge spanned an ocean, but Squall knew he would walk it to get to Esthar if need be. If it was the only option to save Rinoa, he would gladly take it. Squall opened one of the garage doors silently, and looked out over the still city beyond, before hefting Rinoa once again and stepping out onto the dock adjacent to the garage.

"Come on, Rinoa," he whispered. "Ellone is waiting for us."

-----------------------------

Hours rolled by, and night had begun to turn into day. Squall had moved through Fisherman's Horizon and out onto the Horizon Bridge, and had moved quickly, tirelessly, almost jogging at times. The Guardian Forces within him gave him tireless energy, and Squall had packed enough food and supplies around his waist and inside his jacket to survive for a while. He didn't stop at any point during the night, and moved on until the morning. Rinoa had been shifted onto his back, Squall bending forward and putting her arms over his shoulders, lifting her up by the thighs with his hands. That position made her already light weight almost negligible, and Squall was able to move on deeply into the night and into the first pink rays of dawn.

As morning came, Squall began to slow down. During the night, he had thought only of each step, steeling himself for the long, long journey he would be making. He put one foot after the other without hesitation or regret. Deep down inside, the SeeD felt somehow liberated, and the guilt and helplessness that had been weighing him down was simply gone, vanishing as quickly as garden had over the horizon. In its stead was nothing but iron determination.

Rinoa's head rest on his shoulder, and each breath she took washed over his cheek, and reminded the SeeD of what it was he was doing, of who he was fighting for. Who he was giving himself up for.

As dawn's first rays stung Squall's eyes, the distant sun rising in the east, he finally realized how much he cared for Rinoa. How far he was going for her. No one, not even Ellone had inspired this much loyalty and devotion in him. Squall was still uncertain of what had happened to him, of what Rinoa had done, and even more importantly, of what Squall had done to himself. He just knew, deep down, that he had changed dramatically from the man that had first seen Rinoa on that dance floor months ago.

The sun had risen completely above the distant mountains when Squall finally decided it was time to stop. The light of the new day was chasing away the stars above, the pink sky slowly changing to white and what would soon be blue. The SeeD stopped next to one of the light poles along the side of the bridge, intended to light the path and give workers illumination as they walked, and set Rinoa down slowly, gently. He crouched beside her as he propped her up against the pole, and looked into her still, peaceful face. He brushed one hand along her cheek before rising and looking around, over the ocean stretching away to the north and south. After a moment, Squall stepped toward the edge of the bridge and sat down on the concrete, staring out over the water rushing below.

What was everyone else doing? He had left so suddenly, without warning. But it was what he had to do, to keep them safe. He wondered whether they were laughing at him for his stupidity. No, that wasn't like them at all. More likely than not, they were angry, especially Quistis. For some reason that idea comforted Squall, to know he had friends who would be angry at what he'd done.

After a moment, Squall glanced back to where Rinoa lay, making sure she was safe, and then reached into his jacket. He uncoiled a short, thick black cord and bit off the end of it, chewing the jerky-like material. He frowned at the taste, but didn't complain. Protein rope was made for SeeDs on long term missions, and was designed to be both portable and nutritious. The two foot length of protein rope he had on hand would, if carefully rationed, keep him in fighting shape for three weeks. He finished chewing and swallowed, and replaced the rope, before drinking a few sips from a bottle of energy drink, designed to restore nutrients and provide water for his body. Once he was done, he slowly rose, and glanced back to where Rinoa lay again. He started to move toward her when he heard the sound of an engine in the distance. He recognized the whirring noise of a fast-moving ship's electrical engine, and ducked, moving further into the bridge behind cover. Moments later, he spotted a Salamander moving across the ocean in his direction. Squall stayed out of sight, but the Salamander didn't even slow, the speedy blue-green ship flying past over the waves toward the east. A few minutes after it had passed, Squall rose.

"Searching for me," he whispered, frowning. He shrugged, and scooped up Rinoa again, placing her on his back.

"Sorry," he said to the distant Garden and the patrolling Salamander. "I have to do this alone."

Squall continued walking for the rest of the day, and as the sun dipped to the horizon behind him, he kept walking, never stopping, except once again for less than a minute, to take another bite from his protein rope and drink some more.

Night fell, and the lights around him failed to go up. That was understandable, as no one had used the Horizon bridge in decades, so no maintenance crews would need the lights. Still, the darkness made things a bit difficult for Squall as he walked down the tracks, Rinoa on his back. However, the lack of lights did give him one good thing: without the lights, the stars above were as clear as they ever could be. It was a dazzling mosaic of shimmering lights and a perfect, clear moon hanging overhead. Squall only wished Rinoa was there to enjoy it with him.

As the night wore on, Squall thought he spotted something ahead of him on the tracks. He wasn't certain what it was, not until he came much closer. But in the moonlight, he could finally see that there was an ancient train, decades old, sitting on the right tracks leading directly to Esthar. He ran up to it quickly and set Rinoa down, before trying one of the doors on the three-car vehicle. The door opened easily, and he stepped inside the old train. He glanced around, seeing nothing but rich appointments covered with thick layers of dust.

This would make a decent shelter for them to rest in, he figured, and brought Rinoa inside. He set her down in one of the chairs and looked around further. He didn't find anything useful in the old, abandoned train's passenger cars, but when he moved into the engine room, he was a bit surprised. Wile everything was just as dusty and forgotten as the rest of the train, there was a faint light still on, on the console. He wondered what was causing that. Did the train still have power? It couldn't be from a battery, no battery lasted this long. He quickly glanced back to the train door, and nodded, understanding. There was probably some kind of sensor in the door, that powered up the train when it was opened up. That made sense, he supposed.

But if the train was powered on, did that mean it could run? Squall wasn't certain, himself, and even if it could, how could he operate it? He was a soldier, not a train driver. Still, he poked around the engine room for a few moments, stopping only once to check on Rinoa again, and after about ten minutes managed to find an old operations pamphlet lying underneath one of the consoles. He couldn't read it in the dim light, so, rather than do anything with it, he went back to where Rinoa lay and sat down beside her. Squall rested his head back, and closed his eyes momentarily.

Twelve hours later, Squall was up, only somewhat angry that he'd fallen asleep. He had been more tired than he'd expected. He chewed some more on the protein rope as he ran over the information in the operations pamphlet, and, after some memorization, figured he could at least turn the train on and run it without making it explode or anything. He saw that the train itself had an old diesel engine, and a quick check of the fuel tank showed that it was in working order and almost full. Under normal circumstances the train lines would have gotten power from Fisherman's Horizon, but they included these engines as backups. Squall, with a few pressed buttons and turned valve, switched the train over to the diesel engine and started it on a rough, loud, rumbling trip to the east, toward Esthar.

The sun was rising the next day when Squall finally saw land break above the horizon. As he approached, he made certain to ready his weapons. He didn't expect he'd get inside Esthar easily. Once he was certain all his gear was in place, he went back and checked on Rinoa again. She seemed to have gotten paler since he'd last looked, and her breathing was slowing down even moreso. Squall's heart was gripped by a sudden, furious urge to get her to Ellone as quickly as possible. He turned around and returned to the engine car, keeping an eye on the horizon and the steadily growing continent of Esthar.

-----------------------------

"Mr. President?" came a call over the burst-transmission radio, one of the few methods of non hard-line communication still available inside Esthar. The President nodded.

"What is it?" he asked.

"We've just gotten a contact from the passive sensor array you had set up at the old train yard a few weeks ago. There's someone there, and it looks like one of the old abandoned trains is on the way too. It'll be at the station in about an hour."

"Do you have descriptions of the intruders?" the President asked.

"Ghost Squad Twelve has some snipers already moving in. We should have visuals on-" the man paused. "Bingo. We've got them. Transmitting now." A holographic image appeared before the President, and he frowned.

"SeeDs," he muttered. "Those are SeeDs."

"You want us to pick them up, sir?" asked the voice.

"No," the President replied quickly. "No, General. Keep an eye on them. See if they get near the wall. If they can . . . Well, we've been isolated from the world for too long. Its time to step outside our cocoon."

"Yes, sir, we'll keep an eye open."

-----------------------------

Squall had a rough idea on how to stop the train, and as it neared the station, he engaged the brakes. The train shuddered and squealed but slowed as it neared the ancient, rotting wood and rusted metal of the old train station. It didn't stop precisely in front of the station, instead coming to a complete halt about a few hundred feet from it.

"Close enough," Squall said with a shrug, and he went back to where Rinoa was resting. He hoisted her up onto his shoulders and moved toward the door, when it swung open.

Squall froze, one hand dropping to his sheathed gunblade, when a head poked into the train. A very familiar head, sporting a familiar tattoo.

"Hey, Squall!" Zell stated, bounding up into the train. "You're late, man!"

"What are you doing here?" Squall asked. He intended to repeat the question, adding a "how" onto the front, but Zell waved it away and gestured for him to come outside. Squall sighed and did so.

"Everyone's here," the brawler explained. "Quistis, Selphie, Irvine, and Matron. Irvine and Selphie went out ahead to scout around. Me and Quistis stayed here with Matron in case you two showed up."

"How long have you been here?" Squall asked as he stepped out into the morning light.

"Since yesterday," Zell replied. "Selphie had to get here fast, so she pushed our Salamander so hard the engines almost went out."

"Wait, that Salamander?" Squall asked, and Zell nodded as they walked toward the train station, a pair of figures visible, approaching them as well.

"Yeah, you saw it? We were trying to keep an eye out for you, but we didn't spot you on the bridge. Anyway, after we got here, we saw that the cliffs were pretty high, but Irvine and Quistis are pretty handy with ropes, and the four of use were pretty good climbers. We got ourselves and Matron up pretty well, and we camped out here. We figured you'd show up sooner or later."

"Why?" Squall asked. Zell blinked once, confused. "Why come out after me? After us?"

"Because," Zell replied. "You're skull's too thick." Squall narrowed his eyes.

"Zell is right, Squall," Quistis called as she and Matron neared the them. "You may not realize it, which wouldn't be surprising, but Rinoa is our friend too." As they neared, Quistis reached out and tapped Squall's forehead. "If you'd thought about this, you would have seen that we would have been willing to help you regardless."

"I couldn't risk you too," Squall replied, shaking his head. "Going into Esthar is dangerous. I don't want you to lose your lives because of my stupidity."

"Hello?" Zell said loudly, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify the sound. "Last time I checked, you weren't all that hesitant to lead us into an army of pissed-off Galbadian soldiers."

"That was different-" Squall replied, but Quistis shook her head.

"We're still going to follow your lead, Squall," she said. "Face it, you're a leader now, like it or not. We'll follow you wherever you go. Even into Esthar." Squall sighed, before finally nodding, conceding to them. He turned to Edea.

"Matron, why are you here?" he asked her.

"Esthar is the home of Doctor Hans Odine," she replied. "While my powers are diminished, it is possible that Ultimecia could seize control of me whenever she wishes. I cannot live with this power as long as she exists, but I believe that Doctor Odine can help me." Squall nodded, well aware of the Odine brand of magical weapons and equipment that were so sought after in the western nations.

"If anyone can help Matron, it's the Doc," Zell added.

"Once Selphie and Irvine get back, we should be able to move out," Quistis added, and paused as a pair of figures appeared in the distance, closing quickly. She nodded, smiling. "There they are now!"

Squall set Rinoa down in the relative shade of one of the old, decaying buildings as they waited for the pair to close in. A few minutes later, Selphie and Irvine arrived, the sharpshooter huffing and puffing while Selphie seemed hardly winded.

"I need to give this junction thing a try," he muttered as they slowed down. "Either that or lay off the doughnuts."

"Squall!" Selphie squealed when she saw him. "You're finally here! And you brought Rinoa too!"

"That's kind of the point," Squall deadpanned. "Zell and Quistis said you'd scouted out the area ahead?"

"As best we could," Irvine replied. "All we had was a pair of electric binoculars, but we managed to survey about a twenty mile radius north, south, and east of here. From what we could tell, there nothing north or south, just rocks, dirt, and plants. Not much of those either. But the east looks real interesting."

"Salt flats," Selphie explained. "As far as we could see. Though the ground seemed kind of weird. After a few miles it started to seem kind of like it was wavering or something."

"The terrain seemed to change shape when we weren't looking," Irvine added. "Not sure how to describe it, but it was only after a certain ridgeline. There's something weird going on out there, and I think it may be our ticket in."

"Sounds like a plan," Squall replied. "Irvine, Selphie, you two take point, and keep your eyes open. We don't know what we'll run into out here, especially since it is Esthar territory. We'll be right behind you."

-----------------------------

Less than an hour's march to the east of the station saw the lightly grassy plains and ancient dirt roads give way to steadily more and more barren ground. Then, abruptly, the dirt and grasses transformed into white salts and rough, jagged terrain as they entered the salt flats Irvine had mentioned earlier.

"This place is not natural," Edea commented as they advanced through the bone-white landscape of broken ridgelines, ravines, and hills. "I have heard rumors that Adel used this place as a testing ground for her weapons. This terrain would also make it difficult for an enemy army to advance into Esthar."

"Something wrong?" Squall asked as he hefted Rinoa easily on his back.

"I have a strong sense of foreboding," she replied quietly. "We are being watched, and I do not think it is just by Esthar."

"Ultimecia?" Quistis asked, and the group grew silent.

"You must remain ever vigilant, my children," Edea added after a moment. "We do not know when Ultimecia may decide to return. If she does . . . ."

The group remained silent for a long time, the air around them getting heavy and ominous. All of them understood what Edea was asking of them, but to turn on their Matron again, so soon after regaining her, it was almost too terrible to think about.

"There's an old superstition," Squall said after a moment. "Its that, if you speak about something bad, its going to happen. I don't really believe in superstition myself, but right now, I'm not sure. Let's not talk about this right now." The rest of the group nodded and continued on their trek.

The group continued to move through the bone-white flats, their boots and shoes pounding into the pale ground beneath their feet. Salt began to cake on their shoes as they passed massive, ancient fossils, frozen in place by whatever disaster had created this region. They navigated among the narrow confines and rising and lowering terrain, constantly keeping their eyes open and guard up for a threat. As the hours passed, none presented itself, but no member of the group slackened their vigil. They had begun to agree with Edea about the dangers present here. Something was watching them, waiting with hushed anticipation, but what it was remained a mystery.

They continued pressing forward, moving across the salt flats, until they came up on a high cliff that overlooked a never-ending range of salt flats, ridges, and hills. Squall shook his head as they saw the terrain stretching off in the distance.

"How much further are we from the disturbance?" Squall asked, and glanced to Irvine.

"I think we're at it," the sharpshooter replied. "This is about twenty miles from the station."

"So, if we're going to find it, its right here," Squall said, and the Irvine nodded. Zell stepped forward, toward the edge of the cliff, and looked out.

"What exactly are we looking for?" he asked as the others began to do the same thing, spreading out and taking in their surroundings.

"Anything weird," Squall stated as he began t crouch to set Rinoa down. Quistis moved to the edge and began to lean over, to look below, when she suddenly stopped, backing up, putting a hand to her head. Her eyes widened as she looked up.

The air before her seemed to waver, and a clearly electrical burst of static could be heard as the landscape before her grayed out momentarily, revealing a hexagonal outline, complete with a ladder leading up to emptiness about fifteen feet above her head.

"Squall!" she shouted, reaching forward and grasping the ladder as it faded away, the entire image returning to the barren flats. However, Quistis belied the false image, as, despite the appearance of the never-ending flats, she still gripped the edge of the ladder. The rest of the group converged on her position as she felt around inside the illusion.

"Its fake," she said quickly. "There's a wall here!" The others quickly moved forward, touching against the wall, feeling the illusion and the solid, unyielding metal beyond. Edea made a gesture toward the wall, and directly in front of her palm, a roughly three foot wide region grayed out, showing an opaque metallic wall directly in front of her. She moved her hand along the wall, and stopped as she came across a small box set into the wall. A tap opened up a small panel with a trio of buttons. Uncertain, the sorceress touched one.

The outline Quistis had seen earlier returned, along with the ladder. Edea tapped a second button, and the illusion returned. She hit the first button again, and the illusion returned. The third button caused a square doorway to open at the top of the ladder, leading into a dimly lit tunnel beyond.

"What's that?" Selphie asked. Zell bounded forward, hopping up onto the ladder and scrambling up. He peeked into the tunnel, and went inside.

"Whoa!" he shouted. "Guys, get up here, check this out!" The others quickly followed, squall bringing up the rear after hefting Rinoa onto his back as stably as he could. He reached the top of the ladder and entered the chamber beyond.

The room was massive, stretching off into the distance on either side. The room itself was dimly lit, excepting the catwalk spanning the two hundred foot distance between their entrance and a distant door. Below, and to either side, as far as the group could see, were thousands and thousands of gray hexagonal panels, partially transparent.

"What is this place?" Quistis asked quietly, and no one answered. Irvine and Selphie took point again, leading down the catwalk toward the far end. As they drew closer to the far end of the catwalk, they spotted a rack of the hexagonal panels sitting to the left of the catwalk, a computer terminal in front. Selphie approached the terminal, curious, and activated it by tapping a large button that was clearly marked as the "on" button.

The air in front of her shimmered, and light shaped itself into a series of complicated, angular characters in front of her face.

"Holographic projectors," he said, fascinated. Zell stepped up beside her, looking over the script.

"Estharian," he muttered. "I can't read it-"

The second he said that, the script shifted, reforming into the familiar blocky characters of western script. The brawler took a step back, surprised at the sudden shift.

"Camouflage system test," Selphie read. "Its got some options here. Color, camouflage, opaque, transparent . . . ." She reached forward and tapped an arrow pointing down,a nd she saw an icon indicating system specifications. She tapped it, and information scrolled up the holographic image before her.

"Oh, wow, I see," she said. "There's a massive computer network designed to keep this thing running and operating. They have an artificial intelligence dedicated to keeping this camouflage system making the illusion that there's nothing here." She exited out of the specs and scrolled up, tapping the camouflage button. The panel before her darkened and then lightened, transforming into a blue sky. Dozens of options scrolled down the screen in front of her, showing what amounted to hundreds of options toward camouflage. A few taps showed the panel changing to show deserts, cloudy skies, oceans, even a modern cityscape. Another tap showed the terrain changing to match the salt flats outside.

"So, they set these up to make it look like there's nothing here," Irvine commented.

"But why?" Quistis asked. "Why would they go to such elaborate measures just to hide?"

"I have the feeling we're going to find out," Squall commented. He nodded toward the door beyond. "Let's go have a look." The others nodded, and they moved forward, toward the door. A lock at the center of the door rotated as they approached, and the door split apart and opened into a chamber beyond. The group stepped out onto a platform suspended from a quartet of narrow struts extending high into the distant, dimly lit ceiling. No sooner than the entire group had gotten on, than the platform began to move to the right down a tunnel with a faint humming sound.

"I gotta bad feeling about this," Irvine commented. Squall said nothing. He simply stood there, waiting for the elevator to reach wherever it was headed. He honestly didn't care right now, as long as they were moving forward. They were on the edge of something, something big, and he wanted to keep moving. Every second made them that closer to Ellone.

The elevator stopped moving horizontally and began to rise. Several moments passed, and each second saw the elevator rising more and more quickly.

"Were are we going?" Selphie whispered, barely audible over the hum of the machinery.

"Hell if I know," Zell commented. He glanced at Edea, who shook her head.

"I haven't the slightest clue either," she replied. No sooner had she said that than the elevator jolted to a halt. Everything was still and silent for a moment, and then a hexagonal doorway opened toward the front of the platform, a short catwalk leading from the platform into the passage. They moved forward, out onto the platform beyond, which was shrouded in darkness.

"Another elevator?" Zell groaned. Then, the darkness peeled away before them, and the group stood in awe at the panoramic view that opened up.

From the left to the right, as far as they could see, structures rose up before them. Thousands of buildings, the smallest taller than the largest structures in the western nations, rose up from the ground far, far below. Pastel pinks, yellows, reds, and blues marked the huge, rectangular structures, all of the buildings rounded and curving as opposed to hard and angular. Hundreds of multicolored roads and avenues curved and rotated between the thousands of buildings, seeming to posses both complete chaos and yet a strange sense of order that defies the newcomers' sensibilities. Distant people, clad in white and green and brown robes and strange headgear wandered the streets, while pod-like vehicles buzzed along the streets. Other vehicles and platforms laden with people flew through multicolored tubes stretching throughout the city. Hundreds of flying craft buzzed throughout the city, like so many insects flying around a massive, bustling hive. And this was just what they could see in this tiny segment of a massive city that stretched into the horizon. A single massive structure towered many miles away across the city, rising up above the metropolis below like a massive mushroom or tree, dominating the skyline of the city.

"What in Hyne . . . ." Quistis breathed.

"Esthar," Edea added, and Squall slowly nodded. This was indeed the city he had heard so much about. Still, descriptions he had read or herd of the fabled megalopolis of the east paled in comparison to the massive urban sprawl beyond.

The platform suddenly shifted, and a pair of rails shot out to either side of the group. A clear transparent barrier of glass split apart before them, and the group was struck with a blast of fresh air, tinged with a thousand different smells from the city beyond, and then the platform began to move. It shifted forward, flying ahead and then descending rapidly, dropping down into the city.

A massive airship shot by overhead as they curved down and around a huge cylindrical tower. They passed through a series of streets, with curious onlookers glancing down their way, and then the platform weaved among a network of red, green, and blue tubes as vehicles shot through them.

"This is Esthar?" Irvine asked, looking around in wonder.

"Damn, never heard about this in the history books," Zell commented as the platform moved into one of the buildings, passing into a darker chamber that steadily lightened. They came to a stop inside a wide room made out of gray gunmetal, looking distinctly military in design. The device clicked to a stop, and the group moved out, onto another platform directly in front of a heavy door.

"Now what?" Quistis asked quietly.

"Judging by their technology, and what we saw outside, they probably know we're here," Squall answered. "I don't want to have to fight them. Maybe we can reason with them-" He stopped suddenly, feeling his head go fuzzy. His eyes widened momentarily as he recognized a feeling of drowsiness wash over him.

"No!" he hissed. "Not now . . . ."

"Squall!" Quistis began to say, and then Selphie began to yawn widely.

"Shit," Zell muttered, his voice slurred. "Not again." He dropped to the floor.

"Bad . . . timing," Selphie added as she sunk to her knees. Squall fought to stay awake, and managed to feel Rinoa fall off his shoulders. He turned sluggishly toward her, to see Quistis manage to catch her before she fell to the deck. His knees hit the metal floor beneath him, and darkness rushed up to grasp the SeeD as he fell to the floor, Ellone's mysterious power sweeping over him once more.

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Happy New Year's people! Here's a gift to all my wonderful fans!

This chapter was a lot longer than I anticipated. In al honesty, I knew it was going to cover a lot of stuff, but dayum. I think its about as long as one of my epic battle chapters at the end of Book Two. Things kept rambling on and on as I wrote them, and I couldn't find a good part to end this chapter. Besides, I always felt the part between the fourth interlude and the final one seemed to be one chapter in its own right. I would have split them up, but I felt that doing so would result in a couple of chapters that were a bit too small for my tastes.

So, here you guys have it. The heroes are in Esthar, and we're on the doorstep of the final Laguna interlude! Some of the truly best parts of the plot are just around the corner, only a few chapters away. I'm itchin'!

Random commentary. The "protein rope" Squall eats was inspired by The Chronicles of Riddick. On the Director's Cut DVD, one deleted scene involved Riddick chewing on something called protein rope, some kind of ration. It sounded like a cool idea, so here it is in my fic. Also, this is the first instance we'll see of a lot of Halo-ish technology and sci-fi appearing in this fic. Expect a lot of Covenant/UNSC-style technology to appear, such as AIs, holographic technology, gravity technology, plasma weapons, energy shields, etc. The moment Esthar begins, FFVIII takes a real dive into sci-fi parts, and I'm going to enjoy every moment of it.

Oh, I almost forgot. I added in that part about the Galbadian revolution, both for fun, and to show what else was happening in the world. I mean, Galbadia does seem to take a backseat toward the end of the game, except when they launch their final invasion. I wanted to show what was going on in Galbadia at this point in the game. Writing that bit was tremendous fun.

Okay, time for the shout-outs of epic crunchiness and sweet sugary goodness!

-Angelo di Desiderio: The joke there was that Laguna, being Laguna, added an unnecessary suffix (or is it prefix? God, I hate grammar.) to the word. Thus, Kiros says that the "un" part wasn't needed. Just usual Laguna mistakes and his friends' banter in response.

I'll add that thing to my profile, if I can remember inside my scatterbrained fool head of mine. XD Poke me if I don't respond and add that to my profile later on.

-Daniel Wesley Rydell: Hey, you have a happy New Year yourself. And that goes for all of you people. All of you. Yes, even you, in the corner back there. You have a happy New Year, or I'll sic Alucard on you, dammit!

-Virulent Enmity: I actually had some trouble writing that scene. I'm glad people liked it.

The writing tournament is at Random Insanity. Link in my profile. I'm writing as His Badassness himself, Alucard. XD

-DBZ Fanfiction Queen: YES! Another convert to the awesome ways of Hellsing! "In the name of God, the impure souls of the living dead shall be banished to eternal damnation! Amen!" XD

I'm going to approach this from the angle that Laguna believes both Raine and his son died in childbirth. He doesn't find out until Ellone is much older that Squall is actually alive, and, well, he can never get around to meeting with him or anything because both the extreme discomfort that would cause and because he's got such an important position.

Hope you get done with The Omega soon! Great stuff, badass writing. Daz is all FFVIII fanfic writer's lord and master.

Yeah, I'm not sure how it runs much myself. Haven't had much time to devote to it, either. Heh.

-Kaiser-kun: Damn, I didn't know it was that complicated. Then again, I'm learning Japanese, so, yeah… Languages are tough. XD So, what I'd probably be aiming for would be "siempre fieles" then.

-OniRazz: Always loved Laguna. I wish I could have seen more of him in the second disc. He's a great character, and I always love writing for him.

-Lizardios: There's a link in my Favorite authors (or maybe stories, not sure) that leads to a writer named Peter J. Marcroft, who is writing a badass FFVII novelization. You may want to check it out. Kind of bloody and definitely has some interesting deviations from the game. Worth having a look.

-Jamielike: O.o That's a long review. XD -cracks knuckles-

Yeah, jeez, sometimes its hard to imagine I wrote 46 chapters. Wow. I'm giving Synthesis a shot, but I've been so wrapped up in Gunblade that its fallen by the wayside. I must rectify this! This is actually a good spot to stop and have another shot at Synthesis. My inspiration has returned in full force, too.

Yeah, people tell me I own all the time. I don't know why . . . .

When I write combat, or at least, complicated scenes like Seifer and squall duels, I often act them out on my own, like a stunt choreographer. The constant summonings of the three principal Gfs is mostly because they are among my favorites, and they are the good old standbys. Most of the situations I've had the characters in call for them, and yeah, I know I haven't used Pandemonia or Siren at all. Maybe later on.

Squall is . . . Interesting. Bits and pieces of him come from a million different sources and characters. Aragorn, Master Chief, Riddick, Wedge Antillies and Drizzt Do'Urden are just a small number of the characters I've composed Squall from, not to mention there is a healthy bit of my serious side thrown in there. Laguna is my goofy side, Squall is my serious side. So, his fic is somewhat a reflection of myself, in both major characters.

The Squall/Rinoa relationship, I feel, had to be a little bit smoothed out. It was beautifully developed, but there is a lot of subtlety some people miss in the storyline that I tried to bring out and expand upon.

I always imagine Selphie as a technical/demolitions/vehicle expert, and she came off that way to me in the game anyway. I just expanded upon that, though she grated every now and then on me from time to time. Nonetheless, I loved writing her different specialties. Like here, for example, she knows a lot about computers. Selphie is easily one of my favorite characters.

Han Solo was a major part of Irvine from the get-go, I decided way back when I first wrote for him. I originally imagined him without junctions for a while, then maybe getting some training in their use later on. But, as time progressed, I decided that it would spice things up to have someone who doesn't use junctions. Thus, I made Irvine someone who, like Han Solo, doesn't use magic or supernatural powers, except in very specific circumstances. Adds more to him, I believe.

Equilibrium rocked, though I thought the Gun Katas, despite their coolness, was the silliest thing imaginable. Considering I'm somewhat military (and we use the _real_ Gun Katas XD) that came off as silly to me. The director obviously didn't know crap about how real guns worked. XD

As I've always said, Guardian Force stones came from Amanda Anderson's fic "Sowing the SeeDs." Have a read, it rocks the boxes.

Cerberus made no sense from a storyline perspective, at least to me. As I approach Gfs, he wouldn't have made any sense to be summoned, and there was no readily understandable reason why he was summoned. Since Sorceresses don't need GFs, he wouldn't have belonged to Edea, so, yeah, I had to cut him out.

Yeah, Seifer's going to get better. He got better in this chapter! I can't wait 'till the final battle between him and Squall. I've got some hardcore stuff planned there.

Oh, I still haven't done the first kill bit, haven't I? I need to write that, I really do. I was going to put it in The Art of War, but I forgot to do so. So much stuff here slips my mind….XD

Well, that's that. Time to get back to the old word processor and kick some ass, take some names, and make FFVIII fanfiction history!

Until next chapter!


	48. Final Interlude: Hero

_Final Interlude: Hero_

"Don't stop, dumbass!" came a harsh growl, and Laguna shook his head. He ran a greasy hand through his hair and rubbed his aching shoulder, where the soldiers had beat him with the stun baton a few days ago. His brief pause finished, the journalist-turned-prisoner crouched in front of the panel, and made a show of looking at wires, trying to look busy.

Laguna heard the clanking of boots on the narrow metal walkway behind him, and stiffened slightly as the Estharian soldier crouched beside him, looking at the panel.

"Good," the man said with a nod. "Keep it up and you'll be done in a couple of hours." He stood up and shook his head as he walked away from Laguna. "Damn westerners. Why'd we have to get bucktoothed idiots like these guys and not repair droids?"

Laguna held back any retort he would have made and resumed appearing to work. Whenever the guard wasn't looking, he stole a quick glance around to see how the other prisoners were doing.

There were a few other men scattered around the walkway, which was little more than an operations post for this segment of the power system running throughout the structure. An elevator was at one end of the platform, and a doorway leading to a staircase that ran further below was at the other end. A single Moomba was tasked with both running supplies and working on wiring underneath the platform, a very dangerous job that none of the humans could have done. The Estharian soldiers watching them ran the workers hard as they tried to get all the equipment ready. Laguna knew they were behind schedule, but he had heard snippets about how this structure, the "Lunatic Pandora" was almost finished. He certainly hoped so, so that they would stop being so rough with the prisoners.

Laguna paused again and thought of another group of prisoners, further down in one of the cargo bays below. Kiros and Ward were down there, ferrying supplies and doing similar maintenance work below. Once Kiros and Ward's group were done, there were only a few more things that needed doing and the Pandora would be ready, according to the guards.

The trio of intrepid adventurers had made it inside the borders of Esthar a week ago. They weren't actually certain they were inside Esthar until a squad of low-flying aerial patrol craft had strafed them a couple of hours after leaving the mountains. That had been followed by a couple more hours of running, hiding, yelling in panic, and running into each other as the aircraft had dogged the group across the plains south of the mountain range. Finally, hovering transports laden with soldiers had arrived to subdue the intruders, who had surrendered rather quickly. That hadn't mattered too much to the troops, who had a merry time beating down Laguna, Kiros, and Ward with stun batons, before moving their semiconscious forms onto the transports. They had awoken inside this facility, where the trio had spent the last few days being put to work.

"Man," Laguna muttered as his stomach growled. "I'm really hungry!"

"Get used to it," another worker muttered beside him, with the refined accent of a Dollet citizen, likely a soldier. "With the low budget they have here they can't afford to feed us right anyway."

"I know," Laguna replied. "But its been three days since my last meal!"

"Hush up, wimp!" growled the guard from earlier. "When I was young, I had to work all day and all night without any sleep! That was back when the army didn't have fancy-chancy armor or plasma weapons! We had sticks, two sticks for each one of us, and a rock! And we had to share the rock! So suck it up! You guys are lucky you're gettin' food!" The soldier strode off, boots clicking on the plating.

"He always like that?" Laguna asked, and the man beside him chuckled.

"This is one of his good days," the Dollet soldier replied. He held out his hand. "Name's Randolph. Second Lieutenant Randolph, Dollet Marines."

"Laguna Loire," the journalist replied. "When'd they grab you?"

"Naval action," Randolph replied. "Grabbed me after they sank the ship I was on. You?"

"Tried sneaking into Esthar," Laguna replied.

"Into?" Randolph answered. Surprised. "Most people try to sneak outside of Esthar. They don't make it, usually, instead end up getting caught by the patrols. Most of them are sent to places like this. The less than lucky ones get a round of plasma for their troubles."

"Nice place, Esthar," Laguna muttered.

"Hey!" growled the guard as he came back. "Shut up! No talking! Do your freaking job, dumbass!" He towered over Laguna who glanced back up and nodded quickly. The soldier began to step away when a chime sounded.

"Feeding time!" one of the prisoners called, and they began to stand up. Laguna and Randolph followed, but the guard who kept yelling at them stopped the pair.

"Not you two!" he said. He gestured back to the panel. "Get back to work! That's what you guys get for being so talkative!" He turned, and nodded toward the Moomba as it climbed back up onto the platform. "You too! That Moomba doesn't get fed 'till he's done!"

"Hey!" Laguna protested as the other few workers filed out of the platform, toward the elevator at the far end. "Look, I know we won't get done for a couple of hours, but he's got all the wiring under the platform! It'll be days before he's done fixing all of that!"

"Well, tough shit," the guard replied. "He'll go without food for a few more days. If he wants to eat, he should work faster. And what are you waiting around for? A personal order from Adel? Get your asses to work!"

Laguna reluctantly dropped back down into a crouch and went back to work beside Randolph.

After a few minutes, Laguna thought he caught a fragment of conversation over one of the radios in one guard's helmet. The man paused, and looked up to the other guards.

"We got a problem down below," the man snapped. "They need backup. The big guy's trouble, I knew it!" Within moments the few guards rushed toward the stairs, the lead soldier pausing only to look back at the trio of hungry workers.

"Camera's watching you people," he snapped. "Don't try anything funny!" He then disappeared below. Laguna watched him vanish and then glanced to where the Moomba stood, looking dejected as it turned back to the railing and began to climb over.

"Those guys work you too hard," he commented, and the Moomba paused, before nodding emphatically. Laguna noticed his slackening muscles and the tired expression in its eyes.

"Man, you look exhausted," Laguna added. He stood up and walked across the platform to where the little guy was standing. "You okay?" The Moomba nodded and growled a couple of times.

"You're stomach's growling?" Laguna guessed.

"He says 'thank you'," Randolph commented. Laguna nodded in understanding. "You know you're the first one here to care about how they're doing?" Laguna glanced back to Randolph and shook his head. "Oh, yes. They get worked so hard, and get half the sleep and food we humans do. And for no real reason either."

The platform suddenly shuddered, and the Moomba almost lost its balance and toppled over the railing before it caught the bars.

"Bah!" came a distant shout from above. Laguna glanced up at the odd voice. "This iz failure!"

"And that is Doctor Odine," Randolph added. "Esthar's resident mad scientist. Behind this whole Lunatic Pandora project, too."

"Huh," Laguna replied, looking up.

"Hey, you!" came a sudden shout from the stairway. A soldier rushed up, pointing at them. "Go get the guards upstairs! There's an emergency down below!"

"Uhh, sure!" Laguna replied quickly. The guard spun and ran back downstairs, and Laguna stuck his tongue out at the man.

"Like hell I will," he said. "Sounds like Kiros and Ward are mixing things up downstairs!"

-------------------------

The crate had to weight over five hundred pounds, but that fact seemed irrelevant as Ward lifted the box up into the air and smashed it down hard onto a cyborg. The half man, half machine was crushed beneath the weight as Ward brought it down with a mighty crash. He spun as a soldier rushed in, slashing across with his shotaxe, and caught the weapon b y its haft. The huge man spun hard, lifting the much smaller soldier into the air, and flung him away like a rag doll to smash with a wet crunch against a wall. Another soldier leveled a luminescent blue claw-like device at Ward, but the big man moved with sped that belied his bulk, bowling the soldier over before he could get a shot off, and pounding away at his helmeted head with inhumanly strong fists.

Beside Ward, Kiros danced away from a swipe by another soldier with his shotaxe, and scooped up one that had fallen from another dead man's hands. Kiros came back around with his axe slashing down in a brutal cleave that drove the tip into the soldier's skull. The man dropped like a brick, and the cargo bay was momentarily clear of enemies.

A pair of guards rushed down the steps leading into the cargo bay, and Ward raised his stolen plasma rifle. The weapon loosed a high-pitched whine and a barrage of blue-white bolts of energy in the new arrivals' general direction, throwing one man to the floor while sending the other diving behind a stack of crates for cover.

Another cluster of guards came down the stairs, following after that pair. Kiros thought quickly, and tore a small, fist-sized blue ball off one of the dead soldiers' belts, and primed the grenade. He threw it at the incoming enemy soldiers, and while his aim wasn't entirely true, the grenade veered in midair and struck one of the newcomers in the chest. The man had just enough time to let out a cry of shock before a blast of white energy exploded outward. The grenade hurled the cluster of enemy soldiers away, to crash heavily to the floor or against walls, where they remained, unmoving.

Ward slammed hard into the stack of crates the other remaining soldier was hiding behind, tipping them over. The soldier behind the crates dove out, scrambling to get away from the toppling metal, and was quickly shoulder-blocked by Ward, the big man smashing him up against the wall hard. A single good sock across the face made sure the soldier was down, and Ward snatched up his dropped plasma rifle as he turned back toward the stairs. Kiros was already there, grabbing another shotaxe and hefting both weapons, and hurried up the steps as Ward arrived.

"Damn good time for the fairies to show up!" he commented, and Ward grunted his agreement. Moments later, the pair thundered up the steps leading to the platform Laguna was working on, and talking with another prisoner and a Moomba..

"Laguna!" Kiros shouted, and the journalist spun, to see his comrades barreling out onto the platform.

"Kiros! Ward! What took you guys so long?" Kiros didn't answer, and Ward's only response was to toss one of the plasma rifles to Laguna. He caught the shining weapon, not to certain how to use it, but shrugged. Ward held out the other rifle to the other prisoner Laguna was speaking with. The man nodded and hefted the weapon like a professional.

"Alright," the journalist said with a grin. "Would've preferred my MP-10, but I can make do with there weirdo Estharian guns." He nodded toward the other man. "This is Randolph, Dollet Marines."

"Pleased to meet," Randolph said with a nod to the other prisoners.

"Incoming!" Kiros suddenly shouted, and he pointed up at the elevator at the other end of the platform as it rapidly descended. Laguna groaned, while Ward turned and grabbed one of the consoles. With a grunt and a couple of seconds of flexing muscles, he pulled the console up, tearing it completely free of its housing.

"What's he been eating?" Randolph asked in shock, to which Laguna chuckled.

"Trust me, we have no idea," Laguna replied.

"We just call it divine intervention and leave it at that," Kiros added, and Ward grinned as he set his impromptu weapon on his shoulders. An instant later, the elevator hit the platform and the doors flew open, and over a dozen Estharian soldiers stormed out.

The opening barrage was quick and brutal, as Laguna and Randolph poured blue-white light into the onrushing soldiers, send several of them spinning to the floor. A flying computer console followed, smashing into one man and lifting him into the air, carrying him over the edge of the platform and sending a second soldier toppling over as well. But by then the enemy had closed to close quarters with the rebelling prisoners, and things got dicey very quickly. Kiros and Ward closed in, the former battling with a pair of stolen shotaxes while the latter smashed into the enemy with sheer bulk and strength.

Laguna poured fire into another man as he closed in, and the soldier collapsed under the barrage. However, Laguna had fired his rifle too much over too short a period, and the weapon had built up far too much heat. Ports on the side of the device opened up, venting boiling hot coolant, but the weapon itself was far too hot for him to hold onto with unshielded hands, and he hurled the weapon away, directly at the next soldier rushing at him. The man held out a hand, catching the rifle, and cried out in pain as his own hands touched the overheated weapon. Laguna, taking advantage of the momentary opening he'd gained, stepped forward and put a vicious punch into the soldier's faceplate. The Estharian toppled to the platform under the inhumanly powerful hit, but Laguna recoiled, clutching his hand.

"Ow!" he yelled over the din of battle, shaking his protesting hand. "That hurt!" A burst of plasma fire followed his shout, and dropped another enemy soldier as he had advanced, trying to strike at Laguna where he stood. The journalist nodded his thanks to Randolph as the Dollet trooper poured shots into the oncoming enemy.

Kiros wished he had his katals, but he could make do with the shotaxes at this point. The two hybrid axes weaved in front of him, the hooked tip of one weapon catching the pickaxe head of his enemy's weapon and throwing it our wise, far enough that his second axe head could stab into the side of his opponent's neck. That soldier's head was torn completely off, and Kiros slammed a foot into the decapitated corpse, sending it flying into the next man. That soldier knocked the corpse out of the way, but it tied up his weapon hands just for the instant Kiros needed the drive both axes into the top of his helmeted skull. Kiros pulled the weapons out as the soldier behind that man came in with an arcing horizontal cut. One axe weaved inside the slash while the other arced over it, and stabbed down through the man's neck into his chest. The lithe man put a foot onto his foe's chest and tugged his imbedded axe free, blood chasing it out of the dead man's body.

A shotaxe cut in at Ward, who hopped back and then shifted momentum forward, barreling into the soldier who had struck at him. Ward body-checked the man, throwing him to the deck, and smashed a foot down hard onto his faceplate. The man behind that soldier rushed at Ward, swinging his axe wildly at the man's head. Ward ducked, the axe just barely passing over his head, and snapped a hand out, catching the axe's shaft as it flew by. He lashed out with his other hand, balling into a fist, and the impact hurled the Estharian soldier away.

Another soldier ducked around one of his falling comrades, who was absorbing Randolph's plasma fire, and dove at Laguna, swinging his axe while the journalist was still clutching his hand. Laguna spotted the attacker a split second before he began the swing, and ducked, charging forward. He barely got beneath the swing of the axe and slammed into the soldier, Laguna's superior strength lifting his opponent up into the air. Laguna rushed across the platform and slammed into the railing across from him, sending his opponent toppling over. Laguna saw a flicker of shadow behind him and spun to this right, just in time to avoid a diving shotaxe head that cleaved through the railing. The soldier spun to follow Laguna, but was promptly cut down from behind by Kiros, the shotaxe's tip stabbing out the front of the dead man's chest.

Laguna grabbed the shotaxe from the dead man's hands and brandished it, looking for any threats, but none presented themselves. After a few moments, Laguna realized that there were no more enemies standing on the platform, and relaxed.

"Phew," he commented, looking over the carnage. "Jail break time!" He pointed toward the elevator, and the former prisoners, plus the one Moomba captive, boarded the elevator and ascended.

"I wonder where this thing goes to?" the journalist asked as the vehicle rose.

"Likely to the very top of the facility," Randolph answered. "But I think our objective should be right . . . Here!" The Dollet trooper tapped a button on the panel beside the door, and the elevator began to slow. "Surface level. That's where I saw the entrance was located when I was brought here a few months back." The elevator finally came to a stop, and the doors flew open, revealing a wide, extensive room festooned with dozens of consoles and monitors on every inch of the walls. A trio of men, clad in full-body robes and with heavy hoods hiding all but their faces stood or sat at one side of the room, along with a very short man, barely at five feet in height. The little man wore a dark purple robe and a weird red and white striped collar that shot out over a foot in diameter, and short black hair pulled back tight over his round head. He was yelling and stomping and hopping up and down and pointing everywhere, quite clearly agitated about something.

"That's Doctor Hans Odine," Randolph said quietly. "Top scientist in Esthar. We won't need to worry about him too much, however. He's so easily distracted that he probably would notice if a gunfight started in here."

"Then let's make a break for it!" Laguna added, and the quartet moved out the single door leading into the room. Laguna stepped outside and was hit by fresh air and sunlight, bringing a new smile onto his face. The Moomba who was with them paused and looked back to Laguna, and let out cheerful roar before dashing off into the afternoon plains.

"Ah-hey!" Laguna called, but stopped as the little creature ran off. "Well, I guess he's better running off free than in captivity." The journalist looked up into the sky, and then pumped a fist into the air.

"Free-dom!" Laguna crowed as they moved away from the facility. No Estharian soldiers presented themselves as they moved away from the building, and Laguna paused only to look back at the massive structure behind them, looking like a huge metal rectangle poking out of the ground. "So, that's this Lunatic Spamdora?"

"Pandora," Randolph corrected. "Huge isn't it? I hear that this is only half of it, and the other half is buried underground, where we were working. Two miles tall. I'm not even certain what its supposed to be carrying, myself. But that's really beside the point now. We have to worry about getting out of here."

"That's going to be the real challenge," Kiros added. "Esthar's way too good at patrolling their borders. We'd never get out of here on foot."

"I've been here for a while now, and there's something around here you may not know," Randolph continued. "A lot of the people in Esthar don't like Adel, or don't care. Mostly its just the military and government that support her, and not the people in general. There's a very big resistance movement that's been developed behind the scenes. We've been keeping out of sight and generally not causing any trouble, so we wont be discovered until we strike."

"You're part of them?" asked Laguna, and the Dollet marine nodded.

"Most of the prisoners are," he replied. "We've got a lot of good people in the resistance, but we're not coordinated. We've got plans, but most of them are half-baked or require more research. There's no effective leadership. I saw how you were back there with that Moomba. You've got a lot more compassion and caring than most men I've seen in the resistance. You think you could take over and lead the resistance?"

"Hmmm," Laguna considered the idea for a moment, rubbing his chin with his hand, and while he was pondering, the door into the lab hissed open. The trio spun quickly, readying whatever weapons they had, but paused as a single robed man came out, one of the hyperactive doctor's assistants.

"Whoa, relax!" Randolph said, holding up his hands toward Laguna. "That guy is one of us! He's our spy in Odine's labs."

"You made a lot of noise in the jail break," called the assistant with a grin. "Good for you, I'd say. But it would be a good idea to leave for a while, before things get nasty. The Doctor's in a bit of a foul mood, and when he gets that way, things get messy."

"What happened?" Randolph asked. "Adel cut his funding again?"

"Nah, he's just wanting to get out of this lab and back to his lab in the city," the assistant replied. "Says he's got a new project he wants to have a look at in O Lab. Some little girl named Ellone."

"Ellone!" Laguna said in surprise.

"Yeah, you know her?" asked the assitant.

"Know her?" Laguna replied. "Heck, she's the reason why we came all the way to Esthar! Do you know where this O Lab is?"

"In the middle of the capital," replied the assistant. Laguna paled slightly at that notion, but the man shook his head quickly. "It would be easier to get into than through the borders. I have a special pass that will get my vehicle through any checks unsearched."

"If we help you get Ellone back," Randolph added, "would you lead us? You will need help to get her back, after all, and just the three of you can't take on Esthar by yourselves."

"Not a bad idea," Kiros commented. "They have a network we really do need. I don't want to end up in prison again, especially without any divine intervention to get us out of here."

"Hmm," Laguna pondered for a moment, before finally nodding. "Okay, you got yourself a deal! Help me get my little girl and I'll lead this anti-Azel movement."

"Adel," Kiros corrected. "Star listening more closely, its getting embarrassing. Or at least, that's what Ward would say." The big man chuckled.

"You'll need the Doctor to rescue Ellone," the assistant added. "He has security codes for O Lab and knows how to find her and release her." Laguna nodded and rushed back inside the lab, Kiros and Ward in tow. They entered the main lab control room, but doctor Odine was gone, leaving a pair of assistants behind, who were quite startled when the trio of armed men burst in.

"Where's the Doc?" Laguna demanded, and one of the assistants quickly pointed to the elevator.

"Engineering substation platform, fifth basement!" the man said, obviously intimidated by the intruders that had just been prisoners moments before. Laguna waved jauntily to the helpful man and led the way back to the elevators and down to the fifth floor. The doors swung open, only to reveal the same platform from which Laguna and his comrades had staged their jail break. Doctor Odine was pacing his way over the corpses of the dead soldiers, shaking his head.

"Vat a mess," he commented in his odd accent. Laguna quickly moved across the platform and grabbed the doctor as he neared the far end of the platform. He spun the man around by his right shoulder, and the excitable man squealed in shock as he turned to face Laguna.

"What's up, Doc?" Laguna asked. "I need your help with finding my little girl. Her name's Ellone."

"Ellone?" Odine asked. "I do not know any Ellone!" He paused, regarded the look in Laguna's eyes, and then shrugged. "Okay, okay, I lie. I know zis Ellone. My prized project!"

"Thought so," Laguna replied. He turned and pushed the doctor toward Ward. "Ward, mind hefting the baggage?" Ward grunted a laugh and scooped up the doctor, holding him under one armpit like a ball.

"Bah!" Odine fumed. "I um Odine! Odine iz no baggage, you oaf!" Ward ignored him as they returned to he elevator, and rose to the surface.

"Thanks for the help!" Laguna called to the assistants, who watched in shock as the trio ran by, the doctor they had kidnapped fuming in Ward's grasp.

"Bah! Mine timetable vill be zot to all hell!" Odine complained as they went back outside. Randolph and the assistant were standing next to a sleek, blue and white vehicle, hovering a few feet above the ground. It looked like a car, except a lot more high-tech, obviously.

"Go ahead and put the doctor in," Randolph stated. "While you were down there I went to the armory and grabbed the gear they took from you. All your weapons should be inside."

"Bout time," Laguna commented. He glanced at the car again, and then looked at the collection of people gathered around. "Are we all going to fit in there?"

"Trust me, its bigger inside than it looks," the lab assistant replied, and with that assurance, the passenger-side door slid up, rotating up over the top of the roof. Laguna was first, with Ward stuffing his prisoner in immediately afterward, followed by the big man and Kiros. Randolph and the lab assistant climbed in a moment later and, with everyone on board (though rather tightly squeezed together) the vehicle sped off.

--------------------------

Doctor Odine proved to be a useful key into the lab he owned and operated in the middle of the Estharian city. When Odine's assistant parked the car inside the building's garage, a structure that consisted of various interlocking gravity beams that held cars in place at varying heights, the Doctor had proceeded to unlock the main garage entrance into the lab. He still wasn't happy about being in Ward's clutches as the group moved inside the laboratory, passing through its pastel halls. Laguna took the lead, with Kiros beside him. Ward was in the middle, Odine under his arm, and Randolph took up the rear. The trio of adventurers were all armed with their original weapons, as Randolph had promised, while the warrior from Dollet was still hanging on to his plasma rifle. Odine's assistant had stayed with their vehicle and kept an eye on their backs in case anyone came.

"Which way is it to Ellone?" asked Laguna after several minutes wandering around the corridors aimlessly, passing storage rooms and small, empty laboratories. They entered a wide corridor with an arching ceiling and a series of neon-blue lights along the top.

"Up up up," Odine replied. "Ze vay is up, you oafs! You vant Ellone, she iz in ze main lab on the fifteenth floor!"

"Okay," Kiros replied. "How do we go up?"

"Vere else?" Odine muttered. "Ze tubes!"

"Tubes?" Laguna echoed, and Odine pointed up. The journalist looked in that direction, and spotted a transparent purple tube running along the ceiling.

"You take ze hoverzeat and ride ze tube," Odine explained, gesturing to a circular device down the hallway. They advanced toward it, Laguna approaching it cautiously, as if it was a bomb rather than a mode of transportation. The device looked like a wide stool set on a platform, with enough space for maybe four or five people to sit on it.

"He who does, dares!" Laguna stated, and sat down on the chair-like device. Ward grunted.

"He says you got it backwards," Kiros commented as he and Ward sat down on the chair. Randolph followed a moment later. Afte rhe had sat down, a computerized voice spoke.

"Good evening, Doctor," it said. "Where do you need to go today?"

"Odine's lab!" Laguna shouted quickly.

"Voice and destination unknown. Please restate intent, Doctor."

"Even computers hate me," Laguna muttered.

"Main laboratory, level fifteen," Odine stated as Laguna complained.

"Destination recognized. Stand by."

The chair suddenly rose up into the air with a high-pitched humming noise, a bright green light surrounding it and spinning around at high speeds. Laguna almost stumbled out of his seat with surprise as it rose up into the tube above and then zipped along at high speeds. There were several sharp turns, three ascensions, one drop, and what almost seemed to be a double loop, before the device finally came to a stop,ascended, and came to a dead halt outside a wide double door. The group stepped off quickly and moved toward the door.

"This it?" Laguna asked Odine, who nodded emphatically. Laguna glanced to his comrades, who nodded, and then stepped toward the door. It slid open at their approach, and a quartet of lab workers and a pair of soldiers looked up in surprise at their arrival, glancing up from consoles, screens, or a wide pane of blue glass at the far end of the room. The soldiers lifted shotaxes as Laguna entered, and leveled them at him, but he hurled himself aside. Ward tossed Odine aside and into the room, out of the line of fire, while hefting his harpoon. Kiros skittered inside the chamber, katals up, and before either of the enemy soldiers could react, he was already knocking one man's shotaxe out of the way and jabbing his balde in hard, punching into the soldier's windpipe. Ward's harpoon flew past Kiros, the other soldier impaled on it, and thunked heavily against the glass at the other end of the room.

"Step away, step away," Laguna said quickly, leveling his rifle at the lab workers. They moved back from their consoles in confusion and fear, raising their hands.

"Which one?" Randolph asked quickly, nudging Odine with his plasma rifle. The doctor pointed to one of the consoles.

"Zat vun!" he stated. "Ze red symbol opens ze cell wiz Ellone in it!"

"Where is she?" Laguna asked, and one of the workers pointed to the pane of glass. Laguna crossed the room and looked in, seeing a large, empty metal chamber within which was a tiny girl, sitting back in a corner, almost out of sight. Laguna let out a gasp of joy and pounded on the glass.

"Ellone! Ellone!" he shouted, but there was no response. "Damn, can't hear me!" he spun toward the console, and looked for the symbol Odine indicated.

"Over. Over," the doctor stated. "Up. Left. No, not zat left, ze ozer vun! Zat vun. Hit it zree times." Laguna did so, the symbol turning blue, then yellow, then green. On the monitor overlooking the console, script flowed across a black background.

"Ze door iz unlocked," Odine stated. "You can aczess it on level fourteen."

"Take me there," Laguna ordered, and Ward scooped up the not-so-good doctor again.

"Zees iz tirezome," the doctor complained as Laguna and Ward moved outside.

"Keep an eye on things," Laguna called to Kiros and Randolph, who responded with a nod and salute respectively. The trio moved to the floating hover chair, and sat down. Odine gave the location on the fourteenth level, and the device descended and spun, rotated and dropped, and finally deposited the trio right back where they'd first gotten on the darn thing.

"You gotta be kidding," Laguna muttered. Ward grunted something, likely about how crazy this whole country was, and started down the corridor. With Odine's direction, they found another wide metal door which, like with his personal lab, slid open when the group approached.

The room looked exactly like it had above, and Laguna rushed inside.

"Ellone!" he shouted, and a sudden cry of happiness sounded to his left. He spun, and saw the little brown-haired girl he'd journeyed halfway across the world to rescue rush across the cell. Laguna dropped to his knees and scooped her up as she wrapped her tiny arms around him.

"Laguna!" she sobbed. "You came for me!"

"Yeah, I did," Laguna replied, hugging her tightly to his chest, and warmth coated his cheeks. It took him a second to realize that they were tears.

"Yeah, I came for you Elle," he whispered. "Sorry I'm late." Ward grunted something in response to that.

"He said it was all your fault, too," Ellone whispered in Laguna's ear, and he managed to let out a laugh mixed in with the tears.

Finally, after all the toil and trouble, after all the fighting and pain, everything was right again for Laguna Loire.

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And with that, our final interlude is over! The story of Laguna Loire's journey is over, for the moment, but the ultimate twist in his tale comes soon!

Oh, yeah, there was someone from earlier in the story in this interlude, too. See if you can find him. XD Including Randolph here, in this chapter, made things a little more interesting. I kind of liked that nameless guy who helps Laguna out in that dream sequence, and I had this thought of "Maybe he can be a Galbadian or Dollet soldier, captured by Esthar in the war?" and then I thought of a certain other Dollet soldier we encountered earlier. Thus, was a name given, and a lot of backstory added, for everyone's favorite Dollet badass!

There were a few Halo references in here. The plasma grenade and rifle, as well as the guard's speech about rocks and sticks all came direct from Halo 2. I always loved that line, and I didn't even realize I had included it until I went back over the chapter. XD

Next chapter, we return to Squall and Co.'s adventures and hijinks in Esthar! The final chapters are coming soon, and I am seriously itching to finish this story!

Kid tested, badass approved! It's the shout-outs!

-Chris Ganale: Oh, yeah. To a degree, I used Wedge, though not too much. More of his ideas than anything I used on Squall, but it was evry subtle. So subtle even I don't know much about when I implemented it XD

Arg! Are you, like, directly connecting into my thoughts or some shit? Because you guessed where I got the revolution idea from! Damn you, you telepathic bastard you! Damn you!

-Dragoon Swordsman: I thought to myself that it would be great to have Edea present on the White SeeD ship along with Squall. I was originally going to have Quistis and Xu there too (my first draft of that scene had them present) but I cut them out because they literally did nothing whatsoever. It was all Edea, Squall, and Trent, and they were just "there."

I agree that Squall is Laguna's son. It makes far, far too much sense, and makes more sense than the Ultimecia-Rinoa theory. That, incidentally, will not take place in my fic.

Jade Almasy: Eek. Another big review. -gets something to drink-

As a character, I loved Edea. I prefer her in her black dress as opposed to her shiny Sorceress gear, which is why I have her as such in the story. I wanted her to take a much bigger role in the story, especially in trying to cure Rinoa and discover where Ellone is. As a Sorceress, even weakened, she is still quite capable a fighter, and we'll see her as such soon. XD

Star Wars had an impact on Seifer's hand loss, I'll admit that. Same with his hand. It wasn't Metal Gear influenced at all. My editor threatened to stone me if I didn't give him a replacement. XD

I'm actually putting some work into the idea of the two Presidents being closely connected to Garden. The character of Randolph is also going to be important in an after-FFVIII fic I'm writing, as he will be a major leader too. Squall has some great friends in high places!

Square did a good job showing Squall's thoughts, but I dunno, I feel like they should have put more thoughts in his mind. His grabbing Rinoa and taking her out of Garden was far too abrupt in my opinion. And the train, well, heh, he had to get across somehow, and I think walking would have really made his feet sore!

I have a rack of Star Wars books from back when I was into the expanded universe. The Han Solo trilogy, almost everything from Truce at Bakura to the Spectre of the Past/Vision of the Future pair. Thrawn rules all. XD its mixed in with my Halo, Resident Evil, and Drizzt Do'Urden books now.

Writer's block had actually plagued me for a bit in this chapter. Then again, it could be the spectre of college looming over the horizon again. Erg. Winter break, where art thou? You give me less than a week before I must return to college? How cruel!

Angelo di Desiderio: I'll have a look if I get time in between all this insanity in my life. Keep poking me if I forget!

Xephon: The space part of the next bit will be the most enjoyable, I think. I may change the pacing around and get Squall and Rinoa into space before the Galbadian invasion of Esthar, however. That part will be the true source of joy for me, but I can't wait to get to work on describing the people and city of Esthar.

Anime Obsessed Fan: This fic is my baby. I've loved almost every second of writing it, even when I look back at parts I had trouble with. It simply massive and incredible what I've done, and it staggers even someone with as huge an ego as myself. XD

Sherif: Laguna got elected when he wasn't looking. XD

"XD" is an emoticon. Its essentially meaning that when I'm writing the previous part, I've got a big smile on my face. The "X" is my eyes, while the "D" is my smile. Imagine it as a face, and you'll see what it means.

Kaiser-Kun: Yar! I wrote that part with you in mind. If you hadn't suggested it, you wouldn't have gotten such a good image. So! People, if you like a scene, suggest I make it all badass and stuff, and I'll put extra effort into it! Because I'm stupid that way! Like, Y'know, some lab rat or hamster or something.

Random Insanity's tournaments are roleplaying fanfiction things. You have to pick a real fictional character, not an original one you created. You could play Irvine,d epending on the character pool . . . Erg. Its very, very complicated, actually.

Squalld oes strike me as having a degree of fate to his position, but he isn't truly "special." I agree on that bit. No cloning, no deeper meaning beind his existence except as Laguna's son. He's just a dude, like Ramza in FF Tactics or Magnus in Ogre Battle 64. An ordinary dude.

Bastard. You have GTA. Curse you. -huggles copy of Halo 2-

DBZ Fanfiction Queen: Black SeeDs: They gonna rush that shit down with their bling-bling shiny ice cubes and rap yo ass out the 'hood, bitches. XD Been spending too much time in the kitchen with big black men. It actually comes from Greenbean's Sowing the SeeDs (read that shit, dammit! Its good, I mean it!) fic, where they were called Black SeeDs by the White SeeDs and Edea.

Oh, Laguna already knows squall survived. He has a special present for him, too.

Laguna is up in space shortly after the heroes arrived inside the city of Esthar. He was basically en route to the Lunar Gate when he received the report. I should have described it in more detail, but he supposed to be in a Presidential limo on the way there in that scene. Yeah, I need to edit that part.

Seifer has the robotic hand already, but it won't make him a complete badass yet. If you've ever seen I, Robot you'll have an idea of what it can do, though.

I've heard rumors that the company that made the Hellsing anime will finish making the next season when the manga series is completed. You really should pick that series up, it is of the tremendous badassness. Alucard is even scarier in the manga than he is in the anime. Not to mention the manga has great characters like Pip Berdanette, Alahambra, and the Major. The Major is the most awesome villain ever. You MUST get the manga if you liked the anime.

I was quite intrigued by the story of Ultimecia intertwined with squall's family. Quite shocking up until the end, though I always wondered how only Squall could permanently injure Galen . . . .

I love that line. In the manga, Anderson has an even better one:

"Lest ye forget that we, the Papal Crusaders, the Paladins of the Vatican's XIIIth chapter, are now the ones that stand in thine way, and shalt lay God's wrath upon thee. In the face of death, you bastards will stand trembling in fear. You will ALL die, clutching at straws!"

That's right before he gives this huge pep talk to the Iscariot Paladins and they all start kicking vampire ass. Its totally badass.

-Monkeyhill: Interesting idea, those charms. I've seen it taken many ways, like absorbing the GFs into the body in various ways. The stone idea just stood out to me in a very interesting way somehow.

-Jamielike: I like long reviews. They make me feel spiffy.

The Abaddon fight did make sense from a gameplay standpoint, as there had been no real "official" battles up until that point in the storyline, but yeah, he was pretty easy to kill.

"Raar!" "Curaga." "Ouch! I are the pwned!" XD

I'm working on Synthesis. I've got writer's block now, and the sad thing is, its an action scene. Heh. I'll get it up sooner or later.

-Akira Stridder: Yeah, only Xu, sadly. I'm probably not going to do too much with Galbadia until after the Sorceress Memorial. I've got this idea for a big "World Council" thing where everyone decides what happens next.

-Spikestrife: Riddick's main character is, heh, Riddick. Richard B. Riddick, to be precise. Squall is very similar to him, and in fact will be even moreso in my after-Gunblade fic I'm writing. Riddick's eyes and knives are so cool, and my favorite part of the movie is the teacup execution.

"I'll kill you with my teacup." XD Makes me laugh every time.

What are you gonna do about my misspellings? Hm? Come poke me? Do it! I dare ya! XP

Well, that it? Huh. Jeez, these things are getting as long as the fic itself. XD Well, if that's it, then peace out and be cool!

Till next chapter . . . .


	49. City of Dreams

_Chapter 41: City of Dreams_

"Welcome back to the land of the living," Irvine said as Squall rose groggily to his feet. He shook his head, trying to clear the sleepiness away, and still distinctly felt the warmth of Ellone's breath on his cheek. How strange it seemed to see her so perfectly as a child, exactly as she'd been in his distant memories.

"How long were we out?" Selphie asked as she began to stand up, helped by the gunslinger.

"About ten minutes," Quistis replied. "Which is odd, because the other incidents usually last longer."

Squall scanned his surroundings as Zell rose as well, shaking his head, and saw that they were still alone on the platform. Rinoa, he quickly saw, was still on the floor, where Quistis had set her down.

The peace didn't last long, as the heavy door they had been standing before slid open, revealing an open cityscape beyond, and framed in the center of the doorway, a large oblong teal-colored hovering vehicle. It floated onto the platform and rotated, the right side facing the group, and its side opened like a blossoming flower. A single man stepped out.

He was clad in long, full-body white robes, with the center of the robes over his chest and back a dark blue. His hands were hidden within voluminous sleeves, and his head was covered by a strange combination of a hood and a cylindrical hat, leaving only his face exposed. On his chest was the sigil of Esthar, consisting of a semicircle with a white dot in the middle, with white lines trailing down from it, ending in a single red teardrop at the bottom.

"Greetings," the man said, bowing his head slightly. He spoke with a slightly high-pitched, officious voice. "Welcome to Esthar. My name is Gerard Spark, Presidential Advisor on Foreign Affairs. I'm part of the Presidential staff, and was sent out personally by the President to greet you. It has been a while since outsiders have come to Esthar."

"I'm Commander Leonhart, Balamb Garden," Squall replied curtly. "These are my comrades, all SeeDs. And this," he gestured to Edea, "is Sorceress Edea Kramer."

"Ah," Spark replied, nodding. I see. Yes, you all do look familiar. May I ask what your business is in Esthar? Its protocol, even though we haven't had to use it in over a decade."

"I am here to see Doctor Odine," Edea answered. "I must consult with him about my powers as a Sorceress."

"Ah, yes, of course," Spark replied, nodding. "Perfectly understandable. These SeeDs are your escorts?"

"Yes," Edea answered. "Though we all come for another reason." She nodded to Rinoa, where Quistis had set her.

"I need to meet with Ellone," Squall stated quickly.

"Ellone Loire?" Spark replied, nodding. "Oh, yes. She is here in the country. Though I am afraid she is currently unavailable."

"What do you mean?" Squall asked, desperation returning. They had come all this way, through so many risks, just to be delayed again?

"Oh, do not worry," Spark replied. "She is perfectly fine. Come. We should go to the Presidential Palace, where I can arrange a meeting with the Doctor." He gestured to the car, which the group moved for after a moment.

"Can we all fit in there?" Selphie asked dubiously.

"Its much larger inside than it seems," Spark replied. "Unlike your gasoline-driven vehicles, Estharian engines are much smaller and lighter, making for far more passenger room. Please, step in."

The group piled in, and Spark did indeed seem to be right, as the seating was enough that all of them plus five more could fit inside the vehicle. Irvine and Selphie sat in the front, directly behind Spark, who took the driver's spot. Edea, Quistis, and Zell sat in the middle, and Squall, with Rinoa, moved into the back. Spark activated the vehicle's controls, which seemed to consist of a form of holographic panel similar to the one in the camouflage panel storage bay. The vehicle rose once more and rotated back toward the street and shot off immediately at high speeds, though the passengers felt almost nothing.

"Gravitational compensators," Spark explained. "Adjusts for high speed maneuvers for the comfort of passengers. You should feel lucky, as this vehicle is a Presidential transport, and as such is one of the most secured vehicles within Esthar. This vehicle could take a direct hit from a tank without being compromised."

They drove down the suspended road, high above the ground, which stretched out below, barely visible between the hundreds of skyscrapers. The road itself seemed to have been made of an unidentified transparent blue material, though they passed other roads with green or red coloring as well. They threaded between buildings, flying along the web of interlacing streets and tubes, packed with flowing cars, moving platforms, and hundreds of pedestrians. Semi-orderly lines and columns of hovering aircraft flowed above the level of the rooftops of the huge transparent structures. Everything was in pastel colors, glowing with an unnatural light. with the exception of Squall, who was focused on Rinoa, and Spark, who was used to this sight all the time, the members of the group were looking out the windows in wide-eyed wonder.

"How big is this city?" Quistis asked, amazed as hundreds of massive buildings flew past them.

"The capital sector of the metropolis is approximately one hundred and fourteen square kilometers," Spark replied. "The actual city itself is seventeen times that size."

"How many people live here?" Zell asked in wonder.

"Within the city itself, approximately three hundred and twenty-two million," Spark replied instantly. "Give or take a few hundred thousand."

"That's larger than the entire population of Galbadia," Irvine commented, and Spark nodded.

"We should be arriving at the Presidential Palace within the next few minutes," Spark added. "I came out as soon as I was aware that you were inside the city itself. I apologize for the wait, as I should have already been waiting for you once you penetrated the camouflage wall. But then, this type of thing hasn't happened in a long time. We are quite excited to have foreigners here for once!"

"How long did you know we were in the country?" Squall asked.

"Since you set foot in the train yard," Spark replied. "We've had passive sensors set up there for several weeks now, expecting someone to come, what with the war raging outside and all. I'm glad you didn't wait too long. Maintenance costs for those sensors are horrendous."

"Then you know the state beyond your borders?" Edea asked, and Spark nodded.

"The President has always taken an interest in what happened outside his territory. He is a very hands-on type of man," Spark stated. "He had the military on alert ever since the Sorceress incident in Deling City. We've been watching for quite some time, and we are quite pleased with how the war turned out."

"That's why your ships were in the Centra seas," Zell commented, and Spark nodded.

"The President has an interest in SeeD," he stated. "We still have something of a problem with Sorceresses ourselves, and we certainly hope to create amiable relations with Garden."

"Where is this President?" squall asked.

"He is currently in space," Spark replied. "He takes monthly trips to the Lunar Gate and into space to visit the Lunar Base. It is very important for him, as our greatest accomplishment is in orbit right now. Ah!" the car rounded a bend in the road, and the massive mushroom-like structure they had seen at the edge of Esthar came into view, even more titanic and overwhelming up close.

"That is the Presidential Palace, home of Esthar's government," Spark explained.

"Holy . . . ." Zell muttered. "And I thought Garden was big!" The others echoed his sentiments as the car cut through streets and between buildings, rapidly closing with the massive structure. Within minutes they had neared the building, driving past a heavily guarded gate manned by over a hundred men in the same insectile armor that Squall had seen in his dreams. The car was waved through, and cut into a wide doorway, moving into a parking garage, where it was secured twenty feet in the air within a gravity beam. An extendable bridge rotated out to their vehicle, and Spark led the way out.

"Welcome to the Presidential Palace," he stated as the last of the group exited the vehicle. Within an instant, the platform rotated away from the car, floating across and down to ground level, beside a door. Spark led them through the door and into a wide, softly-lit hallway. With the aide leading, they quickly moved through numerous corridors and plazas, and into an empty waiting room. Squall, carrying Rinoa on his back, paused outside the waiting room, looking up at a painting above the doorway. It seemed familiar somehow, depicting flower fields and a simple town nestled among hills. He didn't recall immediately what it was, and after a moment, the SeeD ignored it and moved inside the waiting room with the others. He set Rinoa gently on a couch at the far end of the room and stood beside her patiently as Spark left the room. He returned moments later, and trailing him was a tiny man.

Squall narrowed his eyes. Doctor Hans Odine looked exactly as he had in Laguna's flashback. His hair was grayer, and his skin was more wrinkled and a little paler, but he was, by and large, exactly the same as the doctor Squall had seen from before. That, more than anything else, proved to Squall that they were truly seeing the past in their dreams.

"Ja, guten tag," Odine stated with a wide smile as he walked in. "Ze Sorceress herself haz come to see me?" Edea nodded at Odine's question.

"I am Edea Kramer," she introduced herself. "I require your assistance, Doctor."

"Vat do you need from Odine?" the little scientist asked, obviously intrigued.

"The removal or permanent suppression of my powers," Edea replied. Odine blinked at that statement, before finally nodding.

"It can be done," he stated, reaching up with one hand and rubbing his chin, the fingers poking out of his wide sleeves. "Iz nothing Odine cannot do! Ve vill zimply exzorzize ze power from ze body! Simple and safe."

"You guys can do that?" Zell asked, surprised.

"Yeah, if we'd known you could, this whole war would have been over so much faster!" Selphie added. Odine shook h is head furiously.

"It iz not zat easy!" he replied. "Ze Sorceress must be villing and able to releaze her powerz. Ze process takez time az vell. It cannot yet be used on an unvilling Sorceress."

"Well, let us know when it can," Irvine added. "Make a gun out of it, too. All our problems will go flying out the window."

"That or a rocket launcher!" Selphie added, bringing a few smiles around the lounge.

As they had been talking, Spark had moved closer to Squall, unnoticed by the others.

"You wish to see Ellone, correct?" the aide asked Squall, who nodded.

"As soon as possible," he replied.

"You will need to head out of the city and toward the east," Spark explained. "We have a facility known as the Lunar Gate about a hundred miles past the city. Though it will take some time to get everything ready, especially on such short notice. Due to her . . . Condition, we may need Doctor Odine to prepare her for launch."

"Perhaps you should be talking to me like I'm not understanding anything you're saying," Squall said, crossing his arms.

"The Doctor was the one who engineered the Lunar Gate," Spark explained. "He's the best qualified for prepping people with unusual conditions for transit. The technology involved with the Gate is very advanced, while it allows for the transit of normal humans easily enough, people with unusual conditions need special treatment and preparation. The Doctor can do this."

"I'm still lost," Squall replied, and apparently, Odine must have overheard them talking, as he moved across the room.

"Ja, you need Odine for ze space travel," he explained, pausing next to Rinoa. He looked over her for a minute, before his eyes went wide.

"Yez yez yez!" he exclaimed, nodding emphatically. "I vill prepare ze girl for tranzit!" He rubbed his chin as he looked over Rinoa's still form. "Zis is vat happens? How fascinating! I have never heard of zis being recorded in all ze years of study."

"What are you babbling about?" Zell growled, walking over to them. Odine spun, a smile on his face.

"For Odine to know and you to find out!" he replied quickly. The Doctor turned back to Squall. "It vill take zome time to prepare ze girl for transit. In ze meantime I vish to perform some tests to analyze zis unusual condition."

Squall almost refused, seeing images of the doctor prodding and poking Rinoa with all kinds of instruments and Hyne knew what else. But before he could speak, Spark quickly interjected.

"You should do as he suggests, Commander," the aide explained. "It will take some time to get everything ready, especially with an unscheduled launch into space. In the meantime, I suggest that you go with your woman, if you are so insistent on protecting her." Squall considered that for a moment, before finally relenting and nodding.

"Alright," he replied. He narrowed his eyes at Odine and fixed him with a dangerous glare. "If anything happens to her, I swear-"

"Nothing vill happen," Odine assured Squall.

"Just in case," Quistis added, moving closer. "I'll go with you, Squall." He looked at her, surprised and a little confused, but said nothing, only nodding after a moment.

"I will accompany you as well, Squall," Edea added. "After all, I must continue to speak with the Doctor about the power-removal process. You may not wish to admit it, but you could use our support."

Squall remained silent, but he nodded once more, conveying his thanks to them.

"If that is the case," Spark stated with a gracious smile, and he turned to the others. "You three are guests of Esthar, and I have little doubt that you would wish to see more of our nation, correct?"

--------------------------

Odine had headed up to one of a dozen vehicle hangars scattered throughout the Presidential Palace, another aide pushing Rinoa on a hovering stretcher-like device. Squall was a step behind, always glaring at the doctor and never taking his eyes off either him or Rinoa. Quistis walked beside Squall, but was more relaxed than the SeeD Commander, watching their surroundings as they moved through the palace. Edea walked beside Odine, talking quietly with the man and explaining the situation.

In the meantime, Spark had led the other three SeeDs on a short tour of the Palace, showing them a holographic directory near their lounge, in a manner that was remarkably similar to the way Squall had conducted his tour with Selphie months ago. He outlined various facilities for heading dozens of agencies, as well as laboratories, armories, vehicle hangars, power generators, and the chambers where Esthar's High Senate and Representative Councils met, as well as an array of courts for Esthar's judicial body.

"Government is centralized in the Palace?" Irvine had asked as they walked down a corridor, and Spark nodded, smiling as always.

"Oh, yes," he replied. "The Palace is easily the most secure location in Esthar. Not to mention it is almost one hundred percent self-sufficient. It has a completely separate and secure computer network and servers, as well as its own array of AIs to maintain all operations. We even have an entire division of Estharian soldiers on standby to protect the Palace, as well as two air wings, automated defensive emplacements, and a high-powered energy shield that can deflect substantial amounts of damage. Three more fully armed divisions are scattered throughout the capital, on a constant state of alert. A single transmission and well over two hundred thousand men will converge on the Palace to repel any attack."

"Transmission?" Selphie asked. "You guys can use radios?"

"Burst-transmission only," Spark replied as he led them toward a large hovering seat at the end of the hallway, positioned before a long, glowing corridor. "We've recently made headway with a network of laser-guided line-of-sight transmitters, and we have a series of powerful radio transmitters ready as backup, much like the old communications tower in Dollet."

"Almost as old as you," came a remark from nowhere, and the group paused. A moment later, a transparent blue figure, about two feet all, formed out of thin air beside the group. It was apparently clad in a stylized version of insectile Estharian armor, but with no helmet, exposing a woman's face with long hair dropping past her shoulders. White and red code flowed up and down the figure's body as it regarded the group.

"Ah, Duran," Spark replied, grinning ever more. He gestured to the figure. "Duran is one of our AIs. Specifically, she is my personal AI and aide with foreign affairs."

"I'm the one who keeps this scatterbrain from forgetting every other appointment, too," Duran added, crossing her arms over her chest. "So, these are SeeDs? I thought they'd be more . . . Legendary. And not kids."

"You will have to forgive Duran," Spark added to the SeeDs. "She has a hard time grasping tact and protocol."

"Oh, I can grasp it," she replied with a smile. "I just tend to shut those subroutines down whenever I feel like it. So, Sparky's giving you guys the tour of the city, huh?"

"First ones, too," Irvine said. "Quite the honor."

"Oh, yeah," Duran replied, nodding. "Not everyone gets the Advisor of Foreign Affairs as a tour guide."

"Come, let us go," Spark stated, apparently not wanting to wait for idle chit-chat, and gestured toward the hovering seat. The trio of SeeDs sat down on it, as did the Presidential aide, and instantly, a purple energy shield materialized over the aerial vehicle, and it was suddenly whisked away. A blue tunnel formed of energy surrounded the vehicle as it shot down the hallway, and then out into a wide chamber of glowing blue and white lights, shimmering like an electronic waterfall as the hovercraft bounced down a series of drops and shifts in direction. Moments later, the seat shot through a portal and passed outside, onto the wide boulevard leading toward the Presidential Palace. Once Spark had waved them through the company of alert and armed soldiers at the front, they moved out on foot along the wide streets of Esthar.

"The red roads are for vehicles, and the blue roads are for pedestrian traffic," Spark explained. "Though they can be used by vehicles. In an emergency tones will sound that alert the people to get off the roads so emergency vehicles may pass. Come. It will be at least an hour or two before your friend is ready for transit, and there is much of the city I want to show you!"

Show them the city he did, leading the trio of SeeDs along the wide blue boulevard, gesturing to various skyscrapers and towers and squat residential complexes as they passed. The SeeDs themselves drew quite a few stares from the populace, who all wore variations of the full-body robes and headgear Spark featured. The group noticed quite a few soldiers moving among the numerous pedestrians as well, and Zell commented on this.

"Oh, yes," Spark replied. "This is the capital, after all. We have a large military presence here, but our army is also extensive elsewhere. We have eliminated the need for a police force by having our soldiers serve as an all-purpose response corps. They handle all emergencies of nearly any type."

"Useful for quelling riots too," came Duran's voice as they passed a holographic terminal. The AI's image appeared near the terminal, using the projectors built into the terminal.

"What kind of riots?" Zell asked, and Duran waved her hand as if gesturing to something frivolous.

"You get all kinds around here," she replied.

"Esthar is a peaceful nation, but we have our own troubles," Spark explained. "You can't have a city of over three hundred million without a few varying ideologies."

"Everything from disagreements on clothing types all the way up to those damn Neo-Adelists," Duran added with a shrug.

"People who still believe in the way things were under Adel's rule," Spark added quickly.

"Yeah, I got the impression she's not in power here anymore," Irvine commented, and Spark nodded.

"The President was directly responsible for the removal of Adel from power," he explained, and they started walking again. Duran vanished into the clear Estharian air as they moved away. "Since then we've been advancing steadily with all of our technologies. Both our military and non-military technology is far more advanced than those of the rest of the world, though as of late we've been focusing on the civilian sector as opposed to the military. There are those who want us to shift back, among them the Neo-Adelists, but that bunch are generally more intent of knocking the current administration from power."

"How strong are they?" Selphie asked, curiously.

"Laughable," Spark replied with a firm shake of his head. "No real power. Mostly a collection of old soldiers who had it better under Adel. Not very many people want to return to Adel's rulership, though some of the youth are expressing a slight interesting those ideals. It has made for some concern from the heads of our security forces. There are others who have problems with the way things are run as well. Did you know that a majority of older Estharians were very racist under Adel?"

"Nah, didn't know that," Zell answered, surprised, and Selphie and Irvine agreed.

"Oh, yes, there was a nasty superiority complex among our people a couple of decades ago," Spark stated. "The President helped to alleviate that, however. He's not from Esthar, actually."

"Sparky, are you trying to bring in tourist gil?" Duran suddenly cut in, reappearing using another holographic projector, materializing in the air before the group. Spark blinked, and looked around, and managed a laugh. He and his SeeD guests had ended up inside a long gallery of flashing lights and holographic projectors, set up along the wide boulevard. Dozens of Estharians milled about, looking at the screens and making selections among the various projected objects.

"Oh, I totally forgot!" Spark exclaimed. He gestured down the long stretch of terminals and holograms. "We don't have singular shops here in Esthar. Or rather, many of them. Those that are staffed by actual people are usually massive structures in the commercial district-"

"Ahem."

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry, Duran, I tend to babble sometimes. But yes. This is a shopping mart. Totally automated. Store owners simply rent a spot and set up a terminal where people can place orders for whatever they want, ranging from basic items to vehicles to vacations to weapons."

"They sell anything?" Selphie asked, and Spark nodded. "Teddy bears?" she asked, and he nodded again, smiling as always.

"Guns?" Irvine asked, and Spark nodded again.

"Oh, yes, antiques firearms like the ones you westerners frequent are quite popular among weapons collectors. We have quite the arms collector community around here in Esthar. Why, even our President likes to collect weapons. Just a few weeks ago he had a special model of gunblade commissioned, and I heard it had just arrived-"

"Hot dogs?" Zell suddenly asked, rubbing his hands together as he looked across the shopping mart.

"I beg your pardon?" Spark asked.

"Popular food, especially in Balamb," Duran cut in. "Terrible for your health, though I heard SeeD members love them almost religiously. There are a few shops here that sell them as a delicacy." It took a moment for the AI to realize that Zell had already taken off down the length of the shopping mart, toward one large terminal with a holographic projection of various foods, one of which was a massive hot dog dripping with condiments.

"Later!" Zell called over his shoulder.

"Umm, yeah," Selphie added with a smile. "He really likes his hot dogs."

"I can tell," Duran deadpanned, turning back to the group, which was getting smaller as Irvine drifted away, toward another terminal displaying a wide range of holographic weapons. The name "Don Juan's Weapons Emporium and Customization" hovered in the air above the images.

"And I thought women did all of the shopping in your part of the world," Spark commented.

"Normally we do," Selphie replied as she and Spark followed the wide-eyed Irvine as he approached the terminal, which immediately projected a wide-ranging list of various weapons before the gunslinger. He wasted no time looking over the list, which shifted to western script at his request, and found the listing of rifles and firearms without any trouble. As Selphie looked around the sharpshooter, she could see page after page of weapons flying by.

"Wow!" he commented, pausing at one very ancient looking bolt-action rifle. "They sell the old-school stuff here! Look, an M1903 Mark I .30-06 Springfield! I haven't seen one of those except in museums!" He checked the price, and frowned. "Ouch. Twenty thousand gil?"

"Quite the collector's item," Duran commented, her ghostly, armored form appearing to perch on his shoulder. "Don Juan is the biggest weapons supplier for the Estharian military. I thought you'd be more interesting in seeing what we the Don has in stock for your Valiant multipurpose rifle."

"Hmm," Irvine mused, and he paged through the menus, coming across ammunition types. "Pretty standard stuff. Buckshot, explosive tipped. Hmm, flechette. Nice. Incendiary, hollow points, armor-piercing tungsten, armor-piercing DPU . . . ." He paused, squinting. "Pulse? I've never heard of that."

"Very restricted," Spark cut in. "Only for military use only. Not allowed for civilian purchase."

"I'm sure we can bend the rules for a distinguished SeeD visitor," Duran commented. Spark huffed something and shook his head adamantly.

"Could be worse," Selphie added as she looked through a different screen. She paused at one weapon, and called up a full-size image of it. A huge, long-barreled rifle with a massive muzzle appeared, easily taller than Irvine. Spark paled.

"What is it?" Irvine asked, whistling at the cannon. "Hmm. Don Juan Arms Inc. Anti-Personnel and Anti-Vehicle Sniper Cannon, a.k.a. 'Halconnen.' Looks perfect for you, Selphie!"

"30mm, fires armor-piercing shells, incendiary, effective on anything up to and including main battle tanks," she read. "I want one!"

"Oh, no, certainly not!" Spark protested. "We can't have those sold to any non-military personnel at all! Why, you can't even use that weapon! Its restricted to cybernetic and power-armored soldiers exclusively. No one else can lift it!"

"You haven't met a Balamb SeeD, have you?" Irvine replied with a grin. "And certainly nothing like Selphie Tilmitt."

---------------------------

Spark had been right about the amount of time it would have taken Odine to prep Rinoa for transit. An hour after they had left the Palace, Zell, Irvine, and Selphie, along with a harried Spark (who was still adamant about keeping Estharian weapons out of the SeeDs' hands) arrived at what Spark had named the Estharian Airstation, a massive hub for the thousands of flying aircraft throughout the city. The Presidential advisor led them through wide terminals filled with hundreds of citizens and soldiers, and toward a sheltered segment of the facility for use by government officials. It was there that they linked back up with the others. Quistis and Edea were talking off to the side, while Odine was waiting impatiently in the middle of the terminal.

"Ze process vas zuccessful!" Odine proclaimed with a wide smile as Spark and his guests approached. "Zis has been a most fruitful day for ze rezearch!"

"How's Rinoa?" Zell asked as they entered the terminal.

"Fine," came an answer from Squall, who was standing beside the hovering stretcher she was laid out on, keeping a constant vigil over her.

"Odine completed the tests and prep work," Quistis added, breaking away from the conversation with Edea. "Though Squall was watching him like a hawk the whole time."

"We have also discussed the process of removing my powers," Edea added. "It shall take some time to complete, however. The Doctor requires many more tests."

"Yez yez," Odine replied, nodding. "But ve cannot vait much longer! Ze equipment iz ready for ven you return to ze lab. Now, Odine must be leaving you!" The strange little man made a quick nod to the rest of the group and quickly waddled off out of the terminal.

"Well, then," Spark stated, grinning now that Odine had left their presence. "There is an Corsair-class flying transport standing by to take you to the Lunar Gate. Shall we hurry?"

"Yeah, let's move!" Zell replied, nodding. "I like this place and all, but I want to get things done!"

"Same here," Squall replied quietly as a technician took Rinoa's hovering bed and began to push it toward a gravity lift at the far end of the terminal, leading up into the transport. He followed closely, with the rest of his comrades bringing up the rear and filing onto the transport craft.

It was large and roomy, clearly designed to carry passengers, but was far from comfortable. The inside was largely dark metal with benches lined with thin cushions. A single sliding portal led to the pilot's compartment at the front of the ship.

"I apologize for the accommodations," Spark admitted as he joined them. "This is a military transport, not a pleasure cruiser. Still, it is quite fast. We should be at the Gate in under an hour." As he spoke, the craft shuddered slightly, and their escort hastily moved to his seat. Moments after he had secured himself with a seatbelt, they were all pressed back into their seats as the transport lifted and sped off. The cityscape flashed past on holographic projectors positioned around their cabin, which Spark explained was originally intended for gunnery crews. Within minutes, they had passed the metropolis and were passing over rolling blue-green plains of thick grass.

Spark had a knack for estimates. Fifty-two minutes later they were swooping low over the structure Spark had tagged as the "Lunar Gate." The Corsair flew swiftly, circling around the structure, which for all the world looked like a massive revolver housed in a long, low bunker-like complex, with a series of long tubes extending outward from it, curving up and pointing at the distant moon hanging in the afternoon sky. An array of military vehicles were assembled around the facility, along with a range of civilian vehicles. The Corsair slowed down near an open patch of pavement marked for aircraft landing, and settled down to the ground. Side-mounted doors slid open on the aircraft, and the collection of SeeDs and their Estharian escort stepped out into the open air.

"Welcome to the Lunar Gate!" came a call from a soldier, one of a pair who moved up to greet the collection of foreigners an their escort. The other soldier quickly moved to take Rinoa's stretcher and guide it. "We've been briefed already on the situation, and we've gotten everything prepared for the transit. Please, follow us."

The armored men turned and led the group toward the bunker-like complex. They passed a well-armed security checkpoint before entering through a set of sliding electronic doors and entering a wide room that looked like an airport terminal. Estharian soldiers were scattered around the room, on guard duty or attending to tasks, but the majority of the people were clad in yellow and black jumpsuits with black caps, looking almost like westerners, and certainly not like the civilians back in the city. The soldiers led them through the terminal and to another chamber, within which was a team of technicians hunched over control panels, and a series of long, wide metal tubes against one wall, stretching up through the ceiling.

"Ah," came a voice, and one of the technicians looked up. He approached them, smiling. "You are the ones taking off to the Lunar Base, correct?" Squall nodded.

"Myself and Rinoa," he explained, gesturing to her body, on the stretcher.

"Of course," the technician replied. "I'll need to explain the process, first. These tubes," he gestured to them, "contain the launch capsules civilians use to reach the Lunar Base. Normal transit through them is impossible for humans to survive normally, but we'll put you through what we call a 'cold sleep' process. Essentially, you'll be put in suspended animation and buffered against the damage you'd normally take. Think of it as similar to your junctions." Squall nodded, understanding everything, more or less.

"What if the process fails?" Zell cut in, concerned.

"It wouldn't be good for us if we weren't protected during transit," Quistis added, agreeing.

"sensors will tell us if you are frozen or not. We won't launch until we know," The technician replied. "Emergency thrusters and grav compensators are built into the capsule if you start to come out of the suspended state during transit, and will cut your speed down to levels where you can survive. It won't be pleasant for you, though."

"What happens next?" Squall asked.

"Once you are confirmed to be in suspended animation, we load your capsule into the launcher," the tech continued. "Once we have completed the calculations, we launch using magnetic accelerators. The staff on the other end will take care of things from that end."

"Let's do it," Squall replied.

"Under normal circumstances we'd have a number of extra capsules for use, but the President and his staff just launched a few hours ago," the tech added. "We have room for only one additional passenger. Would any of you like to come with them?" the others looked between themselves for a moment, before Quistis finally spoke.

"I'll go," she said. "If that's alright with you, Squall." He nodded quickly.

"No one else I'd rather have with me," he replied, then glanced to the others. "No offense."

"None taken," Irvine replied, and Selphie nodded.

"Besides, we need someone to remain as my escort," Edea stated. "I cannot be left alone, even in my weakened state."

"Don't worry, Matron! Zell assured her. "I'll stay her as your escort!"

"Me too!" Selphie added quickly, and Irvine nodded.

"Someone needs to stay here to keep Matron safe anyway," he said. Squall frowned. Last time he checked, Matron wouldn't need protection. He hoped that the three of them would be bale to handle whatever came their way, regardless. Maybe he should leave Quistis behind?

No. He rejected that thought. These were his comrades, and his friends, as Rinoa had explained to him mere weeks ago. An important component of friendship was trust. Zell, Selphie, and Irvine were worthy of his trust. In their hands, Matron would be safe, both from outside threats and herself.

"Take care," Squall said, and turned back to the technician with a slow breath. "Get us ready."

-----------------------------

"All aircraft are ready, Sir Almasy," the commander in charge of the air wing reported, and Seifer nodded. He stood on a platform directly before the main viewport at the second-to-top level, and looked down at the landscape stretching below him, in all direction. Mostly it was simply ocean, but less than ten miles away was the Estharian coastline.

_Heh_, he mused. _If they know we're coming, they must be shitting themselves._

"Ground forces?" he asked, and another officer spoke.

"All troops are standing by for escort and protection actions!" came the report. "Cyborg and mechanized units ready! Localized attack squadrons ready to destroy ground defenses! Internal defense units ready to repel boarders!"

"Guns?" Seifer called, tightening his cybernetic hand, the skin on it almost completely finished growing by now.

"Anti-air and anti-surface missiles standing by!" another report came. "Mounted machineguns and artillery ready to support ground troops!"

"Shields?" he asked, fingering his gunblade, in its sheath.

"Energy shield ready and powered!" came a report just below and to Seifer's left. "Hull is intact and no cracks or weaknesses are showing from the submerged period!"

"Ops?" Seifer asked, staring at the distant land and viewing the coming conquest.

"Engines online and receiving power!" came a call below and to Seifer's left. "Data readings from the crystal show its in working order!"

"Navigation?" he asked, fingers tightening further, readying for action.

"Course laid in, sir!" came a call from directly behind Seifer. "We'll cut directly across the city and head straight for Tear's Point!"

"All systems are go," Seifer hissed. He suddenly and fiercely drew his gunblade, leveling Hyperion at the distant Esthar. "Victory awaits us! Commence Operation Pandora's Box!"

He narrowed his eyes as the craft they were commanding lurched forward, gliding across the seas like a massive juggernaut of devastation, a harbringer of the apocalypse, casting its shadow for miles before them.

"Let's go, gentlemen."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Phew! Bout damn time I got done! Heh. I put a lot of description into this part, didn't I? Sixteen pages of nothing but "Esthar is awesome!" Maybe I like Esthar a bit more than the ordinary FFVIII fan? Nah.

Halo and Star Wars references abound in this chapter. There's a million of 'em. Few Hellsing references in there, one of which was Seifer's line at the very end, said by The Major in the fourth volume of the manga.

Some not-so-obvious Halo references: Spark's personality was heavily based of the AI of the same name, 343 Guilty Spark. "Duran" was largely base doff Halo's other AI, Cortana, and her name was a shortened version of an AI from Marathon named "Durandel."

Spark and Duran themselves are other characters I imagined for the storyline, and are completely original. Well, maybe not entirely original. Spark is the same guy that meets the party at the entrance to Esthar, and plays the same roles as the "research assistant." Duran doesn't appear at all.

What else? Next chapter is gonna be big! Lots of action and combat, and not all on the ground, either. Expect even more Halo and maybe even some Star Wars technology to work its way in here. All I can say about the next chapter is . . . raise thy sword. XD

FOR GREAT JUSTICE! Shout-outs!

-Angelo Di Desiderio: Yeah, there were some differences. I would have liked to see Kiros and Ward kicking some butt before switching to Laguna, myself!

-Chris Ganale: plasma 'nades inspired it, but that was actually a different type of grenade. You'll see what it is in the next chapter. Hee.

-Final Heaven 9: I certainly hope your orgasmic twitching at my awesomeness is what's making that spelling so bad! XP More will come, never fear!

-Kaiser-Kun: Hmm. Now that I look at things that way, Squall seems more and more like a samurai now. Samurai were very protective of their katana too, after all.

No, I don't have GTA:SA. I might this summer, though, when it comes out on Xbox. Hee.

Never fear for the space arc of the story! There will be much awesomeness!

Oh, and concerning the last review you left for Synthesis . . . Who said Raine _wasn't_ in that chapter? Heehee.

-JadeAlmasy: You love reading em, I love writing em! Eek. Chemestry. I have to take biology as part of my major soon, and on top of all those darn political science and economics courses.

-OniRazz: I wrote that without thinking about it, and then, I was all "BUGS BUNNY OOHRAH!" XD What's Ocelot's hand gesture?

-Monkeyhill: I don't know, things may stay the same with the Laguna vs. Adel encounter. I mean, how is Laguna, of all people, going to battle Adel? Heh.

-DBZ Fanfiction Queen: Heh. I knew someone would love Randolph!

Yes, I listen to lots of dirty old black cooks. XD That and they always have loud-ass gansta rap playing around them, which isn't really bad music, if you actually give it a chance. I wouldn't recommend that to everyone, though.

Bah. I like Anderson. He's all "AMEN!" and stabbity-slashy, and I like that. Hope you caught the Hellsing reference in this chapter, heh.

You want some badass manga? Try GANTZ. I quote a line from it: "GANTZ makes you black." XD The characters are so freaking awesome. In the future I'm going to model Zell after one of the heroes of it.

-Sherif: Bah. You have a better sex life than I do. XD (of all the things for me to comment on…)

-Xenogears: Well, your face is stupid! So there! :P

-Ange Sinistre: Always nice to see another new face. Part of the reason why I write this is so I can wear a cool _gi,_ stand in a dojo, look at the people who post just-script versions and say "See! This is REAL writing! Your writing-no-jutsu is weak, now commit seppuku!" XD

I try my hardest, heh. Over eighteen months at this? Jeez, what have I been doing all this time?

Super Cobra! Yehaa! Though I'm probably not going to qualify, what with bad vision. But hey, there's always tanks!

-Anime Obsessed Fan: That scene always makes me crack up. XD

That all? Good. Now you ingrates can get offa my lawn! -cocks shotgun- I actually need to speed up the writing here, I won't have long until May. I ship off to boot camp then. Erg. I hate deadlines. So! Be cool, be safe, and be supercilious, my loyal fans, Wookiee warriors, and hawt elven concubines! (shit, did I say that out loud?)

Till next chapter!


	50. Lunacy

_Chapter 42: Lunacy_

A deafening cataclysm of thunder blasted over the Estharian plains as Zell Dincht stood outside the Lunar Gate. In rapid succession, three white-hot comets erupted from and equal number of the tubes pointing at the distant moon far overhead. Within moments, the projectiles, the capsules containing Squall, Quistis, and Rinoa, had vanished into the afternoon sky, and the rumbling echoes from the launch had faded. The brawler shook his head, and glanced back to Edea, Selphie, and Irvine. They, too, were a bit disoriented by the noise, but were recovering quickly.

"Never ceases to amaze, huh?" asked one of the soldiers nearby, laughing.

"Indeed," added Spark, who was also shaking his head. "That magnetic accelerator is quite powerful. Much smaller versions are used on our naval vessels. Come, Mrs. Kramer. I assume you wish to return to Doctor Odine's laboratory to finish your purpose here?"

"Of course," Edea replied with a nod. "If you will lead the way?" Spark moved away from the slight shadow of the building and toward the sleek Corsair transport they had arrived on, still waiting on the landing pad. Spark, Edea, and her SeeD escorts boarded the vehicle and took their seats, and were immediately pressed back into their cushions as the vehicle rose into the air and shot off toward the city.

They rode in silence for a short while, each of them thinking of their friends taking that vital journey into space. While removing Matron's powers was a critical objective, they all knew that it was just as important that Squall finish his quest to save Rinoa.

"Hope everything goes well," Zell commented a few minutes into the flight.

"Hey, don't worry!" Selphie replied, patting the brawler on the shoulder. "They'll be fine."

"Esthar may be a weird place," Irvine added with a grin, "but they'll be in good hands."

"We can only pray for their safety," Edea added, but then smiled. "Rinoa is safe in Squall's hands, however. He will not give up on her, under any circumstances. And with Quistis standing beside him, they can overcome any obstacle." The others nodded cheerfully at Edea's reassurance, and silence returned to the cabin of the Corsair for a few moments. However, that did not last long, as one of the view-screens suddenly shifted to show the face of the Corsair's copilot.

"Excuse me, Advisor Spark?" the man called, his voice slightly apprehensive. His tone sent the SeeDs and Edea into an alerted state, and they listened intently as Spark rose from his seat.

"Yes?" he asked. "What is it?"

"You should come see this, sir," the man replied, and Spark frowned. He strode toward the door leading into the pilot's compartment. Moments later, the SeeDs and Edea had released their straps and were following him into the cockpit.

The pilot and copilot were in their seats, but both were stiff, the pilot's knuckles white over the controls, while the copilot furiously tapped keys on his control panel.

"Esthar Air Defense Grid just picked this up approaching on the western coastline," the copilot explained, and a holographic image appeared, showing the rocky, craggy Estharian coastline, and floating above that, a single massive rectangular pillar of steel-gray metal, emblazoned with the Estharian sigil on its forward face. Spark's eyes bulged in shock.

"My Hyne," Spark said, his mouth dropping open. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Yes, sir, it is," the copilot replied. "Homeland Defense Command has just sent an full alert to all military forces in and around Esthar, and all forces are mobilizing. Every available fighter and aircraft is scrambling to engage the threat. Current reports say its almost over the city by now, and enemy helicopters are already dropping large numbers of enemy troops on the upper roads and skyways. There are reports of skirmishes throughout the western sector of the metropolis."

"Full scale invasion?" Spark asked, almost terrified at the thought.

"It seems that way, sir," the copilot replied.

"'Scuse me!" Selphie interjected on behalf of everyone else. "What's going on here? What is that thing, and who's attacking Esthar?"

"That, Miss Tilmitt," Spark said, gesturing toward the pillar flying through the skies over Esthar, "is Esthar's dirty secret. Doctor Odine named it the Lunatic Pandora, so if you have any questions concerning it, you should ask him. As for who is invading, I think you should already know by now."

"Galbadia," Zell spat, and Spark nodded.

"What are they trying to do?" Selphie asked, confused. "I mean, no one would be crazy enough to invade Esthar, would they? They've got to have another motive or something."

"Well, we'd better find out, then," Irvine replied. He pointed toward the distant city of Esthar, and on the horizon beyond it, a dark shape closing in. "We need to get over there, pronto!"

"Roger that," the pilot said, the first words he'd spoken. "We need to get over there anyway, we've just gotten urgent orders to transport assault troops to board that thing."

"Where's Doc Odine?" Zell asked Spark.

"His laboratory, likely," Spark replied. "We shall head there immediately."

They flew on in silence for the next twenty minutes, closing in with the city. They listened to the copilot report the progress of the oncoming threat and the escalating series of skirmishes occurring throughout the city, and as they saw the city's skyline, a massive shape grew on the horizon, towering above the city like a silent monolith, a harbringer of destruction.

"This isn't good," the copilot hissed as they neared the edge of the city. Distant blue and yellow flashes could be seen in the sky around the advancing Lunatic Pandora. White bolts of energy and glowing purple-pink needle-like missiles lanced up from the city at the oncoming structure, but deflected harmlessly off a shimmering, watery energy shield. Return fire from the monolith, consisting of missiles, recoilless rifle fire, and downpours of machinegun fire dropping from opening panels on the faces of the structure, raked the Estharian ground defenses. Heavily armed Galbadian fighter craft and helicopters weaved through the sky, launching missiles and machinegun fire at the slender, pastel-painted Estharian fighters. The Estharian ships answered with glowing pulse lasers and more of the glowing needle-like missiles. Pieces of burning wreckage from the annihilated fighters on both sides rained upon the city, but seemingly endless numbers of Galbadian fighters continued to launch from the Pandora's upper levels, engaging Estharian craft that swarmed up from hidden airbases within the city. Sections of Esthar burned blue flames as Galbadian fighters ran bombing runs, and distant explosions could be seen in the city itself as Galbadian ground troops around the Lunatic Pandora battled Estharian troops.

"Galbadian troops are sticking close to the Pandora," the copilot reported. "Aircraft are running bombing attacks against ourground-based defenses. Hynedammit, its all happening too fast! They took out half our air fleet while it was still taking off, and the rest can't get past those Galbadian fighters to hit the Pandora!"

"What about ground troops?" Selphie asked. "Why did they drop soldiers into the city?"

"Yeah, seems kind of risky, doesn't it?" Zell added.

"The Pandora has a powerful shield generator," Spark explained. "Except around its base. That is where the anti-gravity generators are located. The anti-grav field interferes with the shield, but it also makes it impossible for aircraft to get close, due to the interference with their flight systems. The hull, however, can be penetrated by ground troops. Theoretically."

"They need infantry on the ground to cut off any ground response we might make," the copilot added, shaking his head. "Whoever's in charge over there is pretty smart."

"That rules out Seifer," Zell deadpanned.

"I'm taking us low," the pilot stated, and matched words with action, dipping low, beneath the level of the higher rooftops at the edge of the city. "Hopefully the Galbadian fighters won't notice us."

"Unlikely," Spark added, and nodded in agreement with the pilot's choice of options. The pilot took the Corsair through the twisting towers and mountains of glass and steel, ducking beneath and drifting over roads in their path. As they neared the capital sector, they could feel the dull rumblings of explosions in the sky, and hear them through the ship's hull.

"Everything's going to hell out there!" Irvine commented, and the others nodded grimly.

"The sooner we take out that thing, the better," Zell added. A loud, insistent beeping filled the cockpit, and the pilot cursed.

"Hold on to your butts!" shouted the pilot without warning, and he pulled up hard, nearly throwing the passengers off their feet. An instant later, a vicious shudder and a powerful rumble filled the Corsair, and on the tail of that was the screeching of a fighter plane swooping past, and another explosion.

"Damn Galbadians!" the copilot growled, checking the radar. "Good thing that missile missed."

"Better thing that we have missile lock warnings," the pilot corrected as he sent the ship into another dive, ducking between two towers. "And even better than that is having some allies flying with us!"

"How far to Odine's lab?" Selphie demanded, and the copilot glanced at the radar again.

"We're one minute out!" he replied, and the pilot sent the Corsair around another building. There was a flash of light to their right and chunks of steel flew by, the half-melted image of the Estharian sigil momentarily visible. An instant later, another Estharian fighter flashed past, chased by a Galbadian jet. A barrage of pink needles lanced down from above, and over a dozen impaled the Galbadian craft. There was a brilliant pink flash of light, and the fighter was sheared in half.

"Echo 419, this is Raptor Squadron, do you read?" a call came over the radio. The copilot slapped the switch.

"We read you Raptor Lead," he replied. "What's the situation?"

"Its bad as a Marlboro's butt up here!" the speaker replied. One of the slender, almost delicate fighters slid into place beside the Corsair. "Looks like our spot's a bit clear for now. What are you doing out here in this mess? Thought you were running a big-wig around town."

"We were," the copilot replied. "New orders. We're headed for Odine's lab, we've got some special SeeD cargo to deliver."

"Copy that," the speaker replied. "Raptors, form up around Echo 419, we'll need to keep those Galbies off their ass for a few moments!" There was a chorus of acknowledgements, and one groan about protecting a flying boulder. "Cut the complaints, Nine, or you'll be peeling tubers tonight for the whole airbase." Nine more fighters swooped down and around, taking up screening positions around the Corsair, most of them bearing char marks from damages already suffered.

"Don't worry, Echo, we'll get you there in one piece," Raptor Lead called.

"Reasonably," added another pilot with a snicker.

It turned out that the Raptors' escort was unneeded, as no other enemy fighters came close enough to engage the group of aircraft. Within moments they were swooping over Odine's lab, and the Corsair came to a stop directly above the street outside the structure's ground level, opening a side doorway. The SeeDs and their Sorceress charge quickly stepped out, covering their heads as a missile blew apart a fighter directly overhead. The Raptors roared off into the sky as a wedge of Galbadian fighters flew past, and Spark sent the SeeDs a quick wave before the doors sealed up once more and the ship ducked back beneath the level of the rooftops, flying toward the looming Presidential Palace. As the Corsair passed, the quartet could see the Lunatic Pandora, now far closer and drifting nearer every second.

"Let us hope that the Doctor knows how to combat the Lunatic Pandora," Edea stated, and turned toward the entrance to the large, many-leveled structure before them.

There were no soldiers inside the structure, which was different from how Zell and Selphie remembered their period within the building as Kiros and Ward. There were a number of citizens, many in a state of awe or panic at the sudden Galbadian invasion. They were forthcoming enough about where Odine was, in his personal lab on the top level, and the Sorceress and SeeDs wasted no time taking the lifters to that lab. Within minutes they had risen through the structure, to the upper levels, and burst into Odine's laboratory.

"Tear's Point!" came the first words from the Doctor as they entered, seeing him happily fiddling with instruments as a hologram of the Pandora was shown, floating through the city. Tiny, minute explosions were visible all around the structure as it began to pass over the capital.

"What?" Irvine asked as they entered. The diminutive Doctor glanced up at the intruders momentarily, but then went back to his work.

"Oh, yez, zey are headed for Tear's Point!" Odine exclaimed, and played around with the monitor he was working in front of, which shifted to show a map of Esthar's territory. To the southeast of the city was a glowing dot, above which was incomprehensible Estharian script.

"What's this Tear's Point?" Zel demanded, crossing the lab. "And what's this lunatic Pandora? And what in freaking Hyne's name is Galbadia doing here?"

"Zo impatient!" Odine complained, turning back toward the group in a huff. He waved his hands emphatically in the air. "Ze Pandora is a very special machine! I know much of it. It iz my great project from zo many yearz ago, before ze president had us dispoze of it!"

"Yeah, yeah, big and important, blah blah," Zell replied. "What the hell is that thing?"

"A vessel for ze Crystal Pillar," Odine answered simply. "Obviuzly."

"Oh, yes, now everything makes sense," Selphie replied with a dry tone. However, Edea seemed more thoughtful than annoyed.

"Was it excavated from Centra?" the Sorceress asked, and Odine nodded emphatically.

"Yez!" he said, pointing toward the structure as a wedge of Estharian fighters attempted to make a bombing run on the top of the craft. "Ve found ze Crystal Pillar in northern Centra about eighteen yearz ago. Initial analysis showed zat it vas originally located at ze epicenter of ze Lunar Cry which destroyed ze Centra civilization eighty yearz ago. Adel decided zat ze Pillar would be useful az a veapon and had it excavated and an armored zell built around it. Zen ve added zields and engines and moved it to Esthar for further ztudy on the Crystal Pillar-"

"That thing has the Pillar inside it?" Edea exclaimed in shock. "And it is headed for Tear's Point?"

"Yez," Odine replied, nodding. "Ze reaction vill be most interesting to vatch! Zere are already reports from ze Lunar Base zat-"

"We have to stop it!" Edea cried, and the SeeDs looked to her, confused.

"Okay, whatever you say, Matron," Irvine answered. "But why is it so important?"

"The Crystal Pillar causes Lunar Cries," Edea answered. That jolted the SeeDs, and all three of their faces paled at the image of a disaster of that level. Zell looked back at the Lunatic Pandora with new fear.

"A Lunar Cry? In the middle of Esthar?"

"It'll wipe out the whole city!" Selphie added, and Edea nodded grimly.

"If ze Pandora reachez Tear's Point, zen ze Cry vill occur immediately," Odine added. "Ze resonant energies from boz ze Crystal and ze Point are very powerful, and are already in action right now.If brought together in cloze proximity, zey can call down ze Cry instantly. Zat vill be interesting to zee!"

"More like a complete massacre," Zell growled. "But how does that thing call down a Lunar Cry?"

"Ze Pillar originated from ze moon many millionz of yearz ago," Odine answered with a shrug. "It impacted at Tear's Point. We were in ze prozess of researching ze meanz of calling ze Cry when ze project vas canceled by ze President. All ve know iz zat if Tear's Point and ze Pillar are reunited, it can call down a new Cry. Very interzting, no?"

"How do we stop it?" Irvine demanded, ignoring the question.

"Ze drive system is poorly protected by ze zield, but ze Galbadians are being very ztubborn about protecting it," Odine replied. He tapped a button, causing the Pandora hologram to expand in size, the camera zooming into the base to show the lower fifth of the massive monolithic structure. All around the base, dozens of yellow squares were highlighted.

"Zere are one-hundred and twenty-eight external accezz portz for ze Pandora," Odine explained. "Ze Galbadians defend all of zem. Take one of zem and you can get inzide ze structure and maybe zut down ze assault." The Doctor shrugged. "Zat iz ze bezt I can offer."

"It'll have to be good enough," Zell replied, punching a fist into an open palm. "Let's go kick some ass!"

-

"Three capsules inbound," reported one of the technicians in the Lunar Base control room.

"That's them, huh?" came a reply from a synthesized voice. A man clad in a heavy, bulky suit, vacuum-tight and designed for survival in space, stepped up to the tech. His face was hidden behind the reflective transparisteel visor of his helmet.

"Yes, Mr. President," the technician replied with a nod. He couldn't see the man's face, but the tech had heard rumors that these people were very important to him somehow. "I'll start the recovery process right now."

"Hope there won't be any problems," commented the President, looking away, toward the moon looming beyond one of the transparisteel view ports. "Anyone got any idea why the moon is so red now. Looks kinda ominous . . . ."

"We've been getting some weird signal interference from the capital," the tech commented. "Probably a coincidence. The science team likely knows more about what's going on. Probes are en route to catch the capsules." The tech paused. "You want me to put troops on standby?"

"Probably won't need 'em," replied the President. "Something tells me that we'll be fine."

"Right," the tech said. He tapped a key on his panel, opening an intercom. "Response teams Alpha, Bravo, and Delta, go to standby status." There was an acknowledgment from the other end, and a sigh from the President.

"You always do that," he muttered. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Never let us down before, sir," the tech replied with a grin. "Your advisors were smart when they laid down that policy on gut feelings."

"Yeah, yeah," the President replied. "Anyway, I need to inspect Adel's Tomb. Take care of the rest, will ya?" The tech nodded as he continued to monitor the progress of the recovery.

Out the view port facing the planet below, three lines of green force-field nets, shining in the void of space, manifested themselves in the paths of the oncoming capsules. As the President left, the first of the capsules impacted, the momentum of the tiny craft slowing down as it passed through the first field and met the next one, each impact successively slowing the device down. As it drifted to a much slower speed, teams of suited astronauts floated out through the black emptiness and seized the capsules, guiding them into the gaping hangar bay of the massive Lunar Base.

-

Things had gone from bad to worse in the few minutes it had taken to meet with Doctor Odine. Before, they had been caught in the leading edge of the hairy aerial battle overhead. But as the SeeDs and Edea steppe outside the lab, the battle overhead had drifted directly over their position, in the middle of the capital. The lunatic Pandora towered overhead like a massive rectangular mountain, casting its shadow over the city. Missiles and slugs from recoilless rifles lanced down from its massive height, smashing into buildings and roadways where Estharian soldiers gathered in an effort to get near the structure. Twisted, blackened wreckage rained from the heavens as hundreds of fighters dueled in the sky like vicious angels and demons warring in an apocalypse. Helicopters and Corsair transports flitted around the city, trading bolts of energy and missiles and deploying soldiers on both sides in the midst of the chaos.

The quartet had barely managed to take in their surroundings and see that the Pandora was already halfway across the capital when the roadway before them became congested with a mass of familiar blue-clad Galbadians dropping from a swooping helicopter. Almost immediately, a platoon of Estharian soldiers rushed onto the skyway, from an adjacent path, and met the Galbadian soldiers in an immediate and ferocious battle of blades, bullets, and flying plasma.

"Let's get in there!" Irvine shouted, and shouldered his rifle. He fired two shots, nailing on Galbadian with a pair of bullets to the back of the head, and putting another pair of high-caliber rounds into a soldier's lower back. Zell growled an affirmative response and leapt into the thick of the battle, leading his charge with a flying kick that hurled a Galbadian soldier off the roadway. Magic from Selphie sizzled and forked in, striking down two Galbadians with fiery blasts. The Estharian soldiers felt magic sweep over them, and mere momentarily confused, until Galbadian swords and bullets bounced off protective shields that Edea had placed over them.

The assistance of the Sorceress Edea and her SeeD escorts turned the tide instantly and overwhelmingly in favor of the Estharian soldiers, who quickly routed the Galbadian soldiers and cleared the skyway within less than a minute.

"You guys SeeDs?" asked one of the soldiers, bearing an odd decoration on his shoulder that was likely a rank indicator. A transparent green force shield glowed on his left arm, and number of other Estharians wielded the similar shields, except orange in color. Zell nodded.

"We've got to get inside that thing!" the brawler yelled, pointing at the Pandora.

"We've been trying ourselves," the ranking soldier replied. "Lifters aren't working, and the Galbadians are tearing up the roads leading toward the Pandora's lower levels. I think the flyboys managed to save a few roadways and are keeping them safe from bombing runs, but Galbadian troops are all over them. We can't beak through."

"Well, that's what we specialize in," Selphie replied with a grin. "Making things explode into smithereens!"

"Which is the closest route to the Pandora?" Edea asked urgently. The soldier pointed behind hi.

"There's a shopping mart that the Galbadians are holing up in. We've been trying to get inside, but there's not much we can do without leveling the place. The Pandora is almost on top of it. We've got maybe two or three minutes before it reaches that spot, and about five more before it passes it."

"We can't waste any time, then!" Irvine hissed. "Let's go!" As he was speaking, on of the Estharians suddenly pointed into the air, toward a pair of fast-moving aircraft swooping toward the congregation.

"Overhead! Incoming!" he shouted.

That was the only warning the SeeDs, Edea, and the other Estharian soldiers had before a wedge of missiles streaked in toward their position. The sounds of screeching engines and explosions in the sky overhead had masked the pair of Galbadian fighters' approach, but as they roared in, the one soldier had spotted the missiles as they lanced out from the aircrafts' wingtips.

Edea thrust a hand out toward the missiles, and telekinetic force ripped into them, breaking down two of the missiles in midair and shattering them. The remaining missiles streaked in, and Zell stepped forward, grabbing Edea and pulling her with all his strength. Irvine did the same with Selphie, pulling her back as she gestured toward the missiles herself, wind rippling outward from her fingers. The incoming explosives were knocked partially off course, several of them missing the clustered group, but one somehow managed to fly true through the buffeting winds and smashed into the center of the formation.

There was sound, there was force, and there was heat, followed by silence that reigned for several moments, only gradually giving way to the continuous noise above as aircraft dueled and died in the skies above Esthar.

-

One second, Squall was wrapped in the darkness of cold stasis. The next, he was awake, virtually blasted into consciousness. He reeled forward, almost tumbling out of the capsule's open door, when he found nothing to fall onto. In fact, he didn't fall at all, instead tumbling forward through the air, across a wide, red-painted chamber. He twisted his body in mid-air as he floated out, and saw a wall behind him marked with dozens of holes, all the proper size to hold the capsules he, Quistis, and Rinoa had used to get out into space. Quistis, he saw, was just starting to float out of her capsule as well, shaking her head in shock as she too entered the zero-gravity environment. Rinoa simply drifted out of her capsule, her body limp and unmoving in the weightlessness. Squall quickly oriented his body toward her and waited until he had reached the opposite wall of the chamber. His feet touched the wall and he kicked off, floating toward where she was drifting. The SeeD caught her hand as he neared and squeezed tightly as they spun in the chamber.

"Sorry about that," came a call over the intercom. "Quick-thaw results in a pretty quick awakening. Hold on for a moment, we're going to lock down the gravity system." Squall nodded, not sure where the camera was, but not really caring. They had made it this far; Ellone wasn't far away.

"She alright?" Quistis asked, and Squall turned toward her, seeing his fellow SeeD floating toward them slowly.

"No change," Squall answered, glancing at Rinoa's body, and seeing her chest move slightly, the usual indication that she was still in whatever state she was in. "I hope that's a good thing, though."

"Don't worry, Squall," Quistis assured him. "We've come this far. Ellone will help us find a cure for Rinoa."

Squall's answer was cut off as gravity began to tug on the trio, gently at first, pulling them toward the floor. It steadily strengthened as they got closer and closer, until becoming normal planetary gravity as they touched down. Squall wasted no time during the descent with cradling Rinoa in his arms, keeping her still body close to his, even if it was just to feel her shallow breaths on his neck.

A door near to where they had emerged slid open, and a blonde man in a white coat bearing the Estharian sigil on its shoulder stepped in, flanked by a full squad of Estharian soldiers, wearing the same black and olive uniforms of the Lunar Base crew. Each of them carried a small but powerful looking black energy rifle in their hands.

"Welcome to the lunar Base," said the blonde man, with a cheery tone and smile that belied the squad of armed men behind him. "I'm Captain Piet, Estharian Air Defense. I'm in charge of this base. You are Commander Squall Leonhart, I presume?" Squall nodded. He nodded to Quistis.

"Quistis Trepe," she said quickly, before he could introduce her. "SeeD, as well." Piet nodded and glanced to Rinoa.

"And that is the . . . patient, I presume?" he asked.

"Rinoa Heartilly," Squall replied.

"Excellent," Piet answered. "I apologize for the quick thaw, and the . . . somewhat hostile greeting. These men are here for security purposes. Presidential order."

"I understand," Squall answered.

"Let's take her to medical, hm?" Piet stated, and gestured behind him, to the corridor beyond.

-

Irvine had momentarily blacked out from the impact, but as his consciousness returned, he found himself surprised to be alive. He was even more surprised to feel pressure on his chest, though it was a bit too light to be one of the Estharians. He opened his eyes, and found to his surprise that his arms were wrapped around whatever was on his chest. His vision swam back into focus, and he saw, in his arms, clutched tightly, was Selphie.

"Selphie!" he gasped weakly, his head spinning from the explosion. "Selphie, you okay?"

"Owie," she muttered, raising her head, her own dazed eyes meeting his. "That hurt."

"Are you injured?" Irvine asked quickly as he loosened his grip. She shook her head, pushing herself up off his chest.

"Chalk another one up to GF," Selphie replied with a weak grin. "I'm aching all over but I think I can still fight." She looked around them, and winced visibly. Irvine followed her gaze and grimaced himself.

Of the thirty Estharian soldiers that had been assembled outside O Lab before, there were now perhaps half that number still reasonably intact. Only a few of those men were even moving or breathing. The skyway itself had been blown apart by the missile strike, leaving only a couple of twisted pastel blue roads protruding in the air.

"Zell!" Selphie shouted, looking over the carnage.

"Matron!" Irvine added, surveying the area, looking for their comrades.

"Over here!" came a pained shout, and the two turned to see Zell standing shakily on another skyway, the one that would have led toward the shopping mart the Galbadians were holed up in. Edea was helping him stand, seemingly uninjured herself.

"Ya'll okay?" Irvine called, and Zell nodded. He looked around, seeing the destruction, and how almost none of their allies were still alive.

"Can't say the same for our friends," Zell replied. "Bastards! We've got to take those assholes out!"

"We will head on and do what we can," Edea called as she cast a healing spell over Zell, mending his wounds. "Try and meet with us later!"

"Right!" Selphie replied. "Don't worry, we'll find a way around!"

"Don't save the world without us!" Irvine shouted. He bent down and scooped up his fallen rifle. He glanced back to where Zell and Edea stood, to see the brawler crouch next to one of the dead Estharians. The man had been the same ranking soldier they had spoken to moments before, and Zell muttered something before reaching down to his arm. The brawler unstrapped the shield generator off the man's forearm and put it on his own left arm. He tapped a button and a transparent green shield appeared before him.

"Let's kick some ass, Matron," he said, and she nodded.

"I will support you, Zell, if you will keep me safe," she replied, and the brawler nodded.

"Got no problem being a bullet sponge," he said, hefting the shield. "Especially with this!" With that, the pair moved off down the skyway at a full run, Matron surprisingly able to keep up with Zell despite his youth and strength. Before them, the Lunatic Pandora loomed larger and greater with each stride as they dashed through the city.

Irvine watched them go, and turned back to Selphie. He blinked as he saw her rummaging through a dead Estharian soldier's pastel red backpack, looking at some rather large shells that were contained within.

"Uhh, Selphie, what are you doing?" he asked. She glanced back up at him, and then down at the soldier at her feet.

"This guy is, er, was a cyborg," she replied, nodding toward his left arm, which was blasted apart, revealing wires and a strange sort of elastic metal sheath over them. "And he had a backpack filled with these." She tossed Irvine one of the shells, which he caught, and grunted at the weight. He glanced at them and blinked.

"Thirty-millimeter armor-piercing," he said, and looked back to Selphie, to see her moving the dead man's body and grabbing something beneath it. She tugged on the object, and Irvine watched her extract a long-barreled rifle with a huge diameter bore, and heft it with a slight smile.

"Spark said only the military could use these," she said, and popped the breech on the Halconnen. She slid one of the shells into the weapon and snapped it closed, and raised the anti-vehicle sniper weapon with all of her inhuman strength.

"And in this type of crisis situation," Irvine replied, nodding, but also amazed at how . . . _sexy_ Selphie looked with that huge gun in hand. "The rules can be bent."

"Let's blow it all up boom-boom!" Selphie said suddenly, pumping her free hand into the air.

-

Squall walked over the transparisteel floor that overlooked the planet far below, showing off his world in a dazzling display of greens, whites, browns, and blues he had never imagined could exist. The floor was almost entirely transparent, excepting a short metal "path" leading toward a coffin-like metal bed in the center of the room.

"Please set her in the bed and allow her to rest," Piet said, gesturing toward it, and Squall moved toward the device, cradling Rinoa in his arms like a child. He gently laid her out on the bed, and as he stepped back, the bed sealed up, a metallic shell sliding over her body, except a small window, through which he could see her face.

"The sensors in the examination bed will analyze her condition," Piet explained. "With them we may be bale to understand what is causing her . . . Ailment."

"Don't let anything happen to her," Squall said quietly, and the base commander shrugged.

"Don't worry, we know the details. Her knight in shining armor and all. My crew is aware of the situation. Everything will be alright." He gestured out of the room. "Please, come with me to the control room. I know that Advisor Spark has given you a rough tour of Esthar, and we were hoping to include the Lunar Base among those sites your people would get to see." Piet paused. "Not to mention the President was wanting to meet with you, personally."

"Me?" Squall asked, and Piet nodded as they left the medical wing, leaving a quartet of guards and two medical orderlies with Rinoa.

"For a long time, he has," answered Piet. "Though I believe he is out right now, checking on Sorceress Adel."

"Wait, what?" Quistis asked, and Piet nodded.

"Esthar's philosophy is to contain and control as opposed to outright destroy. We seek to understand what we do not, and you can't do that if you annihilate said subject, now can you?" Piet smiled as they moved out into a long hallway lined with transparisteel panels.

"What does that have to do with Adel?" Quistis asked, and Piet gestured out one of the windows as the walked. She and Squall looked in that direction, to see a gray disc-like structure floating in space, tethered to the station by many smile, almost delicate-seeming wires. A series of tiny specks could be seen floating toward the structure.

"Adel's Tomb," Piet said, proudly. "Our greatest achievement. Sorceress Adel has been sealed away inside that device for the last seventeen years, directly by the President's own hands, no less. We have kept her up here, at the Lagrange Point between the moon and the planet, for analysis and study. This base's primary purpose is to watch her and remain ever vigilant. We won't let another reign like Adel's occur if we can avoid it."

"Fascinating," Quistis said after a moment. "In other words, there's no way that Ultimecia could possess her?"

"Indeed," Piet replied, nodding. Squall glanced to him.

"You know about Ultimecia?" the SeeD asked, and Piet nodded.

"We have for some time, yes," he replied. "Doctor Odine is the real expert here, though. But yes, Ultimecia has been known by us for some time. We were aware, for example, that she was the primary cause of Galbadia's aggressiveness in past months. However, I can assure you that there is no way Ultimecia could possess Adel."

"How is that?" Quistis answered as they passed through a guarded intersection and through a doorway. They found themselves inside a control center, with numerous technicians sitting at consoles or analyzing holograms. The majority of the images on monitors and in holograms showed the lunar surface, a surface that seemed to writhe and twist and glow a hellish red light.

"Adel's Tomb uses our most advancing sealant technology," Piet explained. "Aside from holding her in suspended animation behind a foot of crystallized transparisteel it would take cruise missiles to breach, the Tomb itself emits powerful jamming signals that effectively block any signal, magical or technological, that would attempt to reach her. These signals are so strong that they interfere with radio transmissions on the planetary surface."

"That's the cause of the signal interference we've been living with?" Quistis asked, shocked.

"We believe it's a small price to pay," Piet replied. "In exchange for keeping Adel contained, for all eternity if need be."

"What's happening on the moon?" Squall asked, his attention stolen by one of the holograms.

"Monsters," Piet replied. He reached into that hologram and tapped a spot, and the image zoomed in, showing thousands of creatures, many of shapes Squall recognized, lurking and gathering. "We've never actually seen this before, and it started very recently; within a couple of hours of your arrival in fact."

"Lunar monsters gathering tightly together," Squall muttered. He ran back over his training with monsters. The lunar world was one of many different types of beasts, an uninhabitable world of freaks and creatures. These monsters normally existed safely on the lunar world, except in rare cases where they congregated due to a harmony of magical energies between the planetary and lunar surfaces. In such a case, a narrow "tunnel" of magical energy could potentially form, and when that happened, monsters would be pulled from the lunar surface to the planetary one. That was the source of the monsters on the planet itself.

However, such events were powerful and terrifying occurrences, and history was full of instances of cities, nations, and entire civilizations wiped out by such events. They had been dubbed "Lunar Cries" so long ago, and the most recent one in memory, eighty years ago, had shattered the Centra continent and the civilization itself.

"Is this leading into a Lunar Cry?" Squall asked. Piet shrugged.

"Lunar Cries only occur once every few hundred years at the quickest," he replied. "Its only been eighty years since Centra was annihilated. This Cry, if that is what it is, is very anomalous. What is more disturbing," he reached onto the hologram and fiddled with the image, zooming it out, "is that this gathering of monsters is directly above our position."

"What's below us?" Quistis asked, now somewhat apprehensive.

"Tear's Point," Piet replied.

-

A thunderblast joined the continuous drumbeat of war overhead, and a Galbadian helicopter was split in half, an armor-piercing round blasting into its midsection. The chopper blew in half, and Selphie paused to pop open her heavy rifle, quickly loading a new shell into the cannon. Beside her, a stream of lighter, faster blasts sounded from a pair of Calicos as Irvine cleared the road of a squad of enemy soldiers who had been dropped off before, by the very same helicopter. As the last Galbadian fell to the street, the two SeeDs moved on, rushing down the road, which ran parallel to the one that would take them to the shopping mart that the Galbadians were holding. The Pandora was already closing in with that position, the leading edge almost close enough to reach from the business area.

"Gotta stop wasting time!" Irvine growled as chunks of the helicopter crashed down on the road ahead. Another sonic assault sounded beside him as Selphie fired again, and another Galbadian helicopter was shattered in mid-flight.

"I don't think there's any way we can get over there to help them out," Selphie replied, shaking her head as she reloaded her weapon. Irvine finally had to nod grimly as he saw Zell and Edea running up the skyway in the distance at full speed. A squad of Galbadian infantry was positioned ahead of them, but the brawler and the Sorceress made quick work of them, Zell smashing headlong with his energy shield in hand, while Edea sent out rippling waves of magic that sent the Galbadians reeling to the floor, stunned and disoriented, but not dead. They were nearing the shopping mart by now, and would soon meet the Galbadian troops holed up inside.

Irvine frowned and reached into his coat, producing the scope he used on his PSG-1 rifle. Using it as a rough telescope, he zoomed in on the shopping mart, and his fears were confirmed as he saw what was within the sheltered position.

"Hynedammit," he muttered, and reached into his coat, pulling the separate parts for his sniper rifle from the webbing along his body.

"What are they up against?" Selphie asked, to which Irvine tossed her the scope. She looked through the device, and her eyes widened.

"There has to be an entire company of Galbadian troops in there!" she exclaimed. "Not even Zell and Matron can take on that many!"

"Which is why they're going to need some help," Irvine replied as he screwed the barrel into his sniper rifle. "That soldier pack some of those explosive shells?"

"I think so," Selphie replied, tossing the scope back to the sniper. He fitted it onto the top of the rifle and zoomed in, grunting as he paused to calibrate the scope properly. Once he had attained proper sight alignment, the sharpshooter wasted no time finding a target. He lightly pulled the trigger on his rifle, and a deafening crack sounded around the pair. One Galbadian soldier was hurled off his feet by the high-powered round that smashed his helmet sensors.

An explosion sounded beside Irvine, and an instant later the entrance to the shopping mart exploded, hurling two squads of Galbadian troops (and the parts of another squad) all around the business area.

"Nice shot," Irvine commented as he searched the smoke for another opponent. He spotted movement within the fire and smoke, and put another bullet through another enemy helmet.

"Don't need to be too accurate with this baby!" Selphie replied. "Now we need to - uh-ho."

"Uh-oh?" Irvine replied, firing a third shot and sending another foe to the transparent blue road. He looked away from the sniper's scope, and his eyes widened. A pair of helicopters were swooping in toward the advancing Sorceress and SeeD, laden with troops and bristling with guns and missiles.

"Selphie, see if you can-" Irvine's words were cut off by another sonic blast, and one of the choppers was sent into a wild spin as its tail was severed from the fuselage, and it plummeted into the city below, raining troops and equipment. The other pilot stoppe dhis vehicle for a moment, confused, and then pulled up and away.

"What's he doing?" Selphie asked as she reloaded her Halconnen. "I can still pick him off from here, he's just exposing himself to me."

Her question was answered when a barrage of pink needles speared the helicopter, followed an instant later by a massive explosion that blew the aircraft apart, sending crew and soldiers flying. Two Estharian fighters swooped past, followed by a fast-moving Corsair transport that was braving enemy fire from multiple directions. It dropped toward the skyway as Zell and Edea neared, and Estharian troops poured out the side.

-

"Mind some assistance?" came a familiar voice as the Estharians rushed out, over forty men, all fully armed.

"Spark, you devil!" Zell called, spotting the Advisor within the Corsair. "What are you doing here?"

"Providing some assistance with the assault," he replied. "We knew we had to attack whatever places that the Pandora was nearing with whatever forces we could muster and thus we convinced Raptor Squadron to escort-"

"Gotta bug out!" came a shout from the pilot as a rocket propelled grenade shot past. The corsair lifted up, pulling away as one of the Estharian soldiers, wearing special bulky armor, fired a return shot from a Halconnen in the direction of the attack.

"So sorry!" Spark called, his voice fading as the pilot skillfully swung the transport away. "Good luck with the . . . ." His voice vanished as the Corsair pulled away. The screaming of Estharian engines could be heard overhead again, over the whine of plasma and the roar of shotaxes firing as the Estharian soldiers opened fire on the shopping mart, suppressing the Galbadian fire coming from it. Two explosions were heard overhead as Raptor Squadron came back around, blowing apart a pair of Galbadian fighters that were swooping in. There was another explosion from the direction of the shopping mart, providing momentary cover as Zell rushed to the front of the Estharian platoon, joining a half-dozen soldiers with shields like his own.

Edea looked back over her shoulder, and saw two distant figures on an equally distant skyway, and mentally thanked Irvine and Selphie for the cover fire as Zell let out a roar, and the Estharians charged. She followed right behind them as the leading shield soldiers, along with Zell, led the charge toward the shopping mart. Her hands worked momentarily, and magical shields fell over the group, adding to the protection that Zell and the shield soldiers were providing.

The Galbadians opened fire with small arms, but the bullets fromt heir rifles deflected off the shining Estharian shields. Several bright lights on the opposing side hurled grenades their way, but a gesture from Edea stopped them in mid-flight and hurled them back into the shopping mart, sending the enemy soldiers diving for cover before they exploded.

There were several more long, tense seconds as the Estharians ran forward at full speed, sending wild covering fire as Edea covered them with more and more defensive spells. More bullets deflected off shields, and a couple of the Estharians fell, before another explosion engulfed the shopping mart, followed by several Galbadians outside the explosion range flopping to the floor, faces and chests erupting in crimson fountains.

Then, they burst into the shopping mart, nearly forty Estharian soldiers, a Sorceress, and a wild SeeD smashing headlong into Galbadian forces that had nearly been halved by the efforts of the attackers and their distant sharpshooter allies. Confusion instantly reigned as nearly sixty Galbadian survivors met the Estharians in a wild, furious melee of clashing blades and flying bullets and sizzling plasma. Edea drifted to the center of the melee, using measured spells to drop her foes, always with just enough force to incapacitate and not kill. More often than not she focused on casting mass healing spells or placing defensive shields.

Zell was far more aggressive, bowling into a cluster of enemy soldiers with his new toy leading the way, taking all of them down. He rose with feet flying and his right hand smashing, while swing his left arm wildly, knocking over foes with the force shield's edge. Within seconds he had crushed the group he had smashed into and spun on another collection of the enemy. With a furious roar, he leaped to the attack, bearing them down under his furious charge.

Several more foes collapsed inexplicably, heads blown apart, torsos blasted open, or limbs ripped off, as Irvine provided distant cover fire. Selphie could do nothing in that wild melee except watch, and be content that her shots had taken out over half of the enemy already.

The Galbadians were overmatched, but it took them too long to realize this fact. As the Pandora passed near the shopping mart, a few broke away from the battle and rushed toward the structure. On the side of the massive flying monolith a portal seemed to materialize in the craft's side, and a Galbadian soldier poked his head out. The man's mouth opened as he saw the rout outside, and he began to wave for his comrades to climb in. They did so, moments before Zell noticed the escaping enemy. He let out a shout, and Edea and many Estharians heard him. A full squad of surviving Estharian soldiers surged forward, beside Zell, and with Edea right behind. Covering fire lanced out from the portal as soldiers within opened up, and several Estharians fell, while others returned fire, rushing forward.

The last of the escaping Galbadians managed to leap up, grabbing the lip of the portal, and his comrades began to haul him inside. The door started to shape itself closed once again, and Edea raised her hands to cast something to keep the way clear.

Then the portal exploded, leaving a gaping and quite open and accessible hole in the side of the Lunatic Pandora.

"Damn fine shot!" Irvine commented as Selphie pulled her eyes from the Halconnen's sights, grinning like a joyous child.

"Get on there and give 'em hell, Zell and Matron!" Selphie shouted. Though her words couldn't be heard by the pair, Zell did indeed rush onto the Pandora, pausing only to grab Edea and bring her up on his back, and then leap the intervening distance. They passed through the gaping hole and landed on the deck inside, leaving the surviving Estharians behind, unable to reach the entrance as the Pandora passed.

"Well, here we are!" Zell said, setting Edea down. "All we've got is an army of Galbadians and Hyne knows what else between us and Seifer."

"Then we should get to work," Edea added, and Zell grinned. He gave her a thumbs-up, and they proceeded down the scorched hallway, stepping over blasted Galbadian bodies as they moved into the massive metal monolith.

* * *

Yay! Another chapter complete! Though it took me forever to finish, at the expense of my sleep. I'm almost working full-time now (not by choice, grr….) on top of college and Marine shenanigans. That and I put my head into Mercenaries for a while, and just now pulled it back out. Heh. Damn these addictive games! I better wait until I'm finished before I get Resident Evil 4. 

Anyway, its done. Whoo. I always imagined that there should have been some aerial response to the Lunatic Pandora's incursion, so, well, you see what happened when I though about that kind of scene. Reminds me of Independence Day, kind of. And rest assured, this isn't the end of airborne hijacks either.

References? Well, spot the references to the needlers from Halo, and the Jackal shields. They're pretty obvious. Raptor Squadron was roughly based around Star Wars' Rogue Squadron. And yes, those are blasters the Estharians are carrying in the Lunar Base.

Next chapter, we see much more! Squall and Rinoa and Quistis in space, more on the Pandora, and the appearance of everyone's favorite airship. Deep space rescues, desperate acts of love, Sorceress possessions, aliens, and the first truly romantic, unfettered moment between Squall and Rinoa, not to mention an ever-so-tiny plot revelation that has left many FFVIII players' jaws dropping in surprise.

And what Peptuck-brand chapter would be complete without the shout-outs? Wow, there's a lot, too….

-Prodigy: Ah, my evil clone-type-person-mini-me-thingy. You will continue posting the Ultimecia affair. Or I will smite you. Hard. With a spoon. You lift weights? Huh. I'm getting into shape using bodyweight exercises, myself. Hindu squats, Hindu pushups, and back bridges mostly. Good stuff, surprisingly tires you out. I'm not actually going into OCS, I'll be enlisting into the Marine Reserves. Just need to finish these silly medical things. The doc at the MEPS here is really, really anal. I got my MOS sorted out at least. Machinegunner, baby! I gets to shoots the .50 cals!

-Angelo Di Desiderio: Yeah, I got a thing for Esthar, myself. I dunno, I just like that place.

-Solid Shark: Yeah, Duran was more of spur-of-the-moment thing. She may or may not return. Other AIs may appear, however.

-Daniel Wesley Rydell: Writing no jutsu, the ancient Japanese art of ninja writing. Those who fail or are weak must commit ritual suicide by gutting themselves with their daggers (not their wakazishis, contrary to popular belief), also known as seppuku. Only the great writers can master writing no jutsu. XD

-Sherif: Hmm, maybe. Heh. I always imagined that Selphie would be pretty scary with the Halconnen, myself.

-Shootski: For some reason I love writing your name. XD That guy who wrote that commentary obviously wasn't paying attention during the bridge scene. "Man, I've changed," Squall admits, even to himself, at that point. Though I thought, personally, he had changed during the orphanage scene where they talked with Edea. Admittedly, Squall's change is so subtle lots of people miss it, until the third disc, where the trauma of losing Rinoa basically brings it all out to the surface so suddenly.

I dunno. There was this awesome thing about FFVIII where there was all this love going around without anyone outright saying it. But, again, to disprove the article, Squall himself admits he's fallen for Rinoa, in his own thoughts. "I've fallen for you" he thinks at one point. (either in space or at the orphanage, I forgot which)

-Spikestrife: You saw it too? Yeah, that surprised me when I saw the Ultima Sword in Ultima Weapon's hand.

The group may grab Bahamut. Maybe not. The way I'm writing it at the moment may not even give them time to conceivably go on a quest to get Bahamut.

-Chris Ganale: Hold on, kid! You're losing even me with those technical designations! XD Hope you liked raptor Squadron, I even included a Corran bit in there. Not too obvious, but its there.

-DBZ Fanfiction Queen: Y'know, you can download the manga if you really want it. I have them on my computer, actually. Good stuff. Volume 5 is scary as heck. Anderson is the loony priest, Walter is the awesome butler with the monofilament wires that slices stuff up. Walter rules. "Oh, dear, I missed! I suppose I'm not as spry as I used to be."

-Dragoon Swordsman: I might just. Heh.

-Jade Almasy: Whoa! Big block of text! XD

Yeah, Spark, like the AI I based him off of, is a very annoying tour guide, to a degree.

Laguna knows all about Squall, in my fic, and likely in the game too. You may have caught a somewhat important comment made by Spark in the previous chapter involving this.

-Ma-Chan1: See! This is what I like to hear! People telling me stuff like what you said! That's part of the goal in my writing this.

Ultimecia's castle . . . The puzzles may not be included. In fact, most of the guardians will likely be dropped too. Again, this is due to my penchant for avoiding what amounts to needless battles.

-Rusty Knights Productions: The Estharian fighters I wrote about here are an odd mix of stuff. They use needlers from Halo, but (in my head) I imagined them to be like the Scouts from Starcraft. The Corsair is a mix between Halo's original Covenant dropship and the new Phantoms.

-Kimahrigirl: Heh. I knew people would spot the Spark and Cortana personalities there. Cortana's one of my favorite characters, and though Spark is annoying, he's got great dialogue.

-OniRazz: Well, not quite the same title, heh. Raise Thy Sword is a track off Soul Caliber II's soundtrack, and was the chapter title for the first chapter of the Garden war.

-Akira Stridder: Not quite as huge as I wanted it to be, but still quite the mighty colelction of ass-kickery.

-Anime Obsessed Fan: Oh, yes, its gonna suck to live in Esthar in the near future. XD

-Xenogears: Ha! See! I knew you were joking! You g et the previous chapter I sent you?

-DeathDragon66: All great stories take ideas and thoughts and inspirations from previous ideas, thoughts, and inspirations. That's what makes them all great. Heck, even Daz stole a lot of ideas from other sources in The Omega (not the least of which was Goro…er, Sio. XD)

-Kaiser-Kun: Oh, just wait till you see the special weapon.

Hmm, I haven't actually thought of having the characters use alternate weapons. Maybe in a later fic, there isn't much room in Gunblade for that. Though, as you saw here, there was some alternate weapon usage by Selphie herself.

Garden and the Lunatic Pandora raid? Are you a mind-reader?

And yes, I am an evil edge-sitter. Mwaha.

Avion Jade: Always nice to see a new reviewer! Yeah, thatw as part of the rason why I was arming Selphie with a Halconnen to begin with. XD

You like GTA? Grab mercenaries, too. Kill stuff, and get paid for it, too!

Okay, that all of you people? Good. Now, go do something constructive, like plant a tree, or read a book, or read The Omega.

Till next chapter!


	51. Apocalypse Now

_Chapter 43: Apocalypse Now _

_All this advanced technology,_ Squall mused, _and they forgot to include elevators in their space station._

He strode up a staircase leading up to the crew quarters level, still surprised at Piet's admission of the oversight. Still, with the relatively low gravity, climbing the stairs was no trouble, certainly not for a SeeD who had fought down a Sorceress and a massive Galbadian army, among other things. Quistis had opted to stay behind in the command center while Squall, at Piet's direction, had gone up to the crew quarters level to meet with Ellone.

What would it feel like, he wondered, to see her again, now that he knew the truth? To meet with a woman who was his adopted sister, yet also responsible for the mysterious dreams about Laguna? Why was she doing that, anyway? Why send him back in time to Laguna's body? What was the point of it all?

Still, that was secondary to the necessity of getting her to send him back to when Rinoa had fallen. That overrode any other concern he had at that point.

Squall walked down a hallway moments later, the right side of which was lined with thick transparisteel, overlooking the vast vista of space. The distant shape he had seen before was a little closer now, and he could see a trio of specks floating near it, obviously the President and his aides or bodyguards. Squall had to admire a man so intent on maintaining security and order in his nation. After a couple of seconds the SeeD moved on, down the hallway, toward the executive quarters where the President and other important guests stayed. He paused in front of one door, the quarters Piet had labeled as the one Ellone was staying inside, and knocked.

"Come in," came a quiet, familiar voice from within, and Squall stepped inside, into a well-appointed set of guest quarters, complete with a living area, small kitchen, and sleeping area.

"Sis?" he called, and he spotted her, sitting on a couch a short distance away. She had been staring out into space, apparently, but turned her eyes toward Squall, smiling as she saw him enter.

"Its been so long, Squall," she said, standing. Squall nodded, not saying anything. He tried phrasing his request in his mind, to ask her for help.

"I'm sorry to put you through so much," she added, interjecting into the middle of his thoughts.

"You mean the dreams?" Squall replied, and she nodded. "Don't worry, its alright. I understand what you were trying to do."

"You do?" she asked, and he nodded.

"You needed us to see him," he replied. "Laguna."

"Yes," she said, her eyes moving back out toward space. "Thanks to you, and everyone else, I was able to see things through his eyes. To see how he loved everybody, including me and Raine. But, I haven't been able to go back to see what I really wanted to see."

"What do you mean?" Squall asked, and Ellone was silent for a short while, before shaking her head.

"Not now," she said quietly. "You need to see me for something else though, don't you? Rinoa?"

"Yes," Squall said, nodding emphatically. "I need you to send me back to about two weeks ago. That was when Rinoa . . . ." the words caught themselves in his mouth, and he stopped, surprised. That had never happened to him before.

"I can't," Ellone said, shaking her head. Squall stood still for a moment, not believing what he had just heard. Ellone couldn't send him back? But . . . Such a thought was unthinkable. It had been one of the few things keeping him sane over the last few days, that she would be able to save Rinoa from whatever it was that was eating away at her.

"I can only send people I know back into people I know," Ellone explained. "Its hard to define . . . I have to have known someone for a while before I can utilize their minds with my power. I have to be able to read their mental patterns. I . . . I'm sorry, its hard to explain. No one else understands. Doctor Odine said it wasn't powers like Sorcery, but something else, something more primal, like leftover power from when Hyne gave her strength to the first Sorceresses. Or something, I don't know."

"Would you be able to use your power based on memories?" Squall asked, and Ellone blinked. "Send me back into someone you know," Squall continued. "Quistis, Selphie, Irvine, Zell, Cid, Matron, hell, even Seifer,somebody who has already met with her. Would that work?"

"Yes, it could," she replied, after a moment. Her smile returned with the thought of renewed hope. "Rinoa is in the medical wing, isn't she?" Squall nodded quickly. "Let's go, I need to at least see what she looks like so I can know when to send you back."

Squall didn't hesitate to lead her back to the medical wing, virtually running as he did so.

-

Zell planted a foot on the wall, vaulting his body above the Galbadian soldier's sword, and kicked off, flipping himself over in midair. His other foot came over and down, smashing into the top of the soldier's forehead and pulverizing his helmet, and the skull beneath it. The Galbadian flopped to the floor as Zell landed in a low crouch, fists already forming and smashing up into another soldier's chest in a brutal double uppercut that smashed that soldier down the glassy corridor. Magic sizzled past him, picking up and tossing a quartet of other soldiers away, smashing them against the crystalline walls. The men fell to the floor, and two of them, still conscious, started to rise, before magic washed over them and sent them into a temporary sleep.

The crystalline hallway was silent, for the moment, and Zell glanced back to Edea, who nodded. He looked over the squad of dead or disabled Galbadians, and gestured for them to advance.

They had been sneaking and fighting on and off throughout the massive structure of the Lunatic Pandora for nearly twenty minutes, and every step of the way had heard the battle raging outside. As the minutes passed, they had heard less and less of the conflict, and more and more distant reports from passing patrols that they had passed the center of the Estharian metropolis and were en route to Tear's Point. Mixed in with those reports was an urgent series of orders to find the intruders who had been ripping apart any guards unfortunate enough to get in their way, which Zell took with a bit of pride.

However, despite their scattered victories against the Galbadian patrols, the pair of intruders were no closer to figuring out what the Galbadians were up to, or any method of putting a stop to them. Outwardly, it seemed that they were trying to get across Esthar and initiate a Lunar Cry. While that in and of itself was bad news enough, neither Zell nor Edea believed that it was all that the Galbadians had planned. They had overheard at least one snatch of conversation that commented on "being ready for the retrieval."

"Any of this make sense to you?" Zell asked as he led the way along a long gleaming crystal corridor.

"I have my suspicions," Edea replied. "I doubt we alone will be able to bring a stop to this machine. We must find out what they are planning and any way to counter them."

"Simple enough," Zell replied with a nod. They spent another few minutes creeping along the corridors, evading enemy patrols as best they could, and at one point had to take down a trio of guards loitering at an intersection in the hallway. Two quick punches and a subtle gesture of magic from Edea sent the Galbadians clattering to the floor, out cold. Mere moments after that, the pair of intruders rounded a corner in the crystal hallways and found themselves facing something distinctly non-crystalline. Specifically, it was an elevator.

"Hey, quick way up to the top!" Zell commented, stepping toward it. Edea raised her hand to stop him, but he had already hit the call button. An instant later, the elevator descended to their level and opened up, revealing a quartet of very surprised Galbadian soldiers.

"Hey! What the-" one of them shouted as Zell twitched forward, smashing into the group and bearing them all down with his weight and power. The guards toppled to the floor in a heap, with Zell on top pounding away at them. It took only a few punches and a single stomp to put all four men down.

"Zell, perhaps you should act somewhat more cautiously?" Edea commented as the brawler kicked the Galbadians' unconscious bodies out of the elevator. The brawler shrugged.

"Its worked before," he replied. "Being aggressive, that is. We don't have much time to waste sneaking around." Edea nodded at the brawler assessment, even if she didn't entirely agree with him. She stepped into the elevator beside Zell, and he hit the "up" button. The doors closed and the lift began to rise.

"Man, this thing is massive!" Zell commented as they rose up beyond that segment of the crystal tunnel network. He saw the sheer scope of the structure as they rose into the gap between the outer hull and the titanic crystal inside the Pandora. A latticework of hundreds of tunnels and metal catwalks and walkways ran between the crystal core and the metallic exterior.

"Do you have any idea where we are headed?" Edea asked, and Zell shrugged as he looked up.

"I figure the command center's up high," he replied. Might as well head that way." They rose in silence for several minutes as the elevator rose through the miles of distance between the lower levels and the upper ones. After a while, the elevator passed back within the crystal core and finally came to a stop. The door slid open, revealing a wide chamber beyond, filled with large numbers of Galbadian fighters, many bearing char marks from the battle outside against the Estharian air force.

"Hide!" Zell hissed as they spotted Galbadian soldiers in the room. The brawler poked his head out, looking for a hiding spot, and saw one behind a cart laden with what appeared to be fuel canisters. Quickly, the pair of intruders ducked behind it.

They were not a moment too soon, either, as a squad of Galbadians moved past, clad in blue and yellow uniforms, likely technicians. Following them were a few orange-clad Galbadian pilots. Their boot steps were hard to hear over the screeching of engines as a hangar door at the far end of the room slid open, and a pair of damaged Galbadian fighters flew into the hangar, turning on jump-jets and smoothly descending to open landing spots on the hangar floor.

"How are we doing out there?" came a call, which made both of the intruders freeze in place. Zell risked a single tiny peek out from behind his cover, to see what both he and Edea had already known.

Seifer was in the hangar, overlooking his damaged fighters as they returned from the aerial battle.

"Reasonably well, sir," came a reply from one of the pilots, with a Commander's insignia on his shoulder. "Losses have been heavy, but we took out most of their launch bays early on, which evened the odds. Right now we're beating back those fighters that are chasing after the Pandora."

"How many of our fighters are still flying?" Seifer asked, looking back over the lines of damaged aircraft.

"About four hundred planes and about two hundred helicopters, sir," the commander replied. "We got beat up pretty badly. Should be enough to fend of any response they make until we get to Tear's Point."

"Alright, good,' Seifer said, nodding. "We'll need about a day or two after we arrive at Tear's Point for her revival to be complete. The Lunar Cry should keep Esthar off our backs until then. Keep up the good work."

"Yes sir!" the commander said, saluting Seifer as he departed from the hangar.

"You heard that, right?" Zell hissed to Edea, and she nodded.

"They definitely intend to initiate a Lunar Cry," she said grimly. "But I do not know who they are trying to 'revive'."

"Let's see if we can put a stop to 'em," Zell said, and peeked back out. He immediately ducked back, grinning. "Jackpot. That Galbadian officer guy is coming by. Hold on a moment . . . ." They heard the sound of boots hitting metal as the officer walked by, and as the man passed the fuel canisters, Zell struck like a snake, a lightning fast stepping out and grabbing of the man, clapping a hand over his mouth and grabbing the pilot's sidearm. He dragged the pilot back behind the canisters and reared back for a stunning punch, but Edea gestured toward the man, and he went rigid, contained within paralyzing magic.

"Thanks," Zell said, and she nodded as he turned back to their captive. "Okay, pal, quick question, and it better be answered right, or my friend Mr. Foot will be introduced to Mr. Spine, understand?" The paralyzed soldier managed a nod.

"Okay. Where's the command center for this flying bucket of rust?" the soldier hesitated, and Zell saw the gears spinning in his head.

"Two levels up,' he replied. "From the elevator right outside the door Almasy left through." Zell nodded, and turned to Edea.

"Matron, can you give him something to let him know he's not supposed to lie to two very dangerous intruders?" Edea nodded, and her expressions shifted to something remarkably sinister, a look Zell never would have imagined on the Edea who had raised him.

"No!" The pilot exclaimed. "Okay! The truth! Its four levels up, through the door Almasy left through!"

"No lie this time?" Zell asked, and the man shook his head. "Good." Zell then kicked the pilot in the side of his head, blasting him into unconsciousness. "Let's go find out how this thing ticks and bust it up!"

They slipped out of the hangar bay moments later, avoiding any pilots or technicians as they did so, and very quickly found the elevator that the pilot had mentioned. Zell opened the door, and saw that the car was empty, much to the pair's relief. They stepped in and Zell hit the button to go up four levels, and they began to ascend. Less than thirty seconds later, the pair stepped out of the elevator and into a wide, open area tunneled out of the crystalline core of the Pandora. A long catwalk that led to a wide double door at the far end of the chamber was directly in front of them. Some type of construction equipment was set up, partially inside one of the crystal walls beside the wide double doors.

"Looks like someplace important," Zell commented as he stepped out onto the catwalk. "Still, shouldn't there be some guards or something?"

"Be wary, Zell," Edea advised as she followed him out onto the catwalk. "Something is not right here."

The words had barely left Edea's mouth when a massive shape swooped down toward them from high above. Zell looked up, dropping into a combat crouch, as a tall, slender white machine dropped down directly in front of them, two dome-like pods mounted high up on it, near where Zell thought to be its "shoulders". The slender machine hovered in the air for several long moments, as if evaluating the intruders.

"What's this thing?" Zell growled. "Some Galbadian piece of junk?" he popped his knuckles. "Nothing that hasn't stopped us before!" He took a step forward, preparing to attack the device, when a humming sound filled the air around the pair.

"The hell?" he asked, and an instant later his feet left the catwalk. "What the hell is this?"

"Some type of magic!" Edea replied quickly as she, too, went floating into the air. "Telekinesis! I didn't believe Galbadia could produce machines capable of using magic!"

"Any way to stop it?" Zell demanded, leveling a hand at the machine and preparing to blast it with magic.

"I don't know," she replied, shaking her head. She held her hands out wide, and began to focus her magic, when the pair suddenly went flying.

"Matron!" Zell shouted as they careened toward a wall, and then sharply banked in midair, dropping straight down.

"This device has powerful magic!" she replied, gritting her teeth as she struggled against the magical force pushing them down and away from the catwalk. They dropped into a hole somewhere in the floor far beneath the catwalk, and were propelled down at high speeds.

"Can't you cancel this or something?" Zell asked as they continued to drop down the shaft.

"Perhaps I could before," Edea replied calmly. "My powers are significantly weakened, remember?'

"Yeah, but still," Zell said as the walls continued to shoot past. Edea ignored him, instead looking around.

"The press from the Galbadian machine is weakening," she said after a moment. "In a few moments, I may be able to slow us." Zell waited for several long moments as they continued to drop, and was finally relieved when Edea spread her arms out wide. Their descent began to decrease, very slowly at first, but as the seconds ticked by, Zell could feel them moving at less than lethal distances.

However, the few moments Edea needed to regain control and slow their descent cost the pair, as below, a wide portal could be seen, looking down on the pastel reds and greens and blues of the Estharian city as they passed over it.

"Matron, can you speed up this stopping thing?" Zell asked urgently. Edea nodded, closing her eyes and willing them to stop, but only marginally increasing the rate at which they slowed down. Within moments, even as they were slowing, the pair dropped out of the portal below and down towards the city.

"Hynedammit!" Zell growled as they descended. Edea opened her eyes and looked up toward the Pandora, which was already flying quickly away.

"I am sorry, Zell," she said quietly as they dropped toward one of the rooftops.

"Nah, its fine, Matron," Zell replied, never taking his eyes off the Pandora as it flew away. "But it kills me to let them get away like that!" They touched down on the roof of one of the buildings at the edge of the city, and Zell wasted no time pounding the top of the structure, denting the metal.

"Let's regroup," Zell added, and Edea nodded. "Esthar's in a load of trouble if that thing reaches Tear's Point."

-

"So, how's our girl?" asked one of the medical techs as she walked into the room adjacent to the isolation chamber. The other tech on duty grunted.

"Vitals are close to flat lining," he replied. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say she's dead. But look at her brain patterns." He tapped a few keys on his terminal and a holographic image of the girl appeared in the air between them. He highlighted her head and the image changed to show her brain, which was flowing with rapid streaks of color.

"That's above average even for a conscious human," the female replied, surprised. She looked through the window into the isolation room. "Is she dreaming?"

"Doesn't match REM sleep patterns," the male tech said with a shrug. "Nothing I've actually ever seen."

"Magic, perhaps?" the female mused, looking back. "Run an ethereal energy scan. This could be the result of some Sorceress magic. Wasn't she involved in one of those battles?"

"Details are sketchy," the male tech replied, hitting the keys on his terminal. "She rode in with that guy who was in charge of Garden during the battle, though. Might have been. Running the scan now."

He looked back up to the image of the girl as thin blue lasers played over her body, analyzing any magical energies latent within her. Stocked SeeD magic came back immediately, which was no surprise to the pair of techs, glowing faintly within her body. But then something else became apparent, a shining blue aura that quickly seemed to melt through the holographic image and blur her lines, before completely overriding the image itself.

"That's-"

"Eldritch glow," the female tech finished, her mouth dropping open. "That's only present in . . . ."

"Get the Commander on the horn, _now!_" the male barked, and the female tech slapped the intercom.

"Bridge, this is Medical," she quickly said. "We have a problem."

"Like?" Piet replied, over the intercom.

"Hold on," the male said, furiously tapping keys on his board. "Sending the readouts on our guest. Here it comes." There was silence for several seconds on the other end, before Piet finally spoke.

"By Hyne, is this what I think it is?"

"Yes, sir," the female said quickly. "Even stronger than the readings from Adel."

"I'm recalling the President. We need to let Leonhart know as well," Piet said quickly. "This is bad, very bad-"

Whatever else he was going to say was cut off when the window overlooking the isolation chamber shattered inward, hundreds of shards of glass slicing into the chamber. The male tech was skewered where he was sitting by the sharp metallic glass fragments, but the female tech was only thrown to the floor, her skin erupting in pain as bloody shards were embedded in her skin. She sat up, shocked and confused, to see the door to the isolation room slide open, and out stepped the very girl they were observing, walking with a strange, swaying gait, her eyes closed, almost as if sleepwalking.

The tech started to rise, only to see the girl turn in her direction and raise a hand slowly, shakily.

Then the tech was smashing against the wall, her bones shattering with lethal force from the impact, followed by darkness.

-

Both Squall and Ellone jerked in shock and confusion as a klaxon suddenly blared. Red lights began to flash in the corridors, and Squall looked around, seeking the source of the sudden alarm.

"_Red Alert! Red Alert!"_ came a sudden shout over the intercom. _"Security breach in Medical! All combat units report to Medical, on the double! All other hands to emergency stations!"_

Security breach? In the medical wing? _Rinoa!_

"Ellone, head for the control room," Squall said quickly, figuring that being in a secured place alongside Quistis would keep her safe. His hand reached down to his side, where his gunblade was sheathed. Squall was immediately grateful that the Estharians had packed this along with him for the ride into space. It would be useful.

"Are you going to her?" Ellone asked, and Squall nodded, looking down the corridor leading toward the medical wing. He unsheathed his gunblade.

"I'll be back," he said, and ran down the hallway without another word.

The corridors were surprisingly empty as Squall ran down the hall leading toward the medical wing, but that did less to bother the SeeD than the sounds of shouts and energy weapons further down the corridor. Squall rounded a corner and found himself in the hallway right outside the medical wing, and facing a squad of Estharian soldiers, lined up along the hall and looking in the same direction. Scarlet bolts of energy flashed from their rifles at an unseen target beyond, accompanied by shouts of "Bring her down!" and "Keep firing!" Squall stepped forward, moving to assist the squad, when they were all suddenly and violently launched backwards, smashing against the walls, off the ceiling, or flying down the hall at incredible speeds. Squall had to roll aside to avoid getting smashed into by one of the soldiers, and raised the Revolver, prepared to face the threat.

That gunblade dropped to his side as he saw who the attacker was.

"Rinoa?" he said, jaw dropping as he saw her walking forward unsteadily, swaying back and forth and left and right as she walked. A strange white aura surrounded her body as she advanced down the hallway, slowly but steadily.

"Rinoa?" Squall asked a second time, stepping toward her and reaching out to her with his free hand. "What's happening to you-"

The Squall's back exploded with pain and his head thanked against one of the corridor walls. Malevolent intensity flashed through his mind, and he shook his head in shock and disorientation. He found himself slumping against the wall, and Rinoa walking past, her strange gait never slowing. Each step was more solid and secure, he saw, as if she was getting better and more confident in her walk with each step. Squall rose and dove toward her, trying to grab Rinoa's shoulder.

Then he was rolling down the corridor, hurled away once again. The SeeD finally came to a stop about thirty feet behind Rinoa, shocked at the sheer power behind the force that had thrown him. He scrambled to his feet, body aching all over, and dashed down the corridor after her.

"Rinoa!" he shouted as he got close, and dove into a tackle. His arms reached out toward her and touched the fabric of her coat, and then he was smashed once again into the wall. But this time, Rinoa did stop, only for a moment, and the next thing Squall knew, he was smashed repeatedly into the wall, five or six times. By the last impact, blackness swam over his vision, and he passed out.

-

"Sir, we're nearing Tear's Point," reported one of the crewmen, and Seifer smiled.

"Excellent," he replied, looking over the plains of Esthar. "What's the status of the containment field?"

"Active, at the moment," replied another technician. "But if our analysis is correct, then it won't be enough to stop the entire Pillar from entering the area."

"Good," Seifer said, grinning. Those clever Estharians had installed a backup defense to prevent the Crystal Pillar from nearing Tear's Point. Set all across the area of Tear's Point were hundreds of security towers, massive cubes that resonated with energies exactly opposite that of the Crystal Pillar, intended to push it back out in case the Pandora had gotten close.

However, it seemed the devices had been set up _after_ the Pandora was sunk into the ocean seventeen years ago. Thus, the Estharians had underestimated how many security devices would be needed to prevent the Pillar from entering the area. As they neared, the resonant energies between the Pillar and the security boxes filled the Pandora with subtle vibrations. The vibrations grew stronger and stronger as they neared the area.

Seifer could see the region below as they flew over it. The boxes below were glowing a cool blue, but as the Pandora neared their colors shifted, going to green, then yellow, then orange, and then red as the Pillar itself passed overhead. The Pandora slowed fractionally, but did not stop, pushing through the barrier and floating over Tear's Point.

"Security devices breaking down," reported the first tech. "The Pillar's energies are overwhelming them!"

"We are nearing the center of Tear's Point!" shouted another technician. "Closing in three . . . Two . . . One . . . Now! We're directly over Tear's Point!"

"All stop," Seifer said, and his smile widened. "Please direct our cameras up above and tell me we're seeing what we want to see."

-

He didn't know how long it took him to recover, but as Squall groggily returned to the land of the living, the first thing that instinctively hit his mind was to channel up healing energies. Healing magic washed over Squall, and he slowly stood, shaking his head. He found his gunblade nearby, and hefted the Revolver, before turning and dashing up the corridor after Rinoa.

The remains of several security teams could be seen all along his route back toward the other end of the station, and he followed the trail of bodies, which led directly toward the control room. Fear for Ellone and Quistis welled up inside him, and Squall burst into the control room moments later, gunblade raised and looking for Rinoa.

She was nowhere to be found. All the technicians were down on the floor or slumped in their seats. Piet was laying against a console, Ellone crouched beside him and applying a bandage to his head. Quistis was pushing herself up on a control panel, shaking her head.

"What happened?" Squall asked quickly. "Where is she?"

"She deactivated the first seal!" Piet said groggily. "The first lock on Adel's Tomb! If she deactivates the second one, Adel will revive!" another alarm sounded next to his head, and Piet looked up. He saw a holographic image appear, and his skin paled and his eyes widened. He turned his head back toward Squall.

"The Cry. By Hyne, the Lunar Cry is starting!"

"Where did she go?" Squall replied, pretty much ignoring the importance of everything that Piet had just said. He didn't give a damn about a reviving Sorceress or an oncoming apocalypse. Not as long as Rinoa was in danger.

"If she's trying to revive Adel, then the other lock is on the Tomb itself. She'll have to go out into space, and for that she'll need a space suit. They'll be in the suiting room up on the crew quarters level, adjacent to the launch bay. You have to hurry!"

Damn right, he had to hurry. Squall spun, sheathing his gunblade and running outside the control room. He dashed up the stairs leading toward the crew quarters, red light splashing around him like bloodstains. His feet pounded the metal as he dashed up at full breakneck speed. Within seconds he had scaled three fights of stairs and was at the crew level. As he dashed down the hallway, he spotted the moon out one of the viewports to his left, and paused momentarily at the sight.

A massive reddish blob was forming directly overhead, and extending outward toward the station. Within the blob Squall could see thousands, no, millions of monsters gathering and being pulled outward from the lunar surface. The Lunar Cry was indeed starting, and he didn't have much time. Squall broke into another run down the hallway. He rounded a corner and saw the suiting room.

He spotted two dead soldiers and a collapsed man in what looked like a bulky, silvery environment suit. Squall dashed down the hallway to where they were laying, pausing only to check the man in the suit. He was alive, but just barely.

"Where is the girl?" Squall asked quickly.

"That girl," the man hissed, trying to sit up. "She's already in one of the suits. You have to stop her. The President's out there, and so is the Tomb. There's only twenty minutes of air in these regular suits and a five minute reserve. She'll never survive, not with a Cry on the way."

"Are there any suits left over?" Squall demanded, and the man nodded.

"A few," he said. "You going after her?" Squall nodded. "Hurry! They take too long for novices to put them on! You don't have much time! Go!"

Squall stood and dashed into the suiting room. He scanned the area and spotted an alcove with a space suit hanging up in it. He rushed over to it and grabbed the suit. Moving quickly, he slipped the pants and boots on, which secured themselves automatically. Next were the gloves and the upper body segment, which was finally followed by a dome-like helmet over his head. As with the pants and boots, these sections of the suit automatically secured themselves, making themselves vacuum-tight. Squall saw a half-dozen indicator lights pop up on the suit's helmet, including structural integrity and air supply, but he ignored them as he stepped outside, his legs and arms moving fluidly, as normal.

Good. The suit was lightweight. His movements wouldn't be hampered. The SeeD found the airlock leading into the launch bay, and stepped inside. The air within was sucked away, leaving him in hard vacuum, and the doors on the other side slid open. Squall saw the launch bay beyond, and a distant speck - _Rinoa!_ - but was then pushed back hard as a trio of men floated into the airlock with Squall from the launch bay.

"Secure that door!" shouted one man, and the other slapped a control button, sliding the outer airlock door shut instantly. "Lock it down! We have to abandon the station!"

"No!" Squall protested as the door slid shut. "Rinoa's out there!"

"She's dead!" came a response from another man, the center astronaut. "She can't survive with a Lunar Cry on the way!"

Squall turned toward the man, about to punch him, more out of sheer frustration than anything else. He couldn't see the man behind his helmet's visor, which reflected the lights inside the airlock, but he caught a flash of what looked like green eyes and dark hair beyond.

"Mr. President!" the third astronaut said, and the middle one turned to face him. "The Lunar Cry is going to hit this station! We have to evacuate!"

"Right!" the President said as the room depressurized. "You guys get to the escape pods! I'll oversee the evacuation."

"No, sir!" replied the first astronaut, grabbing the President under one of his arms. "We have our orders, sir!" The other astronaut grabbed the President by his other arm.

"Hey, wait a minute!" the President protested as the pair of astronauts dragged him out of the airlock. Squall ignored them, pounding his fists against the airlock's closed inner door.

"Hey! You!" came the President's shout, and Squall afforded him a slight glance as he hammered the door again in fury.

"Watch after Ellone!" the President shouted, having broken free from his guards for an instant. "You can't do anything for that girl now! You have to get to an escape pod!" Then the man's guards once again got their hands around the Estharian leader, one hooking him around the waist while the other grabbed his legs. The President struggled in the guards' grasp as they hauled him off.

Squall looked back to the door, and then hammered it again in raw fury and frustration. Hynedammit, Rinoa was out there, and he was helpless again!

"_Fuck!_" he screamed, and tore himself away from the door, feeling like he was leaving everything there in the airlock as he ran back through the halls, not even bothering to take off the space suit. For an instant, he considered just stopping and staying, and letting himself be taken when the station was destroyed by the oncoming Lunar Cry. Rinoa was going to die, and he might as well stay here and die with her.

He saw the bubble of blood-red energy sheathing the monsters spreading outward, reaching toward the station with an all-encompassing hunger. Set against it was a single tiny disc, Adel's Tomb, and, he knew, Rinoa, out there, being driven by whatever it was that had possessed her to release the Sorceress imprisoned within. Squalls topped there, putting a covered hand against the transparisteel, and watched the tide of monsters come on, like a hellish tsunami.

A hand fell on his shoulder, and Squall spun, to see Ellone right beside him. Quistis was behind her, helping Piet walk toward a hatch labeled "Escape Pods."

"Squall, we have to go!" Ellone urged him, and she pulled the SeeD's hand. He found himself being dragged back from the window, away from Rinoa, and had no power to resist. He looked back out the window as Ellone pulled him, and saw the red blob growing, swelling-

And it exploded, without warning, jetting forward. Squall saw Adel's Tomb being propelled ahead of the wave of energy sheathing the monsters, and as it came on, a tiny speck pushed away from the tidal wave, what looked to be a person in a space suit-

"_RINOA!_" Squall screamed, and then the hatch slid shut as Ellone pulled him inside. He spun, to see her rushing into a chamber which was lined with harnesses, doubtless the escape pod. He followed her numbly, his mind's eye following that tumbling speck in space. Ellone pushed him into one of the harnesses, which was little more than a series of metal bars that closed around a person's body to hold them in place. As the bars locked, Squall turned his head towards Ellone, who was locking herself in. He knew Rinoa was dying, and that fact was ripping his emotions apart. The fact that he couldn't even see her die was even worse.

"Ellone," he said quietly, only then becoming aware that Quistis and Piet were in the same pod as he was. Ellone looked toward Squall as the escape pod shuddered, and the four people riding in it were shoved down, toward the ground, only propped up by their harnesses.

"I need you to send me to Rinoa," he pleaded. "As close as you can get to right now. I need to see her, one more time. I . . . I need-" Squall stopped himself, shaking his head as his vision went blurry. His vision failed to clear, and he became aware of a strange warmth around his eyes. The SeeD blinked once, and then realized as the warmth trailed down his cheeks that these were tears.

Since the day he'd first arrived within Garden, Squall had been under control. He had maintained a constant state of personal discipline, even at the age of five, to avoid the same pain that being separated from Ellone once more. In that life, he'd held no place for tears beyond the impression that they belonged to people who were not strong enough to handle what life was throwing at them. But here, now, before Ellone once again, he was almost weeping.

"I don't know her," Ellone said, shaking her head.

"_HYNE!_" Squall roared, thrashing against his harness. "She going to die, dammit! At least let me see her before I lose her!" Squall opened his mouth to loose another shout, but any words he would have said were replaced by silence as darkness suddenly washed over him. He heard one final sentence before passing from the realm of the living.

"I don't know her, Squall, but I know your friends," Ellone said, both in Squall's ears and in his mind.

-

_"But we can't just leave them!" Rinoa complained, but Irvine would hear none of it. He crossed the hangar to a waiting army truck and opened the door. Rinoa followed, despite her anger. She doubted she would be able to help rescue Squall without Irvine's help. _

"Get in," Irvine added, opening the passenger door. Rinoa complied, sitting down and glaring at Irvine mercilessly. The sharpshooter ignored her and started the vehicle. Moments later, they were outside the prison, under the glaring light of the desert sun and yellow sands.

"You can't be serious about just leaving them behind!" Rinoa stated after several minutes. Irvine did not look up, which was something Rinoa was counting on. She knew he didn't want to leave his comrades behind, and she played on that as much as possible.

"Orders are orders!" Irvine snapped back. "Your father wants you safe, and he's taking a massive risk just springing you."

"I don't care!" Rinoa replied, shaking her head forcefully. "We have to go back to the prison!" When Irvine reluctantly shook his head, Rinoa grabbed the door handle for the car and swung it open. Irvine yelped in surprise and jammed the brakes, stopping the vehicle in mid-movement. Rinoa leaped out of the car and stood to the side of the vehicle, arms folded across her chest, while Irvine rushed out.

"What the hell are you-" he began.

"We're going back." Rinoa stated defiantly. Irvine shook his head.

"Squall and the others will be fine. They'll get out of there when the time comes."

"You don't know that!" Rinoa replied. "Squall may stay, saying no one's ordered him to escape. We have to go help them." While the jab at Squall was mostly just exaggeration, Irvine got the message. He seemed uncertain, until Rinoa strode around the vehicle and roughly shoved the sharpshooter back inside.

"Hey! No pushing, and - ow!" Irvine cringed as Rinoa scratched him across the face with her fingernails. "Hey! Quit that!"

"Turn this thing around, now!" Rinoa demanded, scratching him again.

"Okay! Okay! Stop that!" Irvine pleaded in the face of Rinoa's unorthodox, but effective, tactic. "Get in the passenger seat!"

Rinoa did so, circling around the vehicle and climbing in. Irvine threw the vehicle into reverse, and spun around. He shook his head as they drove back toward the prison, then looked over his shoulder to the rear of the vehicle.

"Look, I was gonna go back anyway after I got you out," Irvine explained, which surprised Rinoa. "While we're headed back, could you open that big box in the cargo compartment?" he added. Rinoa looked behind her seat and saw a large plastic crate there. She leaned over and popped it open, then blinked in shock at the contents.

"A personal collection I managed to procure from Garden when I said things might get dicey," Irvine explained with a grin as the D District Prison loomed above them once more.

-

"_Squall's ring?" Zell asked, surprised. He took a bite from his hot dog as he sat across from Rinoa in Balamb Garden's cafeteria. "I dunno where he bought it. Why?"_

"_I want one like it," Rinoa replied, shrugging. "It looks cool, when you actually see it."_

"_Never see it under his gloves," Zell commented. "you mean the one with the monster carved on the front, right?"_

"_yeah!" Rinoa replied, nodding. 'That one."_

"_Hmm," Zell mumbled, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "I could make you one myself, how about that?"_

"_Really?"_

"_Sure! I'm good at that kind of thing. Metalworking and all that." Zell took another bite. "But I'll need the real thing if we want to make it look anything like his. We'll need to ask him."_

"_Oh," Rinoa said, sounding a little hesitant. "We can't do that."_

"_Why not?" Zell asked, confused. It should be as simple as asking. Squall was a scrooge, but not terribly much of one, at least not with things that weren't weapons._

"_Its embarrassing!" Rinoa admitted with a giggle. Zell blinked. Rinoa shook her head quickly. "No, no, not like that!"_

"_Not like what?" Zell said, still confused._

"_What, you think I'm interested in him?"_

-

_Seifer lay on his back, staring up into the ceiling of Galbadia Garden. He was still, almost paralyzed, his head swimming as his body ached from the impact with the floor and Squall's fist. His right arms till throbbed where it had been severed brutally by Squall just minutes before._

_Footsteps. He turned his head, and could see her, standing there, body swaying back and forth. Rinoa._

_She dropped roughly to her knees beside him and gently cradled his head in her hands. He could do nothing but listen as she spoke quietly in his ear, her soft voice the medium of his dreams._

"_My knight," Rinoa's voice whispered, but it wasn't her who was speaking. "I come to you in another shell. _

"_I am Ultimecia. _

"_You know me, do you not? Shh. Yes, you do. You have a new mission before you. Take Galbadia. Use it. Locate and restore the Lunatic Pandora, sunk beneath the waves between Balamb and Esthar. Bring it on high once more, and travel to tear's Point, crushing all in your path. From there I will deliver another vessel, and together we will continue our quest. Only then can your dreams come true once again."_

_Rinoa fell limp beside Seifer, and the knight's head cleared. He sat up slowly, blinking as he saw his enemies, once comrades all, collapsed around him. The knight rose, pausing only to grasp his gunblade in his left hand, and strode away slowly, out toward the entrance of Galbadia Garden._

"_Yes, Ultimecia," he said quietly, his smile returning._

-

_Ultimecia? Rinoa? What in Hyne's name?_

"I understand," Ellone said after a moment, and Squall realized he was returning to the world of the living. He opened his eyes, and saw her standing in her harness, eyes closed tightly. "I see now. Through your friends . . . Through my friends and family . . . I know her now!" She opened her eyes and looked to Squall. "Hold on! I'm sending you to her now! To the last past before the present moment! You'll be seeing everything a split second after it happens."

Squall nodded.

"Thank you," he said to his sister as the darkness claimed him one last time.

"Talk to her, Squall," he heard her say in his mind as he drifted into the darkness. "Your words may not be able to reach her, but your heart will. What you say, what you wish, may change everything."

-

_Remaining Life Support Duration: Fifteen Seconds_

The red numbers played across the front of her helmet, and Rinoa watched them, filled with a combination of fascination and regret. Most people would have imagined that in this situation, she'd have felt dread or terror, but now, as she watched the seconds tick by, Rinoa Heartilly could only stare, awestruck, at the world below her and the spinning vista of thousands of stars, and with regret that she had missed out on so much. She had seen much in her short seventeen years of life, but there was so much left undone. So much she hadn't had a chance to do, or say.

_Life Support Exhausted_

She sighed, and closed her eyes, tears forming in her face and floating out before her in the empty gravity. This was it. She was going to die now. She took a breath, and felt one last gasp of life giving air, and then . . . Nothing. Her vision began to fade, slowly but surely. How long did she have? She knew the human body could function for a few minutes without air, but after that, she would suffocate. Not a bad way to go, she supposed.

She wished she could see Squall again. To talk to him, to touch him, to hear his voice, to see that very rare smirk he would show from time to time. But she knew, in her heart, that she wouldn't. He couldn't reach her, there, alone. Floating endlessly in space, powerless to do anything.

Maybe it was for the best. He didn't know the truth. He didn't know what would inevitably separate them if, by some miracle, she was saved. She would die, at least, without inflicting that pain on him.

_Goodbye, everyone,_ she thought silently. _Goodbye, Squall._

She saw a glint of silver before her as her eyes darkened. It was her chain, carrying both the unadorned silver ring from her mother, and the engraved lion ring that belonged to Squall. She focused on that image, and put Squall's face in her mind. Might as well go out with a good, no, _perfect_ thought on her mind.

But that thought was not the last thought. It was overridden suddenly, by another impulse, a desperate, defiant impulse. And impulse to live, that jerked her eyes open with a sudden, singular thought that brought a ray of hope.

_The suit has five minutes of reserve oxygen._

And on the tail end of that-

_I'm coming._

Rinoa's hand found a button on the side of her suit, near the life support tank, and she pressed it. Green lights played across her helmet, forming into the life-giving words: _Reserve Support: Five Minutes._

Air filled her lungs, and Rinoa watched the stars. He was out there, she knew, beyond a doubt, as if he had told her himself. Squall was coming for her.

-

"There's no way you'll survive out there!" Piet protested as Squall scaled the ladder leading up to the airlock. Squall ignored him, only pausing to glance at the oxygen meter. He hadn't bothered to refill it, and now he had only six minutes of air remaining.

That didn't matter to Squall. Rinoa had less than that. He had to get to her immediately.

"He's crazy!" Piet protested as Squall climbed into the airlock.

"No," Quistis replied. "He's just Squall." That brought a grin to his face as he closed the airlock door behind him. Squall tapped the keys that opened the outer airlock door, and an instant later, the metal slid aside, revealing the vista of space. Squall climbed up to the top of the escape pod, and looked out.

_There._

He saw her, floating through space far away, on an odd trajectory toward the smoon. He might be able to reach her if he used the suit's thrusters.

The odds were insane. Million to one, he'd miss her, having to calculate his trajectory on the fly. She was a tiny target in the vastness of space. Less than five minutes to get to her. And even if he did find her, the odds of somehow surviving beyond mere minutes after that were close to impossible.

None of this was on Squall's mind. It was there, in that rational part of his brain, but Squall overrode that, disregarding it and banishing it. He knew what he had to do. For his own soul, and for Rinoa. And nothing, _nothing_ in this world, or the next, would stop him. By heavenand hell, he'd reach her.

Squall locked his face into a determined expression, and he leapt into the void.

-

Godspeed, Squall Leonhart!

Wow. What a monster this ended up as. I originally never intended for it to be quite this long, but this part of the game just seemed to leap away from me and take on a life of its own. Wow.

Plenty more space hijinks to go! Next chapter, for real, will be Squall's rescue, and massive development in the Squall/Rinoa relationship, as well as one of the greatest dramatic scenes in the game, ever! Once this next chapter is done, we'll be in the home stretch, leading up to our final confrontation with Ultimecia! Whoo! I'm about to explode! XD

Random commentary. Anyone ever played a fighting game series called guilty Gear? Had my head in that for a while, very cool game. Two of the major characters, Ky Kiske and Sol Badguy, remind me a lot of Squall and Seifer. Ky's the good guy for shining justice and whatnot, all disciplined, while Sol is the badass anti-hero. And they both hate each other, too!

Ze Shout-outs!

-Red Eyed, Divine Dragoon: indeed, Bahamut is quite the mighty Guardian Force. But again, acquiring him is the hard part. I'm in a strong urge to finish this fic, and I don't want to go off on a side quest as the climax approaches. It makes little sense and would ruin the pacing. I would include Bahamut if I could, but I honestly can't find a way to include him without ruining the pacing and flow.

-Sherif: I knew people would love that line. XD

-Avion Jade: Mistake? What mistake? I don't see any mistake. But I do love exporting documents so I can fix them. XD

-Shootski: Dude. I'm already insane.

-Kaiser-Kun: You shall listen carefully to your _sensei_ when he speaks of the arts of Writing No Jutsu. Some important, but basic, secrets: First, do not steal without admitting who you stole the idea from. Second, do not type while you have a small dog in your lap. Third, Dr. Pepper is very good for writing while drinking. Also, never, ever put an angry gerbil in your pants. It severely interferes with your typing.

-Chris Ganale: The Corran reference was to the Raptor in question: Raptor Nine. Corran's number. And the use of magic against missiles was one thing I didn't steal from Halo or Star Wars. XD

-JadeAlmasy: Yes! More people love sexy Selphie!

-OniRazz: I don't have a PS2. ;;

-Anime Obsessed Fan: Oh, there's a few tricks still up Esthar's sleeve. Granted, I'm not sure what they are right now. XD And yeah, The Omega did involve Garden flying into the future to fight Squall's evil twin. Wow…that sounded so cliched. I can't believe that was the basic plotline of such an awesome fic.

-Akira Stridder: Uhh, advance sensor? Gnomes got it. Yeah. Gnome ninja. Riding burning sharks. With lightsabers.

-spikestrife: Actually, you'd be surprised. That battle in Esthar was remarkably tough to do. Maybe I'm developing more toward the emotional and dramatic scenes than the out and out bloody combat of yesteryear.

Yes, I wanted to have the Squall/Rinoa thing be very slow and subtle. It actually was in the game, its just that Rinoa's fall made all of Squall's emotions boil to the surface all of a sudden, thus making it seem very sudden and abrupt.

-Crystopher: normally, I'm a reasonable guy, but I'm not arguing this point. That scene seemed so out of place (at least, compared with the other few outbursts, which were a lot more natural) and kind of ruined the flow for a bit. Not to mention the abrupt ending where Squall ran outside, and then, poof! Everything's fine again! So. Edited and removed. Nothing in this story is removed without very careful consideration by me.

That it? Good. Now go play.

Till next chapter!


	52. Eyes On Me

_Chapter 44: Eyes on Me_

In the emptiness between worlds and stars was a place where one of the greatest forces in the world found itself re-forged. It was a power beyond reckoning, both known and not known, understood yet misunderstood by the people who felt it most keenly. No scholar had been able to define it yet, and it was doubtful anyone would in the remaining days of mankind.

_Rinoa, where are you?_

But one did not need to know what it was to understand what it _meant._

_I'm going to find you . . . No matter what._

Deep in space, somewhere between the earth and the lunar body orbiting around it, this force drove one man and one woman through the darkest of trials, through fiery hell and across unfathomable distances. This force defied all odds that stood in its way, up to and including the precise planning of a malevolent entity from a time far removed. It defied the Lunar Cry, the most destructive force known to man. It defied the very void itself, the sheer inhospitable environment and vast distances ignored as the paths of the two wayward souls found themselves careening together once again, intersecting into one line.

_There she is . . . I have to get in front of her . . . I have to catch her. Come on, I can make it . . . ._

Hell had tried to stop their heaven from being made manifest. Nearly everything had stood in their way, but somehow, they had persevered, due to one man's courage, and one woman's faith even as she had lain dying in the grasp of an impossible evil.

_I've got you! Hyne, she's alive!_

There are few things that are eternal. Not even evil lasts forever. Some say death will never end, but in its very act of destruction it robs itself of purpose, extending those it has taken beyond its grasp. Not even the earth, the moon, or the stars are eternal, eventually burning themselves out and dying over the eons of existence. One day, it would all end, except for two basic tenets of existence that would never pass on, existing forever beyond the realm of the living, material world.

"Squall . . . ."

One is the human soul.

"I can't believe it . . . You're alive . . . ."

The other is the very force that binds those souls together.

"We're safe now."

Love.

* * *

Squall was almost sobbing with relief, a sound which he could hear mimicked over Rinoa's radio.

"I heard your voice," she said quietly, smiling. Squall viewed that face with absolute joy, seeing her lips move, her eyes open and bright. "I held on when I heard it. I knew you'd come for me."

"I'm here now," he replied, wishing he could feel her body through the space suit. He'd done it. After so much struggle and hardship, after all that mental anguish, after all the times he'd felt he'd lose her forever, Squall had found her again, alive, and herself. But now that he had found her after so much, where would they go?

He hadn't given himself the luxury of thinking beyond getting to her. That alone might have made him break off in despair, knowing that even if he did rescue her, they were both doomed in space regardless. What would they do now? Be reunited just to die together in space when their air ran out in a few scant minutes? Had he just brought them back together to die as one?

So be it, Squall thought. Better to die with her than to live on with the pain of knowing he had not done everything he could to save her.

"The moon," he heard Rinoa murmur, and Squall looked up to where her eyes were cast, seeing the lunar world far below, then passing above them as they rotated through space on their wild trajectory.

"Looks nice," Squall commented. He turned his head to the side, seeing the distant red column of monsters flowing from the surface of the moon toward the planet, and hoped his friends were not in the middle of that maelstrom when it hit. He followed the river of monsters back toward the surface, and his eyes tracked a red spot that was steadily drifting closer and closer to their position, resolving itself into the form of some sort of crimson dragon.

The SeeD tensed for an instant, wondering if this was some monster that had gotten loose from the sheath of energy encapsulating the other monsters. Some beasts could survive for extended periods in the vacuum. Squall's gunblade was inside the bulky suit, which he'd pulled over his weapon in his haste to get outside, and he doubted he could directly cast magic from inside the suit without damaging the suit itself. But he would rather die in peace with Rinoa, rather than die at the hands of some random creature that had wandered into their path.

As the dragon got closer, though, Squall saw that it was spinning through space slowly, seeming to drift in a very slow orbit around the moon. It wasn't moving, he saw, and as it flipped over onto its rear, he spotted a quartet of black circle beneath a quartet of radically angled wings-

Engines.

It wasn't a monster, it was a spacecraft! An Estharian spacecraft!

"Rinoa, you see that?" Squall asked, and she nodded.

"May be our only way out of here," she replied. "Do you still have thrusters?"

"No, I burned all of my fuel out getting to you," Squall said, shaking his head. "What about you?"

"Let me check," she replied, looked around her helmet's heads-up display. "Umm, I think so. Wait, yeah, I do! I think I've got enough to get us to it!" Squall nodded and turned his body slightly, orienting both of them toward the spacecraft as it drifted closer to them. It seemed like it was caught in a slow, endless orbit around the moon, but that was fine as far as Squall was concerned. The closer it was, the better their chances of getting onto it. He hope that the ship still had air, or at least had a life support system. There were still some lights on inside the ship, he saw, so it might actually still be capable of flying. Who knew, maybe it even had a radio?

"Here we go!" Rinoa said, and the tow held each other tightly as Rinoa burned the tiny thrusters mounted on her suit, propelling them across the void.

They tumbled closer and closer to the spinning spacecraft, and Squall could see the minute designs of the ship as they got nearer. It was sleek, like a dragon in flight, with a bow that was shaped like a dragon's head, neck extended in flight. Two arms were clutched close to its chest, clawed fingers gripped in fists. The arms flanked what looked to be a long and powerful cannon slung beneath the ship's "chest," a weapon which looked like it could destroy a significant chunk of a major city. Beyond the ship's "shoulders" was what looked to be the ship's bridge, a slender dome of clear transparisteel perched behind the tops of the arms. From the cockpit back were swept a quartet of wings at radical angles, the wide fans of red metal covering a quartet of long, powerful black engines. The ship gleamed crimson in the minimal light of space, its chrome surfaces reflecting the starlight and the bone-white shine of the moon.

"Almost there," Squall said as they got closer. He extended a hand as the ship rotated before them, flipping "forward" bow dipping slowly. The dragon's head passed, and as the bridge rotated beneath them, Squall reached out. The bridge swept past, but the hull behind it soon rose up, and Squall's fingers brushed the metal as the ship slowly spun in space. The ship continue to rotate, but as the pair slid along the surface, Squall's hand suddenly found purchase in a crevice along the spaceship's hull.

"Is this a hatch or door or something?" Rinoa asked as she looked over the crevice, which was actually part of a rectangular shape set into the ship's hull. Squall looked over the panel and saw what looked to be another panel just beside the crevice. He reached over and touched the panel, which slid open to reveal a rotating handle. Squall turned it, and was rewarded with the panel beneath them sliding open. Directly beneath them was an airlock. Squall and Rinoa quickly pulled themselves down into the chamber, and the door slid shut behind them. An instant later, the relieving sound of air being pumped into the room as it was pressurized sounded in their ears. Mere moments after that, the lower door of the airlock opened, and they drifted down into a gray-paneled chamber beneath. As they drifted toward the floor, they both felt the tug of gravity restore itself gradually, until their feet hit the floor and stayed there.

Squall quickly reached up and doffed his helmet, feeling his ears pop slightly as the air pressure equalized in his head. He then started to take off the gloves and torso equipment, but paused to look back at Rinoa. He blinked in surprise to see her taking off her gear even more quickly than he was. Squall shrugged and removed the gloves, followed by pulling off his torso suit, and then removed the pants, pulling them down past his sheathed gunblade at his hip. Once the space equipment was off he began to turn back to Rinoa-

Something was diving at him, and he raised his hands, catching the slender, outstretched fingers reflexively and turning with the momentum, spinning around to throw the attacker off. It took him a heartbeat to realize it was Rinoa, and he tightened his grip enough so he didn't fling her across the room, but instead set her down gently.

"What was that?" he asked, a bit surprised, though after a second's though, he realized he shouldn't have been surprised in the first place.

"What do you think?" Rinoa replied, her smile wider than it had been in a while, something that filled Squall with an undeniable sense of happiness that she really was back. She held her hands out wide. "The suit was in the way before."

"A hug?" Squall said, realizing belatedly how stupid h e sounded when he had said that.

"Yes," Rinoa said, nodding. "A nice, tight one!" She pulled her slender arms around herself, as if pulling someone into a bear hug. "I need to feel it! To feel like I'm alive after I almost died out there."

Squall was about to answer, though he wasn't sure if his answer was going to be something the practical Squall would say, or something more impulsive. However, his answer was cut off by a dull rumbling from somewhere inside the ship, followed by a low roar that sounded distinctly biological, from the other side of the room's only door. He spun, drawing his gunblade quickly.

"Are your junctions intact?" he asked quietly, and Rinoa nodded.

"Yes," she replied, though she hesitated slightly. "What is it?"

"Let's find out," Squall replied, edging toward the door beyond which he'd heard the noise. It slid open silently, revealing what looked like a suiting room for space suits, though there were none in the lockers and alcoves built into the bulkheads on either side of them. Aside from this, there was only another door at the other end of the room. Squall moved to it, and it hissed open, revealing what looked to be a wide cargo area and hangar, spanned by a catwalk starting from their position and extending across to another door. A staircase by the door led down to the lower level of the hangar. There was nothing but silence as they entered. Squall moved forward, crouching low to the floor as he walked, Rinoa mimicking his steps and position. Squall kept his eyes scanning and ears open and alert, and froze when he heard a shuffling noise beneath him. He slowly turned, keeping his eyes on the floor of the catwalk as he tracked the movement of whatever was making that noise. It moved out from under the catwalk and into view below, and Squall had to stare for a second at how absolutely . . . Freakish it looked.

Four slender yet muscular legs supported the aberration, body. The body itself was long and slender, extending past the legs by about five feet, tapering into what looked like a snout of some kind. Slung beneath this body were hundreds of curving "teeth" waving in the air. Positioned just above the legs was a pair of long, muscular arms, the fingers of which were tipped in black claws. A slender neck rose up over the body, topped with a tapering snout-like head with glowing blobs inside its length. Its skin had a generally green hue to it.

Squall wasn't exactly sure what to make of the thing. He didn't know what part was precisely for what purpose on the freakish monster, but he guess that whatever this thing was it was not likely to be friendly. It didn't seem particularly intelligent, just shuffling around on the hangar deck aimlessly. There was no purpose behind its movements, which immediately ruled out intelligence. Some kind of creature that had somehow wandered onto the ship while it was floating in space, perhaps?

"Doesn't look too friendly," Rinoa commented, and Squall nodded. He didn't want to risk confronting the creature, so he ignored it, moving down the catwalk toward the door at the other end. He neared the door, but it failed to open. Confused, Squall glanced around, locating the control panel. He tapped it once, then twice, then a third time, but nothing happened. Some type of glowing Estharian script appeared over the panel.

"Hyne, I wish I could read this stuff," he growled, at which point Rinoa peeked over his shoulder.

"It says the door is locked. Some type of biohazard control system."

"You can read Estharian?" he asked, and she nodded.

"Mm-hmm. My father put me through a pretty good education. I can almost speak Estharian like a second language."

_That'll be helpful,_ Squall mused, and turned back. He peered over the railing of the catwalk as the creature below shuffled away, and spotted a door beneath this one. He nodded toward it.

"We'll try that one," he said, and moved toward the staircase, gunblade ready in his hands. Squall took the lead down the steps, Rinoa right behind him. He kept his eyes on the creature shuffling around, ready to spring the instant it would turn on them. However, the creature ignored them as their feet hit the hangar floor, and Squall moved to the right, toward the hangar doorway. Rinoa followed him, and they moved across the room slowly.

Then, for no readily apparent reason and with no indication it had heard or otherwise sensed them, the monster suddenly whirled on the pair of humans, roaring and charging across the room.

The thing was _fast._ its slow, shuffling walk seemed to belie its shocking speed as, one second, it was creeping slowly, and the next it had virtually leaped across the length of the hangar, stopping right in front of the pair of intruders and rearing back with one arm to smash it down. The arm shot down toward the pair, but Squall's gunblade flashed up into its path, slicing into the beast's skin and severing the hand with one cut. Black ichors flew from the wound, splattering on the wall behind the pair as the hand went rolling across the deck.

The monster seemed to completely ignore the damage, raising its other arm to strike. At that moment Rinoa leveled a hand at the creature and unleashed a torrent of blazing fire that sent the monster reeling backward. Squall took advantage of the momentary distraction and stepped forward and to the left, around the creature. The Revolver hacked once, and then a second time, severing them monster's legs on that side. The SeeD stepped back quickly as the creature toppled to the floor, and swept his gunblade across in a hard cleave that severed the thing's strange "head." The monster let out a wheeze of shock and pain, spasming a few times as it settled to the floor and remained still.

"You okay?" Squall asked Rinoa, and she nodded, wiping some of the creature's ichors off her face with the back of her wrist.

"Definitely not friendly," Rinoa replied. Squall nodded grimly.

"Hopefully it's the only one," he said, wiping his gunblade off. "And if there are others, they go down just like this one."

"What do we do now?" she asked him, and he gestured toward the door.

"Move on. We have to find the bridge of this ship and see if we can at least get out a radio message or something to Esthar." She nodded and turned toward the door, which miraculously unlocked as they neared it and slid open. Squall stepped through the door first-

and was greeted with what would be the second of many very angry roars and rumbling charges as another of the freakish monsters, this one with yellow-tinged skin, rushed directly towards them, down what looked to be another hangar area.

Rinoa snapped up a hand and unleashed a bolts of electrical energy that staggered the monster in mid-charge, her magic erupting with speed that surprised even Squall. Not hesitating, squall rushed toward the beast, moving on its right flank. The creature was still reeling from the thunderous blast when Squall's gunblade hacked across and sliced off one of its legs. The other leg followed suit, and the SeeD rolled away from the falling monster as it dropped to its side, and whirled, gunblade smashing down like an executioner's axe. Its sliced clean through the beast's "head," and the monster went still.

"Definitely more than one of them," Squall grumbled, and Rinoa nodded.

* * *

The spacecraft had numerous hallways, storage areas, and rooms for crew quarters, a mess hall, and an engineering room, and more areas that the pair hadn't taken the time to bother checking. It was quite well designed, they saw, with advanced Estharian technology. With one exception, Squall would have liked the ship.

That exception being that every room seemed to have another of those damned monsters roaming around. And all of them were brutally aggressive. Fortunately, the creatures were all vulnerable to the tactic Squall and Rinoa had engineered early on, which involved her staggering the monsters with powerful bolts of energy and then followed by Squall cutting out the legs and then severing the beast's head. They had finished off the seventh monster while entering what looked like an observation deck lined with numerous chairs, obviously for passengers. A transparisteel canopy was at one end of the room, looking out over the vastness of space as the ship slowly rotated among the stars.

"Nothing here," Squall said, and began to turn back, when Rinoa stopped him and pointed. He turned back to see what looked like a computer panel at the front of the room, with the lights still on. Curious, they walked toward it, and Squall waved a hand over the panel. Instantly, a holographic image of a man in a uniform similar to he olive and black outfits of the Lunar Base crewmen appeared. The man seemed injured, with blood streaming down the side of his face and a bandage wrapped around his head and over one eye. The man took a slow, deep breath.

"I never thought I'd be saying this," the mans said, shaking his head. "But this is the last log of Ragnarok's crew. Probably the last log of the ship, period. We're about to engage the escape pods and get the hell off this ship and back to Esthar, but I'm going to leave this. Doesn't really feel right to not leave it. This is my ship, after all, I need to pay my respects.

"Two days ago our ship was on a routine lunar survey, in an effort to analyze the monsters on the surface. I'm not sure how they got inside. All we know is that they just attacked, staring form the airlock. There were maybe two of them at first, but they moved forward methodically, killing everyone in their path and eating them. We think that's how they reproduce, through food. They can survive for long periods of time without food, judging by their anatomy, and were very hard to kill even with our weapons. We found the best way to dispose of them was by direct hits to the head. We also found that we have to kill them quickly; if even one survived, it could go to the others and revive them, though exactly how we don't know.

As of this message we have confirmed that there are eight of the creatures remaining. We're putting the Ragnarok on lockdown to seal them in and setting it on an eternal orbit around the moon, so these things don't get off the ship. Until they've all been killed, the bridge controls are locked. If anyone wants to recover Ragnarok, they'll have to dispose of those monsters. Sorry to say it, but we've got no other choice. It they get to a population center where they can feed on a large number of humans, well, the world won't be a happy place.

"If anyone reads this, good luck, and Godspeed." At that, the hologram flicked off.

"So, eight monsters," Rinoa said. "We've killed seven already."

"Let's find that last one and then get out o here," Squall replied, and she nodded. He stepped back out of the observation deck and began to move out into the hallway beyond. They had passed a lift earlier, but it had been inert. Maybe that one led to the bridge, and once they killed the last beast then it would activate?

Squall stopped next to the lift and looked up at it. He moved over to it and peered up the shaft, which apparently didn't go very far up. No doubt that was indeed the bridge up there. He back out of the open lift and turned back to Rinoa.

"We've searched most of the ship already, but I think we may have missed part of the hangar area. Lets go back there and check it out-"

A sudden roar sounded around them, and Squall spun, scanning the hall, but didn't see the monster, wherever it was. He reached a hand back to Rinoa, pushing her back toward the secured observation deck. He then heard a scrabbling sound inside the elevator shaft, and began to spin toward it when a clawed hand emerged from the shaft and swatted at him. He snapped his gunblade up and gashed the arm as it reached round the inside of the shaft, but the creature's claws slashed along the front of his chest, tearing through Squall's shirt and drawing blood, despite his junctions. The sheer force behind the slash sent Squall stumbling back, gritting his teeth against the pain, and the monster fell down the shaft, landing on both feet and rushing forward. Rinoa raised a hand toward the monster and discharged a bolt of magic, but the creature saw the gesture and, apparently smarter than its kin, pulled back, the bolt of lightning shooting past and smashing into one of the walls, sending electricity everywhere. The monster whirled on Rinoa and slashed across with its arm, the back of its hand impacting with Rinoa's stomach and sending her flying backward down the hall with shocking force.

Squall's gunblade dove toward the monster's legs, and it backed up just enough that the revolver only bit into one leg, not severing it. The creature then countered with another roaring rush, its arms flashing across at the SeeD. One arm was severed by Squall's lightning0fast counter, but the other smashed into his face, knocking his head back and throwing him to the floor. The monster advanced toward squall, and slammed him in the face again as he rose. The SeeD was dizzied by the impact, and a third punch that hurled him against the wall hard slumped down, shocked and confused. The wounded monster waded forward, and as Squall stubbornly rose it hammered him again, with both its intact arm and the stub of its severed hand. The SeeD was pummeled by the punches and beatings, and finally dropped to the floor, eyes darkening. He didn't hear Rinoa scream his name as the monster walked toward him teeth widening as it prepared to feed.

* * *

"_Squall!"_ Rinoa screamed as she saw the beast lower its body toward him, preparing to feed on him. She raised her hands to fire off magic, and twin bolts of white light lanced out at the monster jolting it and pushing the beast back. It turned its head toward her, more angry than injured, and began to move towards her.

Red rage flashed through Rinoa's head as she saw Squall laying there, beaten and bloodied, and she turned her attention back toward the monster. Raw fury sent her emotions bailing, and almost instantly a surge of radical power ripped through her body. She focused her power, her strength, and called up what lay within in a holy fire of retribution and wrath.

Golden light filled the corridor of the Ragnorok, and nowhere was the light brighter than at Rinoa's back, where the luminance coalesced into a pair of shining white wings, seeming to emerge feather by feather. Rinoa's feet left the floor as the wings stretched outward, casting their light across the corridor, bright as a thousand suns, causing even the monster attacking them to shy back in surprise. The light itself suddenly receded, flowing back into Rinoa, and into her hands, where it gathered and intensified, causing her to look like nothing less that a divine angel of heaven sent to mete out justice upon mankind. She gestured toward the monster as it advanced, and pure incandescent energy, absolute destruction, rippled out from her hands and poured upon the monster. The creature was simply snuffed out of existence, as if a pool's worth of water had been dropped on a campfire. The white light simply erased the monster with raw destructive force, ripping it apart right down to the molecular level.

The light faded, and as the wings became more transparent Rinoa sunk to the floor, her chest heaving in shock at her raw energy and power. She had never imagined it would be quite like this . . . Even after all she'd read about the power, this was above and beyond what she'd imagined it would be like. Not that she'd ever expected to wield that power herself.

Slowly, Rinoa rose, crossing the corridor on unsteady legs, to where Squall lay. She crouched beside the unconscious SeeD, and reached out, touching his face. White light flashed, flowing over his body, and the SeeD jerked back into consciousness, his wounds healing instantly. He looked around, hands scrabbling for his gunblade, searching for the monster, when Rinoa put a hand on his shoulder.

"Relax," she said quietly. "I got him."

"You did?" Squalls aid, looking around. He didn't see a corpse, or even blackened remnants of the monster.

"Yeah," she replied, looking back at the corridor, where only a very fine ash remained of their enemy. "I really got him good."

* * *

The lift was unlocked as they approached, with the deaths of the eight monsters infesting the Ragnarok. It rose up silently, rising into a long cockpit with a quartet of seats, doubtless for the various systems on the ship. Two seats were positioned at the front, likely pilot and copilot seats. A dome-like transparisteel canopy arched overhead, giving them a beautiful view of the endlessness of space.

"So, where's the on button?" Rinoa asked, and Squall almost smiled at the joke. Hyne, how he was glad he could have her around to hear her voice again . . . .

There was a faint beeping noise coming from the front of the ship, near the pilot's seats. They walked over to it, and as they approached they could make out the beeping as a very faint voice, almost inaudible. A holographic panel phased into existence as they approached, directly in front of the seats.

"Looks like the volume's down," Rinoa commented as she looked over the holographic panel. She reached down and touched a box, dragging it across the panel, and as she did so the volume rose.

" . . . repeat, any Lunar base Survivors, report in. Is there anyone out there? This is Esthar Ground Control, does anyone read me?"

"Where's the radio?" Squall asked. "I wish I could read all of this, its not in the western language-"

And like magic, all of the Estharian script transformed into blocky Galbadian letters. Squall frowned, only slightly annoyed by that bit of Estharian technology, and found the radio fairly quickly.

"This is . . . ." Squall paused, remembering the name from the recording. "The Ragnarok. Do you copy?" There was a long pause on the other end, followed by some shouts and confused cries.

"Ragnorok, is that you?" the speaker said.

"Affirmative," Squall replied. "We found our way onboard the ship and dealt with the infestation. We could use some help getting back home."

"Roger that! Hold on, we're tracking your position. Just . . . There! We've got you! Holding orbit around the moon. Okay, looks fairly stable. Hold on a minute, lets run the numbers . . . . Wow, its been seventeen years since we last heard from you, Ragnorok! Hold on . . . Okay, are you sitting in the pilot's seat?"

"Which one is that?"

"Front of the bridge, right side. You see it?"

"Yeah," Squall answered, and he climbed into that seat. "Now what?"

"There should be something on the upper right side, says 'fuel gauge.' What's the numbers on it?"

"It says forty-two-dash-one-three."

"Plenty of fuel to get you home, then. You'll have to drop by the airstation once we sort things out down here. it's a mess, but you should have enough fuel to last a long time until you can get that ship back. Okay, you see a holographic keyboard in front of you, yes?"

"Yeah," Squall replied.

"Okay, enter the following data: WJHEIE/…"

"Entered,' Squall said as he tapped the holographic keys.

"Then...2872/HD-IEU."

"Done."

"No errors?"

"It all looks good,' squall said.

"Okay, hit the glowing green panel next to the keyboard. That will activate the autopilot." Squall taped it, and it turned a cool blue. The ship shuddered slightly, and a dull thrumming sound began from the rear of the ship. The stars outside began to shift as the ship stopped its spin, and the moon flashed by as it rotated back to the planet. A sphere of green, blue, and white came into view moments later, beyond the moon, and the ship centered its bridge on that wonderful world and began to accelerate towards it.

"That's it," the man on the ground said. "Welcome back to the world Ragnarok. And from everyone here at Ground Control, we wish you Godspeed."

"Thanks," squall replied.

"You may also want to cut off the artificial gravity, if its working," the man commented. "Should be right next to the autopilot. It'll give the engines more power, and get you home faster."

"Right," Squall said, and found the control. He switched it off, and his butt immediately left the seat, the SeeD floating up into the air.

"By the way are you part of the Lunar Base crew?"

"Negative," Squall answered.

"Your lucky day, then," the controller replied. "President decommissioned that ship when it was lost, and Estharian salvage laws state that anyone who finds a derelict can claim it. Ragnarok's your to keep." Squall nodded, but said nothing, simply glad to be alive and on the way home.

"We'll have a ground crew standing by once you land to look over the ship, and then you can take it home, wherever home is. Nice deal, I'd say. See you on the ground. Ground Control, out." The radio went dead, leaving Squall in silence.

Squall felt Rinoa's slender arms wrap around his neck, which caused him to turn in the artificial gravity in surprise. They spun through the air for a few moments, before Squall reached down and grabbed the pilot's chair, stopping them.

"You should sit down and strap in," squall commented as he pulled himself down into the pilot's chair and did just that. Rinoa seemed to ignore him, pulling herself down on the same seat and dropping into his lap.

"This seat looks more comfortable," she commented, smiling. She wrapped one arm around his neck and set her head on his shoulder, surprising Squall. He almost would have felt uncomfortable, but instead a basic human desire swept over him, and put an arm around her waist, holding her a little closer. He had spent so long simply touching her cold hands and face, and now, to feel her warmth like this, right next to him, to smell her skin so close to his, it was . . . . Peaceful. He felt oddly comforted by this, despite its strangeness.

"Why are you holding onto me like this?" Squall asked after a second, his voice quiet.

"You don't like being held?" she replied, equally quietly.

"Just not used to it," he said with a half-hearted yet automatic shrug.

"How about when you were little?" she asked, and Squall looked up and away from her, toward the stars. He leaned his head back slightly, watching the tiny white dots float past lazily in the expanse beyond. "Didn't your parents ever hold you?"

"I never knew my parents," Squall replied honestly. "I'm an orphan, remember? But Ellone, she was there for me. Always there to hold my hand."

"She made you feel safe and secure, didn't she?" Rinoa asked, and Squall nodded.

"Yes," he replied. "Whenever I was around her, things were fine. But then she just left one day. Just disappeared. I . . . I don't want that feeling of comfort to ever go away. That's why I never got close to anyone."

"You were afraid of losing us?" Rinoa asked, and Squall nodded again. "Losing your friends is always painful. That's why you kept your distance from everyone."

"As long as I was distant, I couldn't get hurt," Squall said. "I was always alone. But I never felt that safety and comfort again, so, I guess my life was empty before. Safe, but empty."

Squall was surprised when Rinoa hugged him tightly.

"Squall, you've missed out on so much in life," she said quietly. "All the good things in life."

"Maybe," he replied, and she nodded.

"Definitely," she clarified. She was silent for a few moments, looking out at the stars along with him.

"I like it like this," she said after a few moments. "My mother would always hold me like this. I liked having her hold me. My dad, too, back when we got along."

"I'm not your mom," Squall deadpanned, and she chuckled, her shaking shoulders shaking Squall as well.

"No, of course not," she replied. "But, now, Squall, you're the one who gives me the most comfort." He blinked in surprise. "You've saved my life how many times now? I feel so safe with you. You give me so much comfort and happiness . . . And disappointment and annoyance, too."

"Whatever," Squall said, half-smiling.

"Indeed, whatever," Rinoa mimicked him.

"You should get back to your seat," Squall added as the planet got bigger and bigger before them.

"A little longer," she replied. He nodded after a moment. Several more moments passed, and in all honesty, squall didn't want her to leave him. He enjoyed this more than anything else, holding her tightly in his arms.

"When we get back, we won't be able to stay together, will we?" she asked quietly. Squall wasn't sure what she was talking about. They were both living within Garden, surely they would be able to stay together. Squall had gone so far to save her, he wasn't going to lose her again for no reason.

"The are no guarantees in the future," he replied. "But I'm not going to let you go."

"Thank you," she said, nestling her face in the crook between his neck and shoulder. It was several minutes before she spoke again, and they were already within the planet's atmosphere.

"They're going to be angry with me," she said, almost too quietly to hear.

"Who?" Squall asked, surprised. The Estharians? Why would they be angry with her? She clearly hadn't been in control during whatever had happened on the space station.

The radio suddenly popped back on.

"Ragnarok, this is Ground control," the man said. 'We're trying to get an accounting of the survivors of the Lunar Base. We've been collecting pods right now, and we need to know who is on the Ragnorok."

"Squall Leonhart, Balamb Garden Commander,' Squall answered.

"Alright," the man said. "Anyone else?"

"One person," Squall replied. He felt Rinoa tense up in his arms, and hug him a little tighter for some reason. "Rinoa Heartilly."

"Heartilly?" the man on the ground replied, and all the noise in the background stopped, replaced by silence. "Rinoa Heartilly?"

"Yes," Squall said, dread entering his heart.

"The Sorceress Rinoa?" the man demanded.

Squall froze on the spot, his mind suddenly and simply freezing at that statement. An instant later, his thoughts exploded like a fragmentation grenade, flashing back to the insanity aboard the Lunar Base and then to the flash back to when Rinoa had been speaking to Seifer, being a medium for Ultimecia from the future.

_Ultimecia possesses only Sorceresses. Hyne, why didn't I see it sooner? Oh, Rinoa . . . ._

He thought he heard her sobbing quietly in his arms, but the ground controller cut in again.

"Can she here us? Is the Sorceress listening? She will be seized upon arrival, do you understand?" Squall let out an angry growl and slapped the radio control, switching it off. Then, without even really thinking, he pulled Rinoa close, hugging her tightly, the same hug she had wanted earlier. Hyne, he wished he could have given it to under other circumstances.

"Its true," she said after a moment, keeping her head buried in his shoulder. He felt warmth on his neck, and knew she was crying as she spoke. "I'm a Sorceress now. I didn't want to tell you. I hoped everyone would never find out. But Ultimecia, she wouldn't let me . . . I can't be with you anymore, Squall."

Squall said nothing. He couldn't say _anything._ A dozen emotions he couldn't identify filled him, ranging from shock to despair all the way to anger at existence for being so damned cruel to give him back Rinoa just to rip her from him so suddenly.

"I don't want the future, Squall," she continued, and he listened, only holding her tightly as he tried to sort through this horrible new complication.

"I just want now," she said. "I want the present to stay still. I just want to be with you."

As she was speaking, Squall saw the surface of the planet rising up, and could tell where they were headed: toward the eastern edge of Centra, a desert region that Esthar controlled. As he watched, a pair of Estharian fighters could be seen closing in on their new ship, doubtless an escort to the ground.

"I'm scared, Squall," Rinoa whispered, and he said nothing again, simply holding her, the dearest thing in the world to him.

* * *

They had been waiting for them when they arrived on the surface. There was a small army of Estharian soldiers, complete with combat vehicles, and Corsair and fighter escorts standing by as the Ragnorok touched down. It had taken the pair several minutes to finally break free from their hold, Rinoa slowly pulling herself away from him. Every inch she moved from Squall was like a part of him was being stolen by a laughing, malicious reality.

_It's a point in my life where I don't know what I'm supposed to do, or what I'm supposed to think. I've just discovered how much I care for you, but now, fate decides that we can't be together?_

"Sorceress Rinoa," stated a woman who was waiting for them at the foot of the Ragnarok's ramp. Rinoa had nodded.

"You understand, do you not? For the safety of the world, we must ensure your power is sealed at the Sorceress' Memorial."

"I understand," she had said quietly, and began to walk down the Ragnarok's ramp. Squall watched her, is legs numb and unmoving.

_Before, I would have called this just another crossroad in my life. But now, I don't know what to do. I came this far, because . . . Oh, who am I to lie to myself? I've fallen for you, Rinoa. Your smile, your thoughts, your mind, your attitude. Everything. You broke that hardened shell around me without me even knowing it. You saw I was dying a slow death as the man I was and made me live again._

"Thank you for cooperating," the woman had said to Rinoa, and she nodded. "Please tell us when you are ready."

Rinoa slowly turned back to Squall, meeting his eyes.

"You know what happened, don't you?" she asked him. "Ultimecia . . . She possessed me from the future. She made Edea's powers become mine so she could use me, and everyone. I can't let myself be used like that again, Squall. For everyone's sake, I . . . We can't let that happen now, can we?"

Squall didn't say anything. How could he? The woman he had fallen for was now going to walk off, of her own free will, and allow herself to be contained, sealed away to protect the world. Did he have any right to stop that?

"I should go now," Rinoa added quickly. "I'm sorry, Squall." She turned and nodded. "I'm ready."

_And now I'm just supposed to let you go?_

The woman gestured behind her, toward a waiting Corsair, and Rinoa began to walk toward it. Squall watched her move away, his mind reeling and thoughts flashing like a thousand machineguns firing at once. Finally, he opened his mouth, saying one thing that he could coherently speak, and the one thing he wanted the most at that moment.

"Rinoa, don't go!"

She stopped and looked back, a sad smile on her face.

"I have to, Squall. You know that."

Squall couldn't reply. His shoulders slumped slightly in defeat and despair, his expression showing he didn't want her to leave at all. She quite clearly saw this, and Squall knew she wanted, more than anything, to run back to him then and there.

"I . . . Squall, I still have your ring," she said after a moment, holding up her chain, fingering the ring in question. Squall fixed on that ring, and knew she was almost wanting him to take it.

No. She would be better wherever she was going with it. He couldn't come with her, but hat least he would be with her that way.

"You keep it."

"You sure?" Rinoa asked, and he nodded, looking away.

"Yeah."

Rinoa nodded and slowly turned back toward the Estharian soldiers, who led her toward the Corsair. She stepped inside, and spared one last look back at him, a look that made Squall's eyes warm with tears. An instant later, the Corsair's doors slid shut and the vehicle lifted off, and quickly rose into the sky.

Squall followed it with his eyes, watching it swoop into the clear blue skies and over the horizon, away from him, carrying Rinoa far, far away.

It was several minutes later that Squall finally found himself sitting in one of the chairs on the observation deck, which was where he now sat, staring at the deck, his emotions still whirling in his mind. They stayed that way, part of him berating himself and the other part reassuring him, when he heard boots on the deck. Squall looked back slowly, and was surprised to see a familiar pale face and blue eyes staring at him from over his shoulder.

"Quistis?"

"Yeah," she replied, smiling. "Glad I'm home."

"How did you . . . ?"

"Long story," she replied. "Basically, we had a hard landing. Piet and I were knocked out, but Ellone was still conscious. An Estharian rescue crew had come to pick us up right after we landed, but they were wiped out within moments, apparently. It looked like it was Galbadia. Ellone was missing, so they likely took her with them. A second crew had arrived as we were recovering, and they told us where you two were going to land. They brought me here, and they said that they were bringing Zell, Irvine, and Selphie too to see you two."

"Us two," Squall said darkly, shaking his head.

"Speaking of which, where is Rinoa? I thought you wouldn't have let her out of your sight after what you pulled out there."

"Long story," Squall echoed. Anything he would have said was cut off as a loud clanging sounded, and Zell burst into the room, followed by Selphie and Irvine.

"S'up people?" Zell called. "Wow! Glad to be back, huh, Squall? Hate to ruin the homecoming, but we've got some big problems."

"Galbadian problems," Selphie added, and Irvine nodded.

"Some big huge thing called the Lunatic Pandora came out of nowhere," Zell said. "The Galbadians that were kicked out of the country are running it, apparently. Seifer's in charge, but that's no surprise. Anyway, they flew over Esthar and caused a big huge ruckus before moving to some place called Tear's Point. Now this is where it gets weird, because when this Pandora thing got there is caused a Lunar Cry to occur. The monsters are all over Esthar. Some of 'em are in the capital, and its going crazy over there, but I think they can handle a few bugs."

"What's more important," Irvine cut in. "Is that Esthar's air defense grid picked up an object falling with the Lunar Cry. Turns out its this thing called Adel's Tomb. The Lunar Cry knocked it down and it went right into the Lunatic Pandora. They caught it somehow, and now the Tomb is in their control. They said it contains Sorceress Adel, and the Galbadians are probably trying to revive her."

"So, that means that the Galbadians are going to try to use Adel for whatever it is Ultimecia's planning," Selphie finished.

"So, we have to go and-" Zell began, but Squall raised a hand.

"That's enough for now."

"But-"

"I know," Squall interjected. "I know we have problems. But I can't think right now."

"What is it?" Quistis asked.

"Its Rinoa," Squall replied. He looked back down to the deck for a moment, before taking a deep breath "Matron lost most of her powers, and they went to Rinoa. She's a Sorceress now."

"No fucking way!" Zell exclaimed in total shock, and his words were mimicked in the expressions of Irvine, Selphie, and Quistis. Squall nodded and stood.

"An escort from Esthar picked her up and took her to someplace called the Sorceress' Memorial, where she's going to be sealed away so her power can't threaten the world."

We have to go get her!" Selphie shouted, and turned and ran out of the room before anyone could respond. Irvine followed a second later.

"Was she taken by force?" Quistis asked, and Squall shook his head.

"She went voluntarily," he replied. "She was afraid because of what she was. She was afraid of being feared and hated, of no one wanting to be near her. She didn't want that, so she opted to seal herself away. I couldn't stop her; it wasn't my place to make her stop."

"Squall, I know we're buddies," Zell said, his face locked in anger. "But that was possibly the most _fucking dumbassed_ thing you could have done!"

"Squall, you walked across an ocean," Quistis said, nodding. "You walked into an unknown, possibly hostile country, you went into space, hell, you leaped out into space with no air supply and almost no hope of survival for either of you even if you did get to her!" She walked over to him, her face expressing genuine anger.

"And for what? To let her be handed over to Esthar? To be sealed away so that you might never see her again, ever? No! You did it so you could be with her, right?" She shook her head.

"You're a damn fool, you know that?" Zell added, crossing his arms. "I thought you would have gotten smarter than that by now."

Squall watched them both, their words sinking in, and striking a deep part of his soul. Yes, Rinoa had made the decision for herself, and he had agreed, because he didn't have any right to stop her. But was that what he wanted? Was that what _she_ wanted?

No way in hell.

Squall roared in sudden fury and smashed a hand down on one of the armrests for his chair, and the metal dented inward with the impact. With one motion, he threw all the doubts and confusions away. At that moment, Squall Leonhart's purpose was changed completely and irrevocably.

"Squall?" Zell asked, and he turned toward them.

"We have to find out how this thing flies," he said.

"Heading for Esthar?" Quistis asked, and he nodded.

"Pandora whatever and Sorceress Adel are out of my hands," Squall growled. "The only thing I think of now is Rinoa. The only thing I want to do for sure right now is to find her. We're getting her back!"

"Hell yeah!" Zell shouted, pumping his fists. No sooner had he done this than the entire ship shuddered. An instant later, the ground outside the observation deck started to descend, as if they were lifting off.

"Why," Quistis commented, "do I get this sudden image of Selphie sitting in the cockpit of this ship shouting 'Whoo-hoo!'?"

"And Irvine standing right behind her grinning like a lunatic?" Zell added.

Mere moments later the trio were upstairs, riding the lift up to the cockpit. They were greeted by a hearty "Whoo-hoo!" from Selphie, seated in the pilot's chair, and Irvine turned back toward the, grinning like a lunatic.

"Selphie is amazing!" he declared. "She figured out how to fly this thing instantly!"

"Great interface," Selphie explained as she gripped a pair of flight control sticks. "Practically flies itself!"

"Is there a map?" Squall asked, and Irvine tapped a hologram over one of the side seats' consoles, displaying a world map. Squall tapped it and focused on Esthar, and soon spotted what he was looking for. He tapped the label and the image appeared before Selphie.

"Can you fly us to this place?" he asked.

"Sorceress' Memorial?" Selphie replied. "Sure thing!"

The Ragnarok jetted forward, cutting through the air over the skies of Esthar for the first time in seventeen years, on a new quest: to reunite two terribly misguided souls in finding their paths together.

* * *

The Sorceress' Memorial was a somber structure on the southern side of the primary Estharian continent, far from any cities or population centers, excepting one very close-by military base. The Ragnarok swooped in, cruising easily toward the structure without so much as a challenge by any of the aircraft flying overhead. Not that there were many. All the fighters and transports they could see were en route to the main metropolis, doubtless to fight the waves of monsters that had recently dropped to the planet's surface.

The building itself looked like a single tall tower constructed from a triad of curving support structures that started on the ground and curved up as they met, almost like a very tall, extremely narrow pyramid. Selphie had mused out loud that it almost looked like some type of takeoff mechanism.

The Ragnarok settled down easily outside the main structure, seeming to land itself. Selphie appeared to have totally mastered the aircraft's flight capabilities within minutes after the initial takeoff, citing its simple interface and very intuitive nature. The quintet of SeeDs disembarked from the ship outside a staircase leading up into the bunker-like entrance to the somber Sorceress' Memorial. As they moved up, a squad of Estharian soldiers moved into their path.

"Play it cool," Squall hissed as they approached. "We might be able to sneak past them with sympathy."

"And if they don't have compassionate hearts?" Irvine asked.

"We beat their asses," Zell answered.

"Halt," came a call from the lead soldier, marked by a rank insignia on his shoulder. "This is a restricted area." He paused as he saw Squall's face, and glanced back behind him, before nodding.

"You're her to see her, right?" Squall nodded. "I was there at the landing zone. I understand you'd like to see her off. You may pass, but _do not_ go past the observation area."

"Thanks," Squall said, and he started past the soldiers. The others followed him, but the commanding soldier held up his hand.

"Hold it," he commanded. "Only he can go in. The rest of you stay out here." Squall nodded to his comrades, who stood down and waited as he turned back and walked up the steps to the interior of the Sorceress' Memorial. Two soldiers accompanied him as his escorts as he entered and moved down a long hallway. They gestured toward a door as they neared what looked like the control room, and Squall nodded, stepping toward it.

Without warning he whirled and planted a hook to one armored soldier's face, sending him flying backward. He spun around into a low sweep that took the second man off his feet before he could react, and rose up into a high axe kick that slammed his heel down onto the soldier's stomach. The man, prone on his back, doubled up, and Squall put a boot into his helmet, blasting the soldier into unconsciousness.

The other soldier had begun to rise, still dazed by the powerful blow, and didn't have a chance to defend himself from the cross and hook that Squall pummeled him with, sending the soldier to the floor, out of the fight before it had begun.

Squall then spun toward the door leading into the control room and dashed for it. He quickly reached I t, and found it unlocked. He slapped a control panel, and the door slid open, revealing a large chamber filled with thousands of pipes, tubes, wires, and unidentifiable machinery, surrounding a large vertical ring. Squall rushed inside, to find he was on a balcony with several technicians, overlooking the chamber. In the center of the ring stood Rinoa, who looked up in shock as Squall burst out onto the balcony. The technicians spun, exclaiming in surprise, and then in terror as he drew his gunblade.

"Let her go, now!" Squall shouted, and one of the techs shook his head.

"The process has already started!" he yelled. "We can't stop it now! The coolant is already being piped in, there's only seconds before she's frozen!" Squall growled in anger and rushed past the technicians, leaping off the balcony and landing on the floor below. He rushed through the mix of pipes and tubes, toward Rinoa, who was watching him with surprise and hope as he advanced. As he got closer, he saw that the walls around her were already hardening, sealing her in before she would be frozen shut.

Squall burst free of the maze of obstacles and jumped over an intervening pipe, landing in front of the machine. He reared back and slashed against the barrier sealing her in with all his strength, but the gunblade bounced off like it had hit solid metal.

"Dammit!" he shouted. "Hold on, Rinoa! I'll get you out of there!" He smashed the things twice more, but it didn't show a dent or even a scratch. He punched the barrier in rage and then stepped back, preparing to raise a hand to launch a bolt of magic, when his eyes spotted a pipe leading directly into the base of the ring, marked with bright red and yellow script. That had to be the pipe the techs said was pumping coolant.

The SeeD raised his gunblade over his head and slashed down with all his inhuman strength, pulling the trigger of his gunblade as the blade met the pipe. There was a flash, and explosion, and a sudden wave of frigid air as the coolant erupted from within the pipe. Squall stepped back, shielding his eyes, and then closed them as a bright flash of magic could be seen behind the curtain of white frost. Something shattered, and he opened his eyes.

He saw movement beyond the whiteness, and then a figure burst through, hands outstretched. He reached up with one arm as he saw her break free, leaping out at him. Her hands closed around his body, and his arm wrapped around hers. She pulled him in tight, and he did the same, burying his face into the side of her neck, inhaling her scent, feeling her warmth as they met again.

Squall Leonhart almost cried as he pulled her in, tightly hugging Rinoa to his body. He almost cried because he had almost lost her so many times, and this time, he had almost given her up right when he had gotten her back.

He had been such a fool.

Squall held her tightly, holding back the tears, and promised himself at that moment, swearing upon everything in this world and the next, that he would be _damned_ if he ever let her go again.

* * *

Oh, man. That was, quite simply, amazing. Holy crap. 

Well, that bits done. Yay! One of the greatest scenes in the game, completed and ready for the viewing pleasure! Hope you enjoyed it, cause I sure as hell loved writing it. And remember: never, ever get between Squall and Rinoa. You just get injured.

No other real commentary here, actually. So, without further ado, shout-outs!

Jade Almasy: One gripe I had with FFVIII was that Squall doesn't curse enough, especially when in desperate situations. I dunno, maybe that's just part of me I put into him, but I feel that when he goes into situations like when Rinoa is in danger, he should start cursing.

DBZ Fanfiction Queen: Don't worry, my Spanish is bad too. No habla espanol bien. XD

One thing that did confuse me was how Ellone sent Squall back. I then realized that, hey, those are all people Squall and Ellone know, right? Why not send Squall back into them so Ellone can see Rinoa's personality? And it worked fine.

Heh, I used to like DBZ. I still do, sort of. The over-the-top battles are awesome, though a bit mind-boggling.

Sorry I didn't include the monsters regenerating. I wanted to get through the Propogator battle fairly quickly. Ever notice how I used to relish battles, but ever since the big Garden battle I tend to rush through them? Weird.

Chris Ganale: Well, I was going to reserve matte black for Galbadian elite troops, so I went with orange. XD And no, that was not a jab against Wedge, because Wedge rules all.

Daniel Wesley Rydell: yes! Go squall! Kick ass into the wild blue yonder! XD

Dragoon Swordsman: Yeah, Blasting Zone is a bit, umm, big. I am planning on using it later on, though. Maybe not quite as hugely massive, but definitely a big huge energy blade. That was a bit of a jaw-dropper when I first saw it. ("Is that from SPACE?")

"Reviewer with crazy-ass name I could never properly spell for the life of me:" XD Pathetic imitation? How so? I admit I did follow the battle very closely, but that was intentional as it was a cutscene, and I tended to view the cutscenes back then as perfect gospel. I'm a bit more liberal now about them, but still follow them closely.

References are a bit of a trademark for me by now. The Gunblade Saga is a tribute, so to speak, toward FFVIII, and in that respect it has its tiny tributes to other great things, such as Halo, Metal Gear, Hellsing, The Matrix, Linkin Park, etc. Be happy I didn't throw in giant mecha and genetically engineered warriors that looked like Elites. XD Besides, some of the weapons and technologies from Halo made perfect sense to be adapted to Esthar, after all. AIs, energy shields, and needlers, for example, seemed to fit Esthar's advanced, quirky technology. I could have come up with my own ideas, but I included Halo things mainly because they fit Esthar and as an ever-present tribute.

Kimahrigirl: Hope you enjoyed this chapter too!

Solid Shark: I loved writing that "Mr. Foot meets Mr. Spine" comment. XD

Lidardios: Heh. Let me rewrite those earlier chapters with my new mad 1557 skills and maybe they would be interested. I doubt it, myself.

I've got some ideas about Bahamut, but I'm uncertain. I might yet involve him, if I can think of a way beyond going to the Deep Sea Research Center.

Kiyenna: Wow, people are still writing about it? I'm shocked. Five year-old game, what loser writes for that kind of thing? And heaven forbid some idiot with no life writes a novelization.

NolianStorms: First off, yes. You can print this. Just in case you didn't get that email I wrote to you about it. Feel free to make as many printed copies as you wish. I'm not like some assholes who are all artfaggy about their works and restrict people from messing with their oh-so-perfect writings. So, go ahead. I have no problem.

Now, again, saying that you have friends who never played FFVIII yet love it despite that fact, and can grasp everything in the FFVIII world, is one of the greatest compliments I could get as a writer. _That_ is half of my objective with writing this in the first place.

Heh. 8-Bit fan? Just like me. I actually quoted that comic in response to a question about random encounters. I really try to cut out unnecessary battles. They were heavy at the beginning but as time passed, I moved past them and toward pure storyline.

Akira Stridder: Ragnarok rules. Enough said. Esthar's crisis will be less prominent in the coming chapters. I'm probably not going to show too much of the devastation (this chapter has already pointed out that the problem isn't too bad, at least as it was in the game)

Elachim: Yeah, sometimes, when I type real fast, I forget that I'm using too many of the same synonym. XD As for your questions:

"1: What is the appropriate abbreviation for Lieutenant Major?"

There is no such rank as "Lieutenant Major" There is a "Lieutenant Commander" (Navy, commissioned officer, rank O-4, abbreviated "LtCom.") and "Sergeant Major" (Marine Corps, enlisted non-commissioned officer, E-9, I think, abbreviated "SgtMaj.") but no Lieutenant Major. Are you making this rank up, or are you thinking of a specific rank?

"2: What is is a less clumsy rank for a wing leader?"

Wing leader? If its Navy, it would be a Captain. They usually command an air wing, I think. Air Force and Marine Corps would be Colonel.

"3: Should female officers be referred to as 'sir'?"

Female officers are referred to as "Ma'am." My Marine ROTC Captain was a woman, and military protocol asks for her to be called "Ma'am".

Prodigy: Hearing such things from you makes me tingly. Hey, maybe you could send me some of your ideas, I could help you out with what you're thinking, or at least give you some pointers or suggestions.

Shootski: Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Anime Obsessed Fan: When I portray Rinoa's Sorceress limit, she simply loses it and goes all "BRAAA ZAPPY-BURN-DEATH-KILLY-KILL!"

Avion Jade: I exported the previous chapter and fixed it before reloading. That's why the error is gone. I love exporting, brilliant addition to the site.

That's it? Yay. Now, to go do my coursework, like I've been supposed to be doing. XD

Till next chapter!


	53. A Strange Twist of Fate

_Chapter 45: A Strange Twist of Fate_

"Squall, you can't!" Rinoa whispered as he held her close to his body.

"I had to," Squall replied, his voice muffled by her shoulder pressing against his mouth. "It took me too long to realize what I should have done. It took me too long to realize what I needed. What we both needed."

"But you know what I am . . . ."

"I don't care," he replied firmly. "I just want to be with you, and I'm not letting you go, ever again." He pulled back for a second, and looked into her eyes. "Let's go."

She nodded, and then pulled him tightly to her once more, and he squeezed back. He quickly broke out of the hug, however, knowing that they didn't have the luxury of time at the moment. Doubtlessly the Estharians were already on their way to try to stop them from escaping. Without another word, the two of them turned and ran, following a path leading out of the forest of machinery and toward the observation balcony. The technicians were still there, one of them shouting something into a speaker. Squall shut the man up by planting the Revolver into the device, sending the tech scrambling back in shock and fear.

"There's no way you're going to escape," another commented as the pair headed for the door. "The entire army's mobilizing!"

"For all the good it'll do them," Rinoa replied as she and Squall ran outside, into the hallway leading toward the entrance. They rushed outside the double doors, and Squall stopped, pushing Rinoa back as a battered Estharian soldier hit the stairs before them. Beyond that man were about ten more of the insectile-armored soldiers, all laid out unconscious on the stairs, with the quartet of SeeDs standing triumphant over them.

"Great timing!" Zell shouted, spotting Squall. "Got the drop on these guys when they turned and started heading back in. Figured-"

"Rinoa!" Squealed Selphie, and she bounded up the steps, glomphing their returned friend. "He did it! He did it! Yes!"

"See?" Irvine added, smiling. "I knew you had in you, Squall." Quistis, however, didn't say anything, just honestly smiled as their comrade was returned to them.

"I'd hate to ruin the reunion," Squall suddenly cut in, and nodded beyond them, toward the Ragnarok, which was quickly becoming surrounded by thick ranks of Estharian soldiers. Corsair transports began to drift overhead as well, training their guns on the entrance of the Memorial. Estharian soldiers, many of them in the blue and green of cyborg warriors, began to advance up the steps moments later.

"Ready for round two?" Zell said as the SeeDs quickly formed up into a defensive line. "Only about a hundred of them."

"Seems like there's a bit much, wouldn't you say?" Quistis commented as the soldiers moved up the steps, shotaxes raised and plasma rifles leveled.

"Quistis, if you cant handle your share, I'll take them," Irvine cut in.

The Estharians were getting closer, now only about twenty feet away. Squall took a step forward, raising his gunblade, obviously intent on cutting through the Estharians if they continued to stand in their path.

Then, without any warning, the Estharians stopped, standing straight and lowering their weapons. Squall watched, puzzled, as they quickly split down the middle, the soldiers turning and backing up to open a path between their ranks. Striding up between the lines of troops was a single tall man in an Estharian robe, bearing a similar cut and coloration to Foreign Affairs Advisor Spark. This man, however, was huge, likely built similarly to a truck. A thick blonde beard obscured his face, but something about the man was very familiar.

The Estharian official moved to the front of the lines of troops and made a waving gesture with his hand. He then gestured behind him as he stepped out of the way, toward the path the soldiers had made. As he moved, the group of SeeDs could see the Estharians surrounding the Ragnarok moving away from the ship, giving them a clear route to the aircraft.

"What?" Irvine asked. "They letting us go?"

"Yeah," Selphie replied, looking at the mysterious Estharian official curiously. "We can go?" she asked him, and the man nodded.

"Well, it would be rude not to take the invitation," Rinoa added, and Squall nodded. He stepped forward, moving between the lines of Estharian soldiers, Rinoa right behind him. The others followed them as they moved out. Squall kept his eyes open and hands ready to react if the Estharians made the slightest move to attack them. Moving between thick ranks of the soldiers put them in the perfect position for a surprise attack.

The insectile warriors, however, stood at attention as they moved between them, and within moments the six teenagers were back at the Ragnarok, under the watchful eyes of hundreds of Estharians. There was utter silence as they boarded the airship and Selphie activated its hovering systems. Squall stood at the bridge, looking down at the distant, hulking official who had allowed them to leave, and ran his features through his head.

He knew that man from _somewhere._ But where was another question entirely.

He was cut off from his thoughts by giggling behind him, and turned to see Rinoa standing there, covering her mouth with one hand, suppressing her laughter.

"What is it?" Quistis asked, and Rinoa raised a hand from cheeks that were turning pink.

"I'm embarrassed," she admitted.

"That Squall would come flying out of the sky riding a dragon to charge in with gunblade raised to rescue you from peril?" Irvine asked.

"Yeah, she is!" Selphie added. "Because that's what every girl wants her boyfriend to do for her!"

_Boyfriend?_ Squall thought. He'd never thought he would have that label stuck to him. He turned away from the conversation, and considered what was next. Now that he'd saved Rinoa, they had other problems to deal with, among them this Pandora thing. No way he was going to let Seifer get away with whatever they were planning with Sorceress Adel.

"Squall, you got quiet all of a sudden," Zell cut in. "What's up?"

"As an expert Squall observer," Quistis added, garnering an annoyed look from the SeeD in question, "he's thinking about what we're going to do next, right?" Squall nodded after a moment.

"We can't leave Adel or Pandora alone," he said. "We'll have to deal with them and Galbadia's rebels sooner or later."

"Seifer's in charge over there, remember?" Zell added, and Squall nodded again.

"He's Ultimecia's puppet in all of this," Squall explained. "She was the one who told him to raise the Pandora and take it to Esthar to recover Adel."

"Yeah, that Ultimecia bitch!" Zell added, punching a fist in a palm. "We can't let that Sorceress from the future screw around with out world! We gotta kick her ass! We're SeeDs, we kill Sorceresses-"

"Zell!" Quistis said, cutting the brawler off in the middle of his rant. Zell blinked, and then his eyes widened and he covered his mouth, turning toward Rinoa.

"Sorry," he said, but she shook her head.

"Its alright," Rinoa replied. "Where are we heading now?" she added a bit quietly.

"Away from Esthar," Selphie said with a shrug. "Why? Somewhere in particular you want to go?"

"You guys were talking about that orphanage, right?" Rinoa asked, and Squall nodded.

"Edea's orphanage," he confirmed. "There's few places more remote. Selphie, you can find it, can't you?"

"Simple enough," Selphie commented, turning the Ragnarok slightly. "We'll be there soon!"

"Why would you want to go there?" Quistis asked. "Its in shambles."

"I just want to stay away from people right now," Rinoa said quietly. "If Ultimecia possesses me again . . . ."

"I understand," Squall said, putting a hand on her shoulder. In response, she reached over and pulled him into a hug. He hesitated only a second before responding by putting his own arms around hers and pulling her close.

* * *

The Ragnarok was set down outside the crumbling walls of Edea's old orphanage, and the SeeDs and Rinoa disembarked together, moving in toward the structure. Squall and Rinoa trailed behind slightly as the others moved ahead. As the group moved into the decaying orphanage's grounds, stepping over the overgrown cobblestones, Irvine slowed as well, dropping back to the trailing pair.

"This is real good, you know," Irvine commented, and Squall looked at him, confused.

"You can't see them," Irvine commented, "But Rinoa bruised me good back outside the prison. Those Guardian Forces hurt. But its all worth it to see you two together now."

"Sorry about that, Irvine," Rinoa apologized, but he shook his head and waved a hand, shooing the apology away.

"Don't worry about it," he replied, grinning. "I'll leave you two alone now." Irvine then sped up, walking ahead and moving near Selphie as they moved through the marble ruins. Squall and Rinoa followed them, but she paused a moment later, looking out over one ruined wall and toward a wide, expansive flower field beyond.

"Wow," she said, stepping toward it, and Squall followed her out onto a small stone patio that was located at the very entrance to the flower field itself. He peered out over the meadow, which was one of the last bastions of beauty and life in this part of Centra. The field itself had been massive when Squall was a child, but now it stretched out as far as the eye could see, a lush, verdant overgrowth of green carpet, upon which were thousands of hues and shades of hundreds of colors. It was as if a cosmic horticulturalist had snatched up every flower in the world and dropped them here.

Of course, that was not the case, but it was close enough. Squall knew that Edea had sown many varied flowers and plants into this field, and used a combination of her own knowledge and a dose of magic to allow it to grow free and unchecked.

The sun was shining, but through a light cloud cover, causing shafts of light to slant down and fall upon the field, highlighting segments of it in the afternoon daylight. Coupled with the distant call of the ocean, and with Rinoa standing beside him, Squall found himself looking and standing within one of the most beautiful places in the world.

"This place is beautiful," Quistis echoed his thoughts, joining them for a moment outside. He nodded.

"I'd forgotten all about it," he added.

"You've changed so much," she added. "All thanks to Rinoa, too."

"I knew I'd eventually get through your thick head," Rinoa said, and smiled at Squall.

"Good thing this didn't happen before the exam," Quistis continued. "You never would have made SeeD if you had her on your mind." She paused, and looked back, before turning to the pair once more.

"I'll leave you two alone now," she added, and stepped away, back toward the ruins behind them. Squall and Rinoa were once again left in silence for a few moments, during which she reached up and fiddled with the pair of rings on her necklace.

"What's going to happen to me?" she asked after a moment.

"Don't worry about it," he assured her. "There were many good Sorceresses in history. Look at Edea."

"But . . . ." Rinoa sighed, looking out across the field. "I'm still a Sorceress, good or evil. And besides, Ultimecia doesn't care. If she possesses me again . . . You saw what I did to those men in space, and how I released Adel. What if she possesses me again like she did with Edea? What if I end up fighting everyone, just like she did?"

Squall listened to her, but inwardly was shaking his head. Rinoa was important to him. More important than anything, even his own _life._ It had taken him so long to realize that, but now that he understood how much he cared for her, he would stand by her, regardless.

Even if she became the world's enemy, Squall vowed, he would stand by her. He would be her knight.

"If I fall under her control again," Rinoa was saying quietly. "SeeD will come after me. They'll come to kill me. And the leader of SeeD is you, Squall." Her words caught his gaze, and he looked to her, seeing her hold a hand over her chest.

"Squall's blade will pierce my heart," she said, in almost a whisper. "I guess it wouldn't be that bad, if its you, Squall. If it ever comes down to that, will you-"

"That's enough!" he said suddenly, turning and grabbing her shoulders. He met her eyes, and looked into them, solid, dauntless determination burning in his blue orbs. "I will never turn on you, Rinoa. You are _not_ my enemy. My enemy is Ultimecia."

"Ultimecia lives in the future," Rinoa said, shaking her head. Squall could see she was virtually in tears. "She uses me or any other Sorceress as her extension into the past. We can't attack her directly, you know that! How can you fight her?"

"I _will_ find a way," Squall said firmly. "There has to be a way. Maybe Ellone . . . ." Rinoa didn't immediately answer, instead looking down at the marble patio beneath her.

"Trust me," Squall said, squeezing her shoulders. She looked back up after a moment, and nodded.

"I trust you, Squall," she said, managing a smile that wavered a second later. "But, until you do, maybe it would be better if I stayed in Esthar, in the Sorceress' Memorial. At least there, I wouldn't be-"

"No," Squall said, shaking his head. "I'd just come after you again, and we both know that. Rinoa . . . Just . . . Just stay close to me." She blinked at those words, and suddenly smiled.

"Oh, those words," she said.

"What?"

"They were what started it all," she explained. "Remember?"

"No, not really," Squall replied. "What did I say?"

"'Stay close to me.'!" she replied, shaking her head. "Remember, in Deling? The assassination mission? You said them to me?"

"No, doesn't ring a bell," Squall replied. Rinoa put her hands on her hips, obviously exasperated, but then Squall smiled slightly.

"Okay, I do remember them," he said. "The GFs don't steal my memories that easily." He paused, and nodded to her. "Feeling better now?"

"Yeah," she replied, nodding as well. She looked back out over the field, and went silent, her eyes distant.

"What is it?" he asked her, and she looked back to him.

"Can I tell you a story?" she asked, and he nodded. "I had this dream while we were sailing around in Garden, before we fought Galbadia. Well, more like a nightmare." She took a breath, before continuing.

"We had made a promise," she explained. "We promised to meet and look at shooting stars together. Yeah, I know, silly, right?" Squall shrugged, and she resumed. "I get dressed up, and I even put on your ring, though I have no idea how I got it. It's a dream though, so it doesn't matter. So, I go out, but I can't find you. I look around, but you're nowhere to be found. I start to panic. I mean, I really wanted to see you, and only you, but I can't find you. I go everywhere. I run through the forests, the mountains, the desert, Timber, Galbadia, Dollet, Garden. I keep running until I can't run any further, and then I stop and start screaming for you. And that's when I woke up, crying."

Squall said nothing, just watching her and listening to her tell the story, and finally she shook her head.

"Silly, I know," she repeated. "I just wanted to tell you about it."

"Its just a dream," he explained. "It doesn't mean anything. Don't worry about it." She nodded after a second. He hesitated, then reached out and took her hand in his gloved fingers.

"How about this," he said. "We make a promise. I'll be here." She looked at him, confused for a moment.

"Why?" she asked, uncertain.

"The reason why we couldn't find each other was because we hadn't promised where we were going to meet," he explained. "So, I'll be waiting here."

"You promise?" she asked, and he nodded.

"I'll be waiting here," he said. "If you come _here_ you'll find me. I promise."

"Okay then," she said, smiling. "I'll be here too."

They were interrupted by a sudden tapping of metal on stone, and turned to see Zell standing behind them, knuckles rapping on a low stone wall.

"Hey, sorry to cut in," he commented. "We got a radio transmission from Esthar. Specifically, the government. They're wanting to hire SeeD to take out Ultimecia."

"Might be a trap," Squall replied. "To get Rinoa back." He didn't precisely believe it himself. Logically, it made sense as a trap, but Squall's gut told him otherwise.

"They're arranging a meeting on neutral ground," Zell explained. "They want to talk with us in Garden. And they're also trying to get in touch with Dollet and the new Galbadian government too."

"Why?" Rinoa asked, and Zell shrugged.

"I dunno," he said. "But whatever it is, its gotta be big. Oh, and by the way, Squall," Zell added, turning to him. "The guy who contacted us. I think we know him."

"Who is he?"

"Says his name's Kiros."

* * *

Balamb Garden was still docked at Fisherman's Horizon as Selphie had brought the Ragnarok in. Alongside the tall white structure of Balamb Garden was the blood red cobra shape of Galbadia Garden, still undergoing repairs. Selphie couldn't find a good place to set down the airship, excepting a wide open stretch beyond Mayor Dobe's house, in the center of the solar power plant. Reluctantly, she set the ship down, hoping the mayor wouldn't mind. The group disembarked, Zell stretching.

"Been a while," he commented. "Never thought I'd be happy to be back here!"

"The Headmaster is waiting for us," Squall added. "Let's not waste any time."

Squall led the way up through the solar power plant and along the struts connecting the city to Balamb Garden, and reentered the home he had left a few days ago. It felt like months since he'd walked through the corridors of Balamb Garden, hearing the waters rushing beneath the bridges and seeing the verdant plant life surrounding him. The group made their way past numerous SeeDs who were quite happy to see them home, and a number who were surprised and joyful that Rinoa was back with them. Several cadets and SeeDs thanked her personally for saving their lives in the battle against the Galbadians, something that actually embarrassed her.

Shortly after the minor reunion celebration, the six comrades were riding up to lift leading to the third floor, and soon entered Headmaster Cid's impromptu office down the hall from his original one. They entered to see the Headmaster seated behind his desk, and across from him, a trio of men who were both familiar yet very different, two in Estharian robes, and one in a casual pink button up shirt.

Squall recognized the pair of figures standing on either side of the central man. One was lithe and slender, even within his robes, and his face was youthful despite his age. The other was hulking and massive, with a thick yellow beard.

_Kiros and Ward. And if that's them, then he must be . . . ._

_What the hell is up with Esthar?_

"Hey there!" he said, grinning and waving. His hair was a lot longer, pulled into a rough ponytail behind him that ran down to the middle of his back, and his youthful features were a bit aged and wrinkled, but his green eyes still shone with vigor and energy.

"Elle told me you were the guys running around in my head," the man Squall had known as, and lived as, Laguna Loire said.

"I'd been wanting to meet you guys ever since Ellone got back in Esthar. Told me all about her friends from the orphanage while we were out in space," Laguna continued. "She also told me you guys kept ending up in our heads whenever we were in trouble. Always felt kind of weird, like there were waves of energy running through my head and body. Gave us all kinds of power in combat. Guess that's what its like to have junctions, huh? We always thought they were some kind of faeries or spirits or something. You know, we always were wondering-"

Ward tapped the rambling Laguna on the shoulder.

"Yeah, babbling," Kiros added, and Laguna chuckled.

"Sorry, I get carried away," Laguna replied. "Even as the President of Esthar. So, yeah. That's me. President Laguna Loire of Esthar. Pleased to meet you guys. If Esthar wasn't in so much trouble right now, I'd have a nice chat, but as it is, we've got an army of Galbadians, hordes of monsters trying to get inside the city, and a Sorceress dictator about to wake up from a sleep I personally put her into. Not a good day, huh?" Laguna scratched the back of his head, and then shrugged. "But hey, you guys are here, and I'm here. Why not have a quick talk before we settle down to business? I know you guys have a lot of questions."

"This is . . . Kind of surreal, you know?" Selphie commented as the SeeDs and the leaders of Esthar pulled up chairs and sat down. Squall nodded, still shocked that, of all people, Laguna Loire would be the leader of Esthar. How had a silly Galbadian soldier ended up the leader of the most powerful nation in the world?

Laguna was regarding Squall with unusual attention as he sat down.

"Hey, man," the President said with a grin, "You look way too serious. Lighten up a little, would ya?" Squall shrugged.

"Whatever," he replied.

"So, how did you become President of Esthar?" Quistis asked, and Laguna chuckled, almost sounding embarrassed.

"I'm sure I don't need to go too deep into the details," he said. "You guys saw the highlights from inside my head anyway, right? To be brief, when Ellone was about two or so, there was this big hunt by Esthar, looking for little girls. They wanted one who matched a certain genetic structure, and could support the powers of a Sorceress. I think Adel was wanting to find a successor. Rumor had it she was working on mind control technology or something, stuff that would transfer her consciousness over as well as her powers.

"The Estharians came to Esthar, and Ellone's parents resisted their efforts to take their daughter, so the Esthar troops killed them. I'm not sure how, but Ellone was able to get away from them while they were searching for her. After the Estharians left Galbadia sent troops to protect Winhill, and Raine started taking care of Ellone. That was when I arrived, all bloodied from our adventure in Centra. Raine took care of me, and that was how I got to know them both. Raine and I got real close. Really close." Laguna smiled, and fiddled with something on one of his fingers. It looked like a wedding ring.

"Eighteen years ago Esthar came back," he continued. "And this time they got Ellone, despite my best efforts. So, I got Kiros and Ward together, and said goodbye to Raine, and set out to save Ellone.' He paused and looked at Squall again. "Raine was pregnant at the time. I promised her I'd be back in time to see the baby get born. We kept in touch as I went all over the globe, trying to find my way in. Luck had it when I was on a movie shoot and got inside Esthar shortly afterward. We got grabbed by the military, made into slave laborers for a while, and escaped. Linked up with the resistance, and saved Ellone. I sent her back to Winhill."

Laguna paused again, once more looking to Squall, before glancing away. _Why does he keep doing that?_

"Raine died a little after Ellone got back," Laguna continued, slowly. He shook his head, looking at the floor. "Complications during the birth, they said. Ellone ended up being picked up by a concerned woman who was running an orphanage far away from there. That was Edea Kramer."

"Why didn't you go back?" Squall asked, and Laguna shook his head.

"I tried to, believe me!" he replied. "But I couldn't find Ellone for the life of me. I didn't find out until after I went looking for her again that she was at the orphanage, and by the time I had gotten there she had already been moved out."

"Edea was aware of Ellone's powers," Cid cut in. "We had a ship made in order to keep her safe. After Laguna rescued her, Doctor Odine was seeking her out to run experiments on her based on her ability to manipulate time. We kept her safe aboard that ship, though it pretty quickly became another orphanage. The SeeDs from Garden would eventually start coming from our first orphanage, and would be the Black SeeDs, which is what you all are. The White SeeDs would come from that ship."

"Ellone was on that ship for about ten years," Laguna continued. "After that she left and started wandering around, with the White SeeDs keeping her safe. She eventually found her way into Balamb Garden, and from there back onto the ship. It was attacked by Galbadia, who was hunting for her, I'm sure you know. We extracted her and took her back to Esthar. She followed me out into space when I went up to check on Adel this month. And, well, that's about where we pick up, huh?"

"And now Ellone's in the Lunatic Pandora," Zell muttered. "We got to get her out of there, but we'll need an army to get in there!"

"We've got some ideas," Laguna answered with a nod. "Well. Anything else?"

"Yeah," Squall replied, nodding. "The President of Esthar?" Laguna burst out laughing, shaking his head.

"Trust me, it's a long story, all of it," Kiros cut in, and Ward nodded.

"Basically," Laguna explained, "we rescued Ellone, but couldn't just leave Esthar. No way we'd get out as it was, and Adel was running around with Doctor Odine doing Hyne-knows-what. It didn't help that both of them wanted Ellone for their own reasons. So, we stuck around to take her down.

"The resistance had a lot of plans, but none of them were particularly feasible. Lots of scientists and scholars who knew a lot about a lot. When Kiros, Ward, and myself looked over them, we saw two important objectives. The first was the Lunatic Pandora and the Crystal Pillar. Adel was close, very close, to getting that thing to the point where it could call down a Lunar Cry. We couldn't leave that thing alone. The second was Adel herself. So, we set out organizing everything, and managed to convince Doc Odine to help us out, even though he kept commenting that all his research would be 'kaput'. He explained that he had developed a device capable of sealing magic. That became the centerpiece of our plan.

"We went back to the Pandora's laboratory, and with a little work from Odine, we set the thing's autopilot to set it to move out into the ocean and take a belly flop. And . . . goodbye. Just like that, the Crystal Pillar was out of our hair. But then came the hard part.

"It wasn't easy to miss something like the Pandora flying out into the ocean and taking a dip, so we knew Adel would be coming after us. So, we factored that in and led her straight to the sealing facility, which is where the Sorceress' Memorial stands now. She arrived, all by herself, because she didn't think she needed her army to win this. We immediately moved to surrender, explaining that we knew she was the righteous ruler of Esthar, blah blah. We then told her that Ellone was being held hostage inside. She went right inside, right up to the sealing device, where we were projecting a hologram of Ellone.

"She knew what it was the second she saw it, but by then, it was too late. I knocked her close enough to be grabbed by gravity beams, which snatched her up, pulled her into the sealing device, and it was over. We knew we couldn't keep Adel around as a trophy, though."

"She wouldn't fit over the bar in the Presidential Palace," Kiros added, and Ward chuckled.

"So, we knew we had to send her away. Someplace far away. The Lunar Base was at the Lagrange Point over Esthar, and with Adel gone power immediately shifted onto the resistance, almost bloodlessly. Only Adel's loyalists refused to join up with us, but that's another story. We took Esthar's flagship, the Ragnarok, and two of her sister ships, known as the Razor and the Ravage, and took her up into space. Incidentally, we lost Ragnarok shortly afterward, but it looks like you guys recovered it."

"Much to the benefit of Garden," Cid added with a smile.

"After Adel was dealt with, we still had a lot to do to restore order. The resistance had already laid out plans once Adel was knocked out, so they took charge pretty fast. I was helping them handle things and getting Ellone sent back home, and when I wasn't looking, the people made me out into some big hero of the revolution. Next thing I know, I'm President. Odine starts making a lot of noise about researching Ellone, so I manage to get her out of the country and back home, but I opted to stay just long enough to fix things up.

"And seventeen years later I'm still fixing things up," Laguna added with a sigh. "I really should have gone back to see Raine before she died. I have a lot of regrets . . . ." He shook his head.

"You guys don't really need to hear that, right now," he added. "Anything else?"

"What's the plan to take down Lunatic Pandora?" Squall asked, and Laguna nodded.

"Simple enough, but we need to wait for word from some others I'm hoping to bring in on this. They should have arrived by now, or at least sent representatives . . . ."

"The Generals are en route," Cid confirmed with a nod. "In fact . . . ." The Headmaster hit a button on his desk. "Xu, have our guests arrived in Fisherman's Horizon yet?"

"_A Galbadian cruiser and a Dollet battleship have docked with Fisherman's Horizon,"_ answered Xu's voice. _"I already have SeeD escorts leading them in."_

"Good, have them come to the briefing room to meet with us and President Loire."

* * *

Squall sat beside Rinoa, noticeably close to her as the others took their seats in the briefing room. Laguna Sat down at the t able, not quite across from Squall, and towards the head of the table so he could address everybody. Zell, Quistis, Kiros, Ward, and Cid took separate seats, and Irvine and Selphie seemed to take seats remarkably close to one another, apparently without thinking about it. Even as they were settling in, and before Squall could ask any questions about the mission, three more figures stepped into the room.

One was the familiar midget-like form of Doctor Odine, his strange frilly neckpiece still flopping in the air as he waddled across the room, looking left and right with his beady little eyes. He opted not to sit. Right behind them were two men in military uniforms, with significant ornamentation on their left breasts.

"Dad?" Rinoa said in surprise as General Hibrom Caraway, current leader of Galbadia, entered. He looked at her and smiled, obviously glad to see his daughter again.

"Yes, Rinoa," He replied, walking across the briefing room and taking a chair beside her. "President Loire sent out a communiqué to the heads of the other two strongest nations, getting us together in order to prevent another Sorceress War from beginning." Rinoa nodded, glancing back to Squall. Beneath the table, he grasped her hand slightly. No, they weren't going to tell him . . . _yet._

"Look who got made a general!" exclaimed Irvine as they were speaking, and an equally familiar figure, his olive uniform outfitted with the shiny new stars of a freshly minted general, strode across the room.

"Someone up top likes me," commented Randolph, taking a seat next to Cid. "They apparently decided to give me a whole new division after what we did in Centra. The Duke and the Parliament wanted to assist President Loire in his plan to cut off another war, so they gave the job to me and the 125th once again."

"Glad to be fighting alongside you guys again!" Zell added, and Randolph nodded.

"Now that everyone's here, let's get this briefing underway," Laguna announced. "Doctor Odine?"

"It iz my turn?" he asked, and Laguna nodded.

"Make it short and quick, we don't have much time to waste."

"I vill talk however I vant!" Odine exploded, before turning to the assembled SeeDs and leaders. "Sorceress Edea has told me everything. Ze enemy zat ve are dealing with iz from ze future. She iz a Sorceress named Ultimecia."

"The future?" Randolph asked, blinking. "How?"

"Zat is vat I am getting at! She zends her consciousnezz back in time to ze past, into other Sorceresses. Iz thiz zounding familiar?"

"Sounds like Ellone," Quistis replied, and Squall nodded.

"Ellone sends our consciousnesses back in time into Laguna, Kiros, and Ward seventeen years ago," he said. "I'm surprised we didn't make the connection sooner."

"Indeed," Odine replied, nodding. "My first guess waz zat someone from ze future had a power similar to Ellone's, but zat iz not ze case. Ven I first had Ellone in my lab I scanned her brainwaves wiz my instrumentz. From zat data I have been able to conztruct a machine that mimickz Ellone's powerz."

"You can do what Ellone can do?" Irvine asked, and Odine shook his head.

"No, not quite. Zees device iz juzt a toy now, but apparently in ze future it is an impressive verking machine! I am quite proud of ze accomplishment, knowing zat my dezign iz uzed in ze future!"

"You mean to say that your research is the reason _all_ of this has happened?" Squall growled. Odine shrugged.

"You could zay zat, yez."

"Don't blame the doctor," Laguna replied quickly. "Its not really his fault . . . Yet."

"Ve continue!" Odine said. "Ze only vay to ztop Ultimecia iz to kill her, obviouzly. She can only be killed in ze future, because she sends her consciounezz back in time here to pozzez Sorceresses. But Edea haz told me ze vay! Ultimecia planz to compress time. We vill uze zat to travel to ze future and kill her."

"Time compression?" Caraway asked. "Perhaps you should be talking to us like we don't know what the hell you're talking about."

"Vine, vine," Odine replied. "Ze Sorceress vants to initiate temporal compression wiz powerful time-bazed magic. All time iz compressed into tree basic ztatez: pazt, prezent, and future. Zen ze time iz compressed to one place, and zen to one perzon. Zis results in all time and existence coming together into zis one perzon. Ze result iz zat ze one perzon can rewrite history, or maybe change ze vorld az zey zee fit."

"You mean that they become a new Hyne," Randolph asked, and Odine nodded.

"Ultimecia comez back to zees time to zeek Ellone," Odine continued. "Apparently she cannot go any further back wiz ze machine az it iz, but uzing Ellone, she can go further back. Ve only needs to zend her mind back a little further in time to initiate ze temporal compression."

"Which means we can't leave Ellone in the enemy's hands," Zell said, pounding his fist on the table.

"Ve have two optionz," Odien explained. "Ze first iz to rezcue Ellone and take her avay from ze Pandora, and try to keep her out of Ultimecia's reach. Ze ozer . . . Iz to uze Ellone's power to allow Ultimecia to initiate time compression, and then uze zat to travel to ze future to defeat her zere."

"Ultimecia will continue to wreak havoc on our time until she gets what she wants," Laguna said, shaking his head. "She'll do _whatever_ it takes to initiate time compression. We're lucky she tried to do it in this time frame so we know what we're up against."

"And if she tried it later on?" Randolph asked. Laguna shook his head.

"If she tried later on, after further improving that time traveling machine, she likely would achieve it without needing Ellone," Laguna explained. "We wait around and try to keep Ellone away from her, she might just pull it off."

Laguna stood.

"So, the only option we've got here is to kill Ultimecia," Laguna explained. "Odine basically explained to me that with time magic like what Ultimecia wants to use, if we kill her, everything sorts itself back out, even if she has compressed time. And if we wait around for her machine to get improved to where she can use it to go past this time frame, we're screwed anyway. Better we stop her now."

"We'll need to get inside the Lunatic Pandora first of all," Randolph said, and Laguna nodded.

"The Galbadian separatists loyal to the old government are holed up in there," he explained. "I don't have enough troops to spare to break through them. All my forces are tied up trying to keep the monsters out of Esthar."

"Same here," Caraway answered. "My men are restoring order in my country. I can't pull them away from this, or at least, not very many of them. However, we do have a significant number of jet fighters that we can spare. The loyalists got about two thirds of our air fleet, but the remainder are intact and we have plenty of pilots."

"I can augment that with what part of my air force survived the battle," Laguna replied, nodding. "I've got plenty of Corsair transports, and I can deploy about a third of my air fleet as well."

"That's fine and all, but you'll need men," Randolph added. "I'm sure SeeD will be quite willing to spearhead this assault, correct?" Squall and Cid nodded at the same time.

"It is our duty to deal with threats presented by Sorceresses," Cid answered. "We'll lead the assault."

"What, with less than five hundred men left after Centra?" replied Randolph. "And half of them are busy elsewhere, helping to restore order in Galbadia and repair Galbadia Garden." The Dollet general grinned. "Didn't I tell you I have a division under my command? Twenty thousand Dollet soldiers. Granted, I doubt we can fit that many on the transports that President Loire can spare."

"Maybe close to a thousand, or two," Laguna answered. "How many loyalists will we be dealing with?" he asked Caraway.

"Most of the rank and file are loyal to Galbadia, not to any Sorceress," replied the Galbadian general. "The majority of the troops on the Pandora are likely officers. Good fighters, but hard pressed to fight as rank and file. Many are pilots or navy officers, too. A few thousand troops, plus a couple hundred SeeDs, should be all it takes to break through. They can't all defend the Lunatic Pandora, after all, not with how big it is."

"Alright, gentlemen," Laguna said. "We have Galbadian air power assisting us, and Dollet and SeeD troops, as well as my air force and its transport capabilities. How soon can your men be ready?"

"I have aircraft already warmed up and able to get to Esthar in a few hours," Caraway replied.

"The 125th is still under my command," Randolph added. "They can be ready to march in minutes. My men can be inside the Pandora in less than a day if you need it."

"SeeD is always ready, as well," Squall answered. "We can go immediately."

"Lets get everything ready, gentlemen," Laguna finished. The two generals and the Seeds stood, and as they began to move out of the briefing room, Laguna spoke again.

"Squall, could you and your people stay here for a moment?" he asked. "We have a special job for you guys." The SeeDs paused, and then sat back down as the two generals left.

"Let me guess," Selphie asked. "We need someone to actually kill Ultimecia, right?"

"Right," Laguna explained. He glanced to Rinoa. "And I don't want to tell the generals about Rinoa's . . . condition."

"Why not?" she asked, a little apprehensive.

"Because the plan revolves around you," Laguna explained. "When the main assault occurs, you guys need to head straight for Adel and kill her. Immediately. Rescuing Ellone is secondary to taking Adel out. Once you kill Adel, she will pass on her powers to you, and I suspect that Ultimecia will try to grab Rinoa. After you save Ellone, have Ellone enter your mind and send you back to another Sorceress. Edea or Adel, it doesn't matter. Once she gets back there, she can initiate time compression."

"And we can go ahead into time and kill that bitch," Zell said, and Laguna nodded.

"Once Ultimecia begins time compression, Ellone should send Rinoa back to our time. Then, when time begins to bend and collapse, you guys can slide forward through time to Ultimecia's world, where you can beat her ass."

"Sounds complicated," Selphie said, and Laguna shrugged.

"Best we've got," he replied. "From what Odine explained, you keep your mind focused, and as everything breaks down, your mind will allow you to move ahead through time. You can basically go to whatever time you want when its all compressed. Or something. You'll eventually end up in Ultimecia's world."

"And after that," Squall said, "Its all up to us."

"Five SeeDs and a Sorceress traveling to the future to kick the crap out of a psychotic Sorceress bent on annihilating everything," Zell muttered.

"Another day at the job," Irvine replied.

* * *

And that's it for that chapter. Whee! Get a lot of the talky planning stuff out of the way, because next chapter will be WAR! Another HUGE battle is waiting around the corner, with the return of the 125th and Randolph, as well as more SeeDs, battles with Fujin and Raijin, Mobile Type 8, and Seifer and Adel! Its gonna be crazy, and I'm itching to get to it!

Y'know, I think that, for once, there were no references at all in this chapter. Wow, I must be losing it.

Anyway, shouts-outses!

Chloe: thanks! Like I've said, I really think I'm developing more and more toward the serious side of things, as opposed to the pure violence side.

Chris Ganale: Yeah, I think they have music in that scene. I'm not sure which music, maybe the one from Squall's speech, "The Oath"? At least, at the beginning. The scene where Squall saves Rinoa has no music.

GANTZ! Yes! I love GANTZ, and I haven't even seen it. XD I've only seen one guy RP Kei and Kaze, and I'm already in love.

Rinny Leonhart: Hey, that's part of my objective, to fill in holes and make the story that much better. Glad you enjoyed it.

DBZ Fanfiction Queen: I'm not a big fan of Qualls because, in all honesty, little moments like where Quistis says that she's given up on trying to get to Squall pretty much rule them out. Heh.

Kolostramin Indincranin: Jeez, that's a crazy name. XD I have an idea for Bahamut now. Just stand by and wait for it….

Daniel Wesley Rydell: Indeed. Squall is better than all j00 n00bs.

Red Eyed, Divine Dragoon: Oh, those are good ideas, but I've got one better I'm cooking up. Bahamut will kick ass in Ultimecia's tower, I promise.

Kimahrigirl: I've got ideas, I just need to knock out Gunblade so I can write my own fanfiction based on FFVIII. I do have a semi-creative idea: check out Bittersweet Synthesis, if you haven't. Have you? I'm not sure. Its my other fanfic.

Dragoon Swordsman: Yeah, Squall is pretty much Rinoa's knight now, more or less.

Solid Shark: It does seem weird, doesn't it?

Lizardios: Thanks for telling me.

…what? Expecting more? Leave me a longer review next time, so I can at least comment. XD

JadeAlmasy: Oh, no, Laguna has another gift to give to Squall. Wait till you see it.

Shootski: The entire team will be going head-to-head against Ultimecia, yes. Not that they'll all survive to the next stages of the battle….

Kaiser-kun: Really. I always felt that the space arc was fairly well integrated, at least in my opinion. I really felt I didn't do so well describing the Lunar Cry, though….

Avion Jade: That conversation was one of the parts of the game I liked writing the most. I actually have been referencing the script for the last few chapters, mainly because I don't have the time to actually play the game right now.

Wolf: Oh, yeah, I tend to write so fast I forget to include capitals. I really need to get Word on this computer . . . .

Imaginaryfriend101: Nah. I do have a better idea, myself. Makes more sense, and not weak at all. And Diablos . . . Disappeared by the wayside. One of many things I have yet to include. I'm likely going to go back through once I'm done and edit and rewrite more stuff into the first chapters to enhance the story.

Ma-chan1: I was actually a bit nervous when I was writing that bit, hoping I got it done properly. I later read back over it and was quite satisfied.

Carbuncle should have appeared somewhere (my original idea was that Xu was going to give him to Squall) but I haven't been able to include him up to this point.

I might do FFIX if I ever get a Playstation. But Sony is the devil, so no, likely not.

That everybody? Good. Now go out and write, for the great justice!

Till next chapter.


	54. Flight of the Ragnarok

_Chapter 46: Flight of the Ragnarok_

"You ready for this?" Squall asked Rinoa as she sat on the edge of one of the upper balconies. She nodded after a moment as she looked over Fisherman's Horizon. Squall dropped a hand onto her shoulder, and she reached up, grasping it.

"Something wrong?" he asked, and she shook her head. Squall didn't relent. "Come on, there's something. You getting inside my head is starting to rub off on me now. What's wrong?"

"I'm just thinking," she said quietly. "I am a Sorceress. What about our children? What will they have to go through? One day Ultimecia is going to rise, after all. Will they have to face her? Or will their children have to?"

"Children?" Squall commented. "Thinking a bit far into the future, aren't you?"

"Maybe," Rinoa replied, looking back at him and smiling. "I certainly hope we live to see some."

"We will," he replied, firmly. "But right now, we have to deal with more immediate problems, like Adel and the Pandora."

"I'm ready to fight," she said, turning and standing up. "I may not have complete control, but I can do some damage."

"That what you did on the Ragnarok?" Squall asked as they walked back into the corridors of Garden. She nodded.

"It was just this sudden surge of power, like your Limits," she explained. "I saw you in trouble, so I simply willed the monster to be destroyed. And it was, without me even controlling the power. It was . . . Kind of scary."

"Can you do it again if you need to?" Squall asked, and she nodded.

"I don't really know what it is I'm wielding," she said, "but I don't have to know what it is to destroy with it. I'd like to avoid using it if I can, though, at least until someone like Edea shows me how to properly put it to use."

"Have you spoken with her about it yet?" Squall asked, and Rinoa shook her head.

"I really should, before we head out," she replied.

"Go on then, find her," Squall urged, nodding to Rinoa. "Talk with her for a while, understand what its like to be what you are. We may need you when we fight Adel and Ultimecia."

Rinoa nodded after a moment, and the turned to Squall and gave his a sudden strong hug. He blinked in surprise, and before he could return it she broke away, smiling.

"I'll do that," she said.

"I still need to meet with Selphie about the Ragnarok," Squall added. "Since we'll be using that as the insertion vehicle, I need to make sure she knows how to handle everything."

"She said the interface was very easy," Rinoa replied, and Squall nodded.

"Still, its Selphie," he said, and Rinoa nodded, understanding that with Selphie, things were never particularly safe.

* * *

"Is it safe?" Irvine asked, looking over the weapons diagnostic hovering in the air before his face.

"Well, if you hit that red button the Mayor won't be too happy," Selphie replied from the pilot's seat.

"It is his house," Squall interjected as he entered the bridge of the Ragnarok. "He wouldn't appreciate that big of a cannon destroying his home, after all."

"Ah, fearless, leader," Irvine said, grinning. "Glad to see you've stopped catching up on untold ages of lost romance to meet with the grunts."

"Whatever," Squall replied. "How are the guns?"

"Working just fine," Selphie said, swiveling her chair around. Squall blinked. He didn't know the chairs could swivel. "Two 120mm auto cannons positioned on the shoulders of the ship, both working fine. One heavy beam cannon, fully charged. It'll blast right through five meters of solid armor. It'll work just fine on the Pandora's hull."

"Any other weapons?" Squall asked, and she shrugged.

"There are missile launchers," Irvine cut in, "But no ammunition, for some reason, and no time to load up. I doubt Esthar can spare any at the moment, and their airstation is rather busy with the monster crisis. Ol' Dobe doesn't stock in missiles, either, I'm guessing."

"So, just cannons and a large energy weapon," Squall said, and Selphie nodded.

"We can manipulate the arms on this thing, though its really just a fancy landing device and manipulation mechanism for space operations," she explained. "I think it could be useful once we penetrate the Pandora."

"Selphie thinks Zell would work as a copilot," Irvine added, and Squall nodded.

"Get him up here and show him how everything works," Squall said, and Irvine nodded lazily.

"Will do, after Laguna's quick pep talk," Irvine added. Squall raised an eyebrow.

"Pep talk?" he asked, and the sharpshooter nodded.

"Apparently Laguna wants to have a quick talk with us before we head on out," Selphie said, swiveling her chair back around to face the control panel. "A final briefing before the assault."

"Oh, yeah, and he said he wanted to see you after it was all done," Irvine added. Squall blinked again.

"Me?"

"Yeah, you," Irvine said. "Unless there's another Squall Leonhart running around with a gunblade, commanding SeeD."

"Y'know," Selphie commented, leaning back in her chair and restring her head back, looking at Squall upside down. "I don't get it."

"Get what?" Squall asked.

"I never really imagined you two would get together," she said, grinning. "You and Rinoa were complete opposites. I didn't think her straightforward approach would work. I'm glad I was wrong."

"Me too," Squall said with a nod.

"And what about you, Selphie?" Irvine asked her. She looked to him, to see him leaning back as well.

"Me?" she asked. "I just really like to be surrounded by lots of friends, actually. So, you could say I'm happy as I am."

"Hm, I see," Irvine replied, grinning. He glanced back at Squall, about to say something, when he discovered that the SeeD commander had already left.

* * *

"Rinoa," Edea Kramer said, smiling warmly as Rinoa entered Cid's office. The Headmaster was sitting behind his desk, and had obviously been talking with his wife when she walked in. Rinoa hesitated, and Cid stood up, mirroring Edea's expression.

"I'm sorry, was I interrupting anything?" she asked, and Cid shook his head.

"Oh, no, not at all. Please, have a seat," he said, gesturing to one of the chairs. Rinoa sat down, still a bit hesitantly.

"I am glad to finally meet you, Rinoa," Edea said.

"Me too," Rinoa replied. "Squall and the others, they talked about you so fondly when they remembered you."

"And you were the only thing Squall thought of when the battle was over," Edea replied. "You honestly should have seen him and how much he cared for you and how your illness pained him. I tried to help you, but I never imagined what had happened."

"Yeah, came as a shock to me, too," Rinoa replied, nodding. "That was kind of the reason why I wanted to talk to you."

"You are a Sorceress now," Edea replied, reaching out and putting a hand on Rinoa's shoulder. "Much like I am. None of us take on our powers willingly, for we all understand what it means to become one of our kind. Ultimecia forced much of my power onto you in order to use you. I wish it had not been so." Rinoa nodded after a moment.

"Rinoa, perhaps I can tell you about my past," Edea continued. "I first became a Sorceress, with my original powers, when I was a child. I had no choice in the matter; the Sorceress in question was dying, and when a Sorceress dies, she must pass on her powers before her body can lie at rest. Then, thirteen years ago, I received the powers of another Sorceress. She was already dead, and was seeking her successor, and had found her way to our orphanage. I would not allow the Sorceress to pass those powers to any of my children, so I took them myself. But, it turned out that was the beginning of my troubles."

"What do you mean?" Rinoa asked, and Edea shook her head.

"I am afraid to say," Edea replied. "I fear what consequences might result. It is now, though, that I understand. My bitter part in this story is over. I only wish your part did not begin where mine left off."

"I was . . . Hoping you could help me understand it all," Rinoa said, and Edea nodded.

"The powers of the Sorceress are difficult to comprehend. It takes time to become used to the powers, and to understand how to manipulate them," Edea said. "You already know how to use magic, so that may help you. A Sorceress does not use magic like an ordinary person, but instead calls it up from within themselves. Being a Sorceress means you have access to the latent energies of existence itself. The more power you wield, the easier that control becomes. But until you learn that control, all you will be able to do is cast spells more quickly andpowerfully than normal."

"How long will it take me to learn?" Rinoa asked, and Edea smiled.

"Rinoa, I have had the powers for all my life, and I still haven't learned to fully master them. It takes time, and unfortunately, the powers are different for every Sorceress. But you will learn, Rinoa, I promise you."

"Thank you," Rinoa said, and Edea smiled.

"But the most important thing you must have asa Sorceress is neither control nor compassion," Edea continued. "You require a knight."

"A knight?" Rinoa asked. "I thought those were only in fairy tales and legends."

"Legends are based off fact, Rinoa," Edea answered. "A Sorceress requires a knight to help her maintain control. A knight protects her, not from harm, but from herself. A knight loves his Sorceress, and cares for her, and serves to help her through the hardest of times with love and compassion. A knight is essential to helping a Sorceress remain sane. They are warriors, but more than that, they are lovers and friends." Cid, who had been silent during the conversation, spoke.

"Edea has a knight," he said, smiling. "Though I'm certainly not a fighter. All good Sorceresses have had knights, and few of the evil ones had a true knight alongside them.Adel never had a knight, and we doubt Ultimecia has one, either."

"I see," Rinoa said, smiling. "I think I already have one myself."

"That is good, Rinoa," Edea replied. "Squall will serve you well." She paused for a second, thinking and then smiled.

"I have something for you," she said suddenly. "I have kept it for a long time, but never needed it myself. Perhaps you can use it."

"What is it?" Rinoa asked, but paused and watched as Edea closed her eyes and held out a hand. Blue light gathered in her palm and coalesced into a blue-gray stone in her hand.

"A Guardian Force?" Rinoa asked as Edea held the stone out to her. Rinoa took it, and felt the throbbing of power from the entity within.

"He has been a protector and companion to me for a long time," Edea replied. "And I would be happy to give him to you in these troubling times."

Rinoa nodded, and focused on the stone's power, pulling the Guardian force into herself. The power within the rock flowed into her hand, melting into Rinoa's body, and took form in her mind.

"Thank you, Edea," Rinoa replied, and stepped forward, hugging the older Sorceress.

* * *

"Yo, Squall," Zell called as the SeeD commander entered the Ragnarok's hangar bay, threading his way among dozens of SeeDs assembling and arming themselves. The brawler, along with Quistis, was sitting at a card table someone had set up in the middle of the hangar, a pile of rocks, obviously magical stones, set before them.

"Some cadets from Trabia delivered these earlier today," Quistis commented, picking up one of the stones and tossing it to Squall. He caught it and glanced at it.

"Never seen this kind before," he replied.

"Not normally used by SeeD in combat because they're so rare," Zell explained. "Considering what we're about to do, these may come in handy."

"What kind of spells are they?" Squall asked.

"Special classification," Quistis replied. "Called 'forbidden' magic. The extremely powerful kind of magic. You're holding one that refines into powerful fire magic."

"Trabians call it 'flare' magic," Zell added. "And this," he continued, tossing another spell stone to Squall, "is even stronger. Trabians called it 'ultima' magic."

Squall nodded, and focused on the spell stones, drawing the magic into him. The energy flowed into his body, and his eyes widened as he felt the raw strength of the magical energy.

"Yeah, no kidding," he said. "How many do we have?"

"Few dozen of each. Also got some stones for a spell they call 'meteor'," Zell said.

"Refine and junction as many as we can," Squall ordered. "Give a few of each to Selphie and Rinoa as well. I get the feeling we could all use these against Adel or Ultimecia."

* * *

Nearly a hundred SeeDs had assembled in the Ragnarok's hangar bay, preparing themselves for the battle ahead. Laguna had called in an armada of Corsair transports to carry the rest, and many more transports were carrying the assembled and replenished ranks of the Dollet 125th.

"We had a tidal wave of volunteers," Randolph had explained. "After Centra, word got around, and we refilled the ranks of our unit within days with transfers from other units."

As the Ragnarok and the armada of transports lifted off, they found themselves escorted by hundreds of Galbadian fighters, proudly displaying the Galbadian national standard on their wings, but with hullspainted blood red as opposed to the standard blue of regular Galbadian aircraft, to distinguish them from the enemy air force. The assembled air fleet, close to a thousand aircraft, left the skies over Fisherman's Horizon and departed for Esthar. As they launched, Selphie set the Ragnarok on autopilot and the six who would be traveling forward in time assembled in the passenger compartment to meet with Laguna for the final brief.

"So, here we are," Laguna said, looking over the six comrades who had fought so hard together. "Y'know, always wanted to ride this thing. Anyway. From here on we're heading for our final target, Ultimecia. You guys know the plan, right?" The six nodded.

"Bingo!" Laguna said, smiling. "Take out the command center, rescue Ellone, and whack Adel. When she dies, Rinoa will absorb her powers. You willing to do that?"

"Yes," Rinoa replied firmly.

"That's the spirit! Once Adel bites the big one, Ultimecia will try to possess Rinoa, because Rinoa is so close to Ellone. Ellone will send Ultimecia and Rinoa back in time, to either Adel or Edea. That's when time compression will begin. Ellone brings back Rinoa. Then, time will get all herky-jerky. I'm not sure what's going to happen here, but remember what Odine told me to tell you guys: the only way to hold on to yourselves when time compresses is to believe. You have to believe in everyone else, you have to believe in yourself. You can't do this alone, so you have to do it together! Think about what place reminds you of your friends. What place is the most important thing to you guys, that brings you all together?"

"The orphanage!" Selphie exclaimed. "That's where we all grew up, right?"

"And its where we'll be," Rinoa said to Squall, and he nodded.

"So, that's it! That orphanage!" Laguna continued. "Think of that place. I'm not sure, but I'm pretty certain you guys will end up there if you focus on it and your friends only. Remember, you guys need love and friendship to make it through this. Only what binds you guys together can help you survive this transit, got it? I'm counting on you guys to do it!"

"Sounds easy enough," Quistis said, and the others nodded.

"So, how long until we get to Esthar?' Laguna asked, and Selphie shrugged.

"We shouldn't be too much longer. I doubt the Galbadian rebels will hang around once we get close. They'll throw everything they've got at us."

"Then we better be ready," Laguna replied.

"Lets head up to the cockpit!" Selphie said, and turned and bounded out of the room.

"She seems rather . . . Excited, don't you think?" Zell asked, and Irvine grinned.

"When it comes time to blow stuff up, she's _always_ excited." The two left the room.

"I'll need to check on the other SeeDs," Quistis added. "They should know we'll be there soon." Squall nodded, and she left, leaving Squall with Rinoa and Laguna.

"You really up to it?" Laguna asked Rinoa, and she nodded firmly. "Hey, I know its going to be tough letting yourself get grabbed by Ultimecia again-'

"I can handle it," Rinoa said. "It won't be for long, anyway."

"That's the spirit!" Laguna said again. He glanced to Squall for a moment, and then back to Rinoa. Apparently, she picked up on the look.

"I'll head up to the cockpit," she said to Squall, who nodded.

"I'll be up there in a moment," he replied, and she nodded before turning and exiting the room, leaving the two men alone.

"So, yeah, you wanted to see me?" Squall asked Laguna. The President nodded, staring out into the passing clouds for a moment. He turned around after a second, and Squall could tell gears were turning in his mind, like he was trying to say something. His hand was resting on a long metal case on the seat beside him, unnoticed during the briefing.

"Kind of hard saying this, really," Laguna began. "Heck, you were in my head when I tried talking with Julia so long ago. You know how hard it is. Even as the President things like this are hard for me."

"What?" Squall asked, confused.

"Been waiting seventeen years," he said quietly. "Ellone, she, ah, told me about you. Talked about you a lot. Whenever she was in Garden she'd tell me about you. That's kind of how I know."

"You're not making any sense," Squall replied, shaking his head. "You never do."

"I don't, do I?" Laguna replied, chuckling. "Yeah, I fumble around these things all the time. Anyway, cutting to the chase." Laguna picked up the case and tossed it to Squall. The SeeD deftly caught it, and glanced down at it, before looking back up to Laguna quizzically. The President nodded for Squall to open it., which he did, setting the case down and lifting the top. He stared down at the contents, eyes wide as his face was bathed in a soft blue white light.

"Lionheart," Laguna explained as Squall drew the blade from the inside of the case. It was light, almost weightless, and perfectly balanced. The handle and revolver aspect were a gleaming chrome finish, almost mirror-like in their reflective properties, showing Squall his own scar as he looked down at it. The blade itself glimmered with an internal light, a transparent blue white shard of energy crystallized in solid form, three feet long, with an edge sharpened to an almost monomolecular edge.

In short, it was the gunblade, perfected.

"Why?" Squall asked as he looked back to Laguna.

"I don't know," Laguna replied. "I'd like to think of it as an apology."

"For what?" Squall asked, to which Laguna shook his head.

"Its hard to explain," he replied, walking past Squall toward the door. "But its easy enough to figure out when you think about it. Why you were in my head all the time, and no one else, for example. Raine's child, my son, he survived the complications at birth, and he went with Ellone to the orphanage." Laguna paused near the door and looked back at Squall.

"Ellone raised that child like her little brother," he finished. "I'm not asking for forgiveness. I just had to say it, and offer you that weapon as my apology."

"You," Squall said, after a second, understanding. He glanced down to Lionheart, and then back to Laguna "You were . . . ."

But Laguna had already left.

Squall sat down beside the weapon case, lost in thought.

* * *

An hour later, Squall stood on the bridge of the Ragnarok as it sailed over the plains of Esthar. Below, on the ground, he could see thousands of moving forms crossing the land, many attacking and killing one another. The monsters that had been called down by the Lunar Cry were confined within the Estharian plains, making things a bit tight for the creatures, and it was understandable that they would begin conflicting with one another in tight quarters. This might make Esthar's job easier over the long run when it came to exterminating the monster infestations in the city.

Ahead of them, however, were much more immediate concerns, consisting of lunatic Pandora and what was likely a thick fighter screen of Galbadian rebels.

"Estharian aircraft are inbound," Quistis reported, sitting at one of the consoles.

"How many ships were they able to assemble?" Squall asked, standing in the middle of the bridge, Rinoa behind him.

"About four hundred," Quistis replied. "General Caraway estimates that the Galbadian rebels had stolen close to a thousand fighters, and judging by Estharian air defense data, they took out about half that force during the initial air battle."

"So, combined with the Galbadian air force we're flying with, that totals up to about eight hundred fighters on our side," Squall said. "And about six hundred Corsair transports."

"We've got them outnumbered, though its going to be messy before we get in there," Irvine commented from the weapons station.

"So, let's just blast straight through!" Zell growled, and Squall nodded. He watched as several hundred distant specks closed in with the air fleet they were flying with, rapidly taking the form of the slender, almost fragile-seeming Estharian fighter planes.

"_Airship Ragnarok,"_ squawked the radio. _"This is Raptor Leader, requesting permission for our air wing to join yours."_

"Raptor Lead, you are more than welcome to," Squall answered. "Move to the port side of the Ragnarok and stand by for further orders." They received an acknowledgment, and the Estharian fighters smartly formed up on the left side of the Ragnarok, the Galbadians shifting formation to accommodate their allies. Squall caught a few pilots on both sides waving jauntily to one another as they moved into position. Once the air fleet was assembled, Squall spoke again.

"Alright, you've all gotten the initial briefing on why we're out here," Squall called over the fleet-wide channel. "There's a Sorceress inside the Lunatic Pandora and we're going to take her out. Fighter squadrons, you'll have to take out their fighter screen so the Corsairs can deploy troops. You'll also have to coordinate with the Corsairs so you can open up holes in the enemy hull, understood?" A chorus of acknowledgments sounded over the channel.

"Corsairs, stay back, avoid confrontation if at all possible. Keep close to your escorts. Once the enemy screen has been sufficiently weakened, make your run. Ragnarok will take the lead directly into the Lunatic Pandora and try to bring down the shield generators. Once we're inside, we'll disable the defense systems and open it up for the 125th."

"_We'll be waiting for you, Commander," _came the reply from General Randolph. Squall nodded, watching the distant Lunatic Pandora looming ever closer. But between them and the Pandora were hundreds of fast moving forms, rapidly growing larger.

"Galbadian fighters, inbound!" Quistis confirmed.

"Weapons are powered up and ready to go," Irvine said.

"All fighters, arm missiles and pick a target," Squall ordered. There came a stream of acknowledgments along the comm from both groups of allied fighters, followed by reports of good missile locks.

"Fire!" Squall ordered. The word had hardly left his mouth when hundreds of missiles and glowing pink and purple bolts lanced out from his air fleet, directly toward the rebel fighter force. Almost as instantly, the Galbadian rebels returned fire with streaks of missiles as well, and broke away like a blossoming flower, many dodging the incoming missiles and needles. However, many more were struck solidly, and explosions filled the sky as the enemy fighters were blasted.

"All fighters, evasive maneuvers!" Squall ordered as the return fire from the enemy missiles poured in. "Break away and engage at will!"

Missiles lanced among the combined air fleet's ranks and detonated, blowing apart dozens of allied fighters as the Galbadian and Estharian aircraft broke away desperately. The Galbadian rebels formed back up and dove in at the breaking air fleet, firing machineguns and launching more missiles. The Galbadian and Estharian fleet responded just as quickly, forming up as well and returning fire. The two air fleets reaped losses among both sides before they met headlong in a vicious, massive dogfight over the plains of Esthar. In the center of that furious melee was the Ragnarok, joining the battle.

Immediately, the Ragnarok shuddered as a rebel fighter swooped past, spraying machinegun fire along the airship's flank.

"Damages?" Squall asked as Selphie maneuvered the ship with ease and grace.

"Armor took most of it," she replied as she swung the ship toward a formation of four rebel fighters coming around. "Irvine!"

"I see 'em!" he replied, and the auto-cannons opened fire, spraying heavy slugs toward the enemy fighters. Three of them were shredded by fire, and the fourth broke away, diving into the melee.

"Oh no you don't," Selphie muttered, sending the Ragnarok into a dive to chase after the smaller fighter. The airship shuddered again.

"Two, on our six!" Zell shouted, and Selphie broke off, cutting their forward thrust. Two rebel fighters shot past. Irvine lit them up with precision gunfire, and bloody red flaming streaks followed the two fighters to the plains below.

"This thing is one big target!" Zell commented from the copilot's seat as Selphie accelerated, dropping toward another pair of enemy fighters. "We shouldn't be sticking around here to fight!" Irvine speared one with another precise spray of bullets, and the other rapidly pulled back, shooting above them.

"I agree," Squall added as a rebel fighter shot past their cockpit, chased by a missile and a dozen pink shards that struck an instant later. "Selphie, we need to get to the Pandora, immediately! We've got a hundred SeeDs on board, we can't stay here to fight."

"Right!" Selphie replied, nodding. She gunned the ship's accelerator and shot forward through the dogfight.

"Squall, we've got bad news," Quistis cut in. "I've got nearly a dozen enemy fighters breaking off and vectoring toward us!"

"Selphie, shake them. Raptor Lead, can you give us some assistance?" Squall asked quickly over the comm.

"_Can do, Commander. Hold tight, backup is on the way."_

In unison, a dozen Estharian fighters peeled off, some jumping at angles that cast doubt on the laws of inertia, and swept in toward the wedge of Galbadian fighters moving on the Ragnarok. In one pass, nine of those fighters were annihilated, with precision barrages of lasers and needles, and the other four were quickly chased down and destroyed.

In the wake of the sudden and swift carnage, the fighters dropped in round the Ragnarok, forming a series of moving shields for the airship.

"_Commander, the Raptors'll cover you until you get within range of that hunk of metal the Sorceress is driving,"_ came a call from Raptor Lead. _"Wouldn't want our flagship getting dinged up before it even gets inside, now would we?"_

"Our flagship?" Selphie echoed, disapprovingly.

"_Oh, right, those old creaky laws still on the books,"_ another pilot cut in. _"So, why exactly do we care if that old hunk of junk gets busted up?"_

"_Sentimental value, Nine,"_ responded Raptor Lead.

"_Ah. Say, my fighter is really sentimental. Saved my life a bunch of times. Can I go home so it doesn't get damaged?"_

Several groans sounded over the comm.

"_Cut the chatter, we have more friends on the way in. Let's give 'em a warm reception, Raptors. Commander, you should be close enough to the Pandora that you don't need our escort much longer. Take care of yourself, and waste a few of the bastards for us!"_

"_And bring me some cheesecake, too!"_ Nine cut in, to laughter from the rest of the squadron. The Raptors pulled away, streaking toward another ambitious group of Galbadian rebels as the battle raged behind them. Before the Ragnarok, the Lunatic Pandora filled the sky, blotting out even the red evening sky.

"Stand by on the guns," Squall ordered, and Irvine nodded. "Punch a hole in that shield. Once we get the barrel of the beam cannon inside, open a door for us with it."

"Easy enough," Irvine replied. "Coming into range now." The lunatic Pandora loomed ever closer, and the forward cannons roared to life. 120mm shells ripped out from the cannon, pouring into the shield, which rippled like water from each impact.

"Blow it up, KABOOM!" Selphie shouted, pumping a fist in the air as she engaged the engines to full power, ramming the Ragnarok hard into the shields. Like a massive metal, dragon-shaped spear, the airship plowed into the shield with force that sent ripples through the defensive barrier nearly half a mile away. The beak of the ship's dragon-head bow poked cleanly through the shield. The rest of the barrier pulled hard on the Ragnarok, but the airship inched and shuddered its way through. Finally, after several long seconds of struggling, the barrel of the beam cannon poked through the watery shield, and Irvine slapped the firing button.

Glowing yellow energy gathered within the barrel, releasing a shining light that erupted a second later, lancing out into the hull of the Lunatic Pandora and shattering a twenty meter-wide hole. Ragnarok pushed forward, it engines propelling it the rest of the way through the shield, and plowed partway into the hole. Zell quickly worked a pair of holographic controls which caused the heavy arms of the Ragnarok to rise and slam down with quake-causing force, and pull the airship further inside the Lunatic Pandora.

"We're in!" Selphie declared, and she hit a control, lowering the forward ramp.

"Let's get out there and finish this," Squall ordered, hand on his gunblade. This was not the Revolver, but the shining handle of the weapon Laguna had gifted him with, known as Lionheart.

* * *

A quartet of Galbadian soldiers had been on duty when the Ragnarok came calling, and those men had hightailed it out of there as the ramp lowered, and a force of a hundred SeeDs charged down the ramp, clearing the area outside the rough landing zone. Squall and his comrades were among them, looking out over the environment. They had burst in on a wide platform inside the hull, with several ramps and catwalks leading away from the platform and into the Crystal Pillar itself.

"Split up!" Squall said quickly, pressing an Estharian-issue radio to his ear. "Move out and find the shield generator! Remember, the Galbadians are spread all over this structure, so I doubt we'll find much organized resistance! Locate the shield generators and take them down!" The SeeDs acknowledged his order and began to scatter, when a pair of figures emerged from one of the doorways, running down a ramp toward the intruders. Squall instantly recognized the petite, silver-haired Fujin and the huge bulky Raijin.

"Hey, that's what that noise was, ya know!" Raijin exclaimed. "Its Squall!"

"GOOD," Fujin commented, nodding. "CONVINIENT."

"Oh yeah, ya know," Raijin replied, nodding. "They've got Rinoa with them, makes things real easy. So, hey, Squall, mind just handing her over, ya know? Save everyone a lot of grief?"

"Over my dead body," Squall replied firmly.

"ARRANGE," Fujin responded.

"Well, if you insist, man, your funeral, ya know?" Raijin added. He clapped his hands together loudly.

At that signal, there came a unified shout, and Galbadian soldiers and officers streamed out of the doorways and down the catwalks toward the SeeDs. Irvine snapped up his rifle and launched a grenade, blowing a pocket of enemy soldiers off a catwalk as the SeeDs rushed into defensive positions, magic erupting from a hundred hands toward the incoming soldiers, throwing back their leading edge.

"What is with this country and sudden attacks by hidden armies of soldiers?" Selphie asked as the Galbadian troops closed in.

"National tradition," Irvine replied, launching another grenade. Selphie swept her nunchaku out, the iron bar smashing the jaw of an unfortunate enemy soldier as the Galbadians closed in. Squall let out a battle cry and rushed headlong into the Galbadian assault, blood flying with first cleave, a slice with a blue-white edge that separated an enemy soldier's head from his shoulders. The SeeDs and the Galbadians met in a furious impact. The leading edge of the SeeDs found their bodies protected from Galbadian blows even more thoroughly than their junctions would have allowed, thanks to quick thinking by Rinoa, placing a wide area protection spell over her comrades.

Fujin and Raijin tried to step into the battle, but Zell and Quistis, who were closest to the pair, took the initiative to intercept the pair of enemy commanders.

"Yo, Raijin!" Zell shouted, stepping out in front of the big, bulky fighter.

"Zell!" Raijin replied, grinning. "Wanna finish what we started?" Zell replied by leaping toward Raijin, smashing a foot down toward his head. The bulky brawler responded with a quick deflection, bringing up his bo staff, and sent a measured counter at Zell, which he caught with his hands against his chest. Zell was tossed back, but landed on his feet, springing right back at Raijin with another attack.

Fujin had to quickly snap up her chakram to parry a whipping blade, courtesy of Quistis' rante.

"MOVE," Fujin ordered, and Quistis shook her head.

"You're not getting Rinoa," she replied. "Even if you do get past me, Rinoa's way too far above you for you to handle." Fujin smirked, and then launched her chakram, before pulling a second off her belt. Quistis ducked as the disc shot past, the blades barely missing her scalp. Fujin made a gesture at Quistis, and winds rippled out, picking up the SeeD and hurling her back.

A Galbadian blade dove for Squall's ribs, but in a single smooth motion, a blue-white blade snapped down, into the path of the weapon, and turned it out and away, followed by an equally smooth cleave that sliced through the soldier's armor almost effortlessly. Squall marveled at the weapon's almost effortless ability to kill as he parried a second attack from another soldier and countered with a quick slice the tore off the top of his head, before ducking low and jamming the tip of his gunblade into another soldier's stomach. He ripped the weapon out, the blade cleaving through armor and flesh and bone with barely any resistance, and ripped up into another man, slicing through his chest and out the other side, cleaving a third soldier's arm off as he raised his sword. Lionheart shot back down, slicing through another soldier's head, and Squall rolled around the corpse, using it as a shield to come around behind another attacking Galbadian, and put his gunblade into the man's back. He ducked low again, and thrust the gunblade under his left arm, the weapon striking another charging soldier in his hip, and then cutting upward into his chest and out of his neck. Squall spun, his gunblade flashing out wide, the blue-white edge slicing into three more men without even slowing down.

In the span of three seconds, Squall Leonhart had killed ten men, almost effortlessly.

"Getting crowed again," Irvine remarked as he put the last slug in his rifle into an enemy soldier, blowing him off his feet. Selphie nodded, smashing a Galbadian away with the bars of her nunchaku.

"We need some room to dance," Irvine continued, and reached into his coat, pulling out a pair of AB-10s, with custom-made extended magazines. He leveled them at a force of a dozen enemy soldiers moving towards them and poured on the fire. The bullets ripped into the enemy soldiers, laying them out on the floor within seconds. Chasing after this was a forking bolt of lightning that jumped between several Galbadians in another cluster, sending them twitching to the floor.

Raijin smacked his staff into Zell's side as he rushed in, but the brawler rolled with the blow, using the swing to his advantage. He spun around the staff as it glanced off his side and stepped close to Raijin, planted a swift snap-kick to his chest that tossed the bulky fighter back on his read. Raijin scrambled to his feet as Zell came in again, thrusting toward Zell with his staff. The brawler slapped his hands down on the staff, knocking it down, and hopped up on it, lifting a foot to kick Raijin in the teeth. Raijin, however, grinned as Zell was about to strike, and flexed his muscles, lifting the staff up quickly and throwing Zell over his shoulder. The brawler let out a cry of surprise as he went flying.

Quistis was on her feet in an instant as Fujin launched her second chakram and raised her whip, coiling the chain between her arms. The impromptu shield caught the spinning disc easily enough, and the SeeD unwrapped the chain, snapping the blade at Fujin once more. Fujin had to swiftly duck, pulling another chakram off her belt, and gestured at Quistis a second time, launching another wind spell at her opponent. Quistis narrowed her eyes and mimicked the gesture, launching a wind spell of her own. The two wind spells connected and canceled each other out. Fujin growled something, remembering Squall's similar trick in their battle in Balamb. Fujin readied to throw her third chakram when Quistis' eyes shone, and bolts of energy lanced out from them. Thinking fast, Fujin threw herself to the floor, and the lasers missed. She quickly rolled to the side as she did so, and evaded a second barrage of lasers from Quistis' eyes. Fujin hopped back onto her feet as Quistis followed up with a powerful blast of fiery energy, forcing Fujin to shield herself with her weapon, her clothing singed by the flames. Even as she was recovering from that attack, Quistis shot her whip forward once more, this time connecting, the chain wrapping around Fujin's right arm. Quistis pulled, hard, and yanked Fujin off her feet. The SeeD spun, and with all the strength, hurled Fujin across the room to smash hard into a wall beside one of the doorways.

"Fuu!" Raijin yelled as he saw his sister go flying, and his moment of distraction earned him an uppercut, a cross, and a spinning kick to the face from Zell that tossed the burly brawler off his feet. Raijin rose quickly, scrambling away from Zell and toward Fujin, helping her stand. Even as she was standing up, several Galbadian soldiers fled past them, and Squall broke through the mass of blue and red-clad men, chopping down another one with ease. Those who could were retreating before him, and those that couldn't were throwing down their weapons in surrender.

"LOST," Fujin commented shakily.

"Yeah, I think so, too, ya know?" Raijin replied. "Time for a tactical retreat, ya know!" He picked up Fujin, not waiting for her to fully recover from the impact, and ran out of the room, following those Galbadians who had opted to flee.

"Everyone okay?' Squall asked, looking back at his force. The SeeDs were a bit beaten up, but not terribly damaged in the Galbadian assault. Only a few were down, and those only form serious injuries, with no fatalities. They had to thank Rinoa's shields for that.

"We can't waste any more time," Quistis cut in. "We have to neutralize the command center, remember?"

"Yeah, and pay a visit to Seifer," Zell added.

"And don't forget Adel," Squall finished. "Let's go. Everyone else, take out that shield generator and clear these lower floors! Keep in touch with you radios! Move out!"

* * *

It was about twenty minutes later, and the six members of the assault team were walking the crystalline halls of the lunatic Pandora, Zell in the lead. Squall had never particularly trusted Zell's ability to lead the way in unfamiliar terrain, but he had no choice but to trust Zell, as the brawler was the only one who had been inside the Pandora in its current state. However, squall's fears were unfounded, as Zell quickly led them through the halls of the structure, toward a particular elevator that he had used before.

"This one runs all the way up to the hangar bay," he explained. "And if the battle outside is going as expected, then there won't be many fighters in the bay."

"We open the hangar doors and the General has a good spot to drop off his troops," Squall said, nodding. "And they likely have to remove the shield around that area when the hangar opens so aircraft can get in and out. Let's do it."

They quickly entered the lift and ascended to the upper floors, the Pandora's outer hull dropping away past them as they did so. Within minutes the lift slowed, and opened up into the massive, cavernous hangar bay that Zell and Edea had moved through not a day previously. Unlike then, there were almost no fighters present, and only a few orange-clad pilots and crew members moving around.

"Hangar controls?" Squall asked, and Zell looked around, before nodding toward a platform at one end of the hangar.

"I think its over there," he stated, and Squall nodded. He reached up and pressed a finger to his radio.

"Leonhart to Assault, come in," he hissed.

"_Assault copies,"_ replied Randolph's voice. _"Its clearing out, out here, they didn't really stand a chance. Your people drop that shield yet?"_

"We may not need to," Squall replied. "Keep your eyes on the upper end of the Pandora, we're opening a door for you. They'll know about it the second we pop it, so get here fast, understood?"

"_Gotcha, Commander, we're standing by."_

"Let's move," Squall hissed, and the group rose, moving out, excepting Irvine, who remained behind, fitting a silencer to his sniper rifle to cover them. The other five moved out, rushing down one of the walls of the hangar, keeping out of sight. Within a few minutes they had neared the platform, which Zell hopped up on. He grinned, and glanced back to the others.

"Galbadians really are idiots," he said. "They have a big switch labeled 'Press to Open Bay Doors'. I'm surprised their bikes don't have training wheels."

"I heard that," Irvine cut in over the radio. Zell grinned, until he noted a laser sight tracing across his face. He stuck his tongue out at the distant sharpshooter, in a remarkably Selphie-like way. Then he hit the switch, opening the external hangar doors. They groaned open, revealing the evening sky outside.

"Testing the shield," Irvine said over the radio, and outside, the shield rippled as Irvine put a silenced bullet into it. "Hm, still running."

"Test it again," Squall ordered. The shield rippled again.

"Still up."

"One last time," Squall ordered, trusting his gut. Irvine sighed and fire once more, and this time, there was nothing.

"Assault," Squall called over the radio. "The door is open." There was no acknowledgement over the radio, but outside, they could see a fleet of hundreds of dark shapes rising up toward the hangar bays, and the occasional explosion in the distance as the Galbadian and Estharian fighters battled the last of the rebel aircraft. Within moments, the dark shapes took on the form of Corsair transports, and then, Irvine called over the radio.

"Looks like the techs are getting suspicious and nervous," he reported. "I think - hold on-" - there was a faint puff from his end - "Phew. One almost sounded an alarm. Anyway, once those Corsairs drop off troops, its going to get hot."

"We'd better neutralize the command center quick once Randolph's men arrive," Squall cut in. The first of the Corsairs got very close to the entrance of the hangar, and several pilots shouted in alarm as it flew in. Immediately, the side hatches opened, and a platoon of Dollet troops swept out, sweeping the hangar with their rifles. One of the pilots leveled a sidearm at the Dollet soldiers, who opened fire. There were more shouts and more gunfire as other pilots and technicians drew sidearms, but the Dollet soldiers quickly took down the Galbadian troops before the second Corsair had even touched down. More and more troops charged out of the transports as each arrived, and the room rapidly filled with hundreds of olive-clad men. One of them, General Randolph, jogged up to the SeeDs as they moved out from behind cover.

"Thanks for opening to door, Commander," Randolph said, with a smile. "Those Galbadians won't know what hit them."

"As long as you keep the regular troops busy and away from the command center and Adel, we can handle things," Squall replied. Randolph nodded. He turned back to his troops.

"Alright men, assemble and get ready! Standard sweep and secure operation! Clear these upper floors, pronto!" As the Dollet troops began to move out, Squall checked over his radio, and confirmed that the Seed teams on the lower levels were making good progress on sweeping those floors of threats. They hadn't located the shield generator yet, but were likely closing in on it.

"Okay," Squall said, conferring with his comrades. "While Randolph's men are clearing out the upper levels, we have a clear shot at the command center, no Galbadians to interfere with the assault. Zell, you know where it is, right?"

"Yeah," he replied. "But we have to keep our eyes open. Last time Matron and I went after it, we ran into some freak of Galbadian engineering, complete with telekinesis. Booted us out of the Pandora easily."

"Now that we know what we're up against," Irvine replied with a grin. "We can put some extra firepower into it, right?"

"Ready GFs," Squall added. "When that thing shows itself, we toast it."

Zell led the way out of the hangar bay and toward the elevator that he had used before. As with his previous infiltration, Zell had the car ascent five levels, and when it opened, they were facing a long metal catwalk running across a crystalline chasm. The building equipment was still located next to the doorway built across from them, but now it seem d that the equipment had been intended to build a metal stairway leading to another door over the main doorway.

Fujin and Raijin were waiting for the party as they approached, Fujin looking much more combat-ready than when she had been pulled out by her brother.

"Ready for round two?" Zell asked, punching the air.

"And this time, without any Galbadian soldiers to back you up1" Selphie added. Raijin smiled and shook his head.

"NOW, NO FIGHT, NEXT TIME," Fujin growled, and Raijin nodded.

"Got a surprise for you, ya know? Our secret weapon! Mobile Type 8, ya know?" Raijin finished his statement by turning, and both he and Fujin ran into the doors leading to the control room.

Then, as if on cue, the same vaguely humanoid robot that had ejected Zell and Edea from the Pandora dropped down onto the catwalk, floating in the air. Ports opened along the domes along its shoulders and, without any prelude or warning, bolts of energy lanced out.

They were deflected as Rinoa raised a hand, a barrier appearing before the party and knocking the lasers aside. Irvine replied by leveling his rifle, firing a heavy armor-piercing round that smashed into the robot's midsection, pushing it back. It reoriented itself, preparing to fire another barrage of lasers, when a triad of lightning bolts struck it, quickly cast by Selphie. The Mobile Type 8 was staggered for an instant, long enough for Squall to focus. Rain fell around the party, a storm forming inside the chasm. An instant later, lightning struck the catwalk, which erupted into a glowing snake-like bird, lights playing across its body. Queztocotl unleashed a furious torrent of lighting, a column of pure electrical destruction, that hurled the robot back, crashing it heavily against one of the crystal walls.

"Good shot, Squall!" Selphie said, and the SeeD commander nodded.

"Its not down yet!" Irvine growled, and he leveled his rifle.

"Not until I say its down!" Zell added, and the air before him burned as Ifrit was called from his fiery home. The lord of flames stepped out, and immediately was scored with a barrage of lasers along his flesh. Growling in fury, Ifrit formed a pair of fireballs in his hands and hurled them at the Mobile Type 8 as it drifted forward, and the flaming projectiles exploded on contact. The war machine crashed into the walls a second time, cracking the crystal.

"Damn thing doesn't know when to quit!" Zell said in surprise as the machine moved forward again. In response, the air around the party went suddenly cold, and an icicle formed in the air before them, containing the beautiful ice goddess of Shiva. The icicle shattered, and Shiva floated in the air, reaching out to the shards as they flew away. With a gesture from her, the icy shards changed direction and shot forward, impaling the Mobile Type 8 and exploding. Sparks and smoke erupted from the machine as it wobbled in the air, but still floated resolutely.

"Its still flying?" Quistis remarked, amazed that her summon had not been able to destroy the war machine. Even the Iron Clad tank hadn't withstood this level of abuse. In reply, the Mobile Type 8 flew forward, and began to gather energy long the front of its "chest", obviously powering up a high powered weapon.

"Quick!" Squall ordered. "Pound it with more summons!" the others began to focus once more, calling up their guardian Forces, while Irvine fired another, and then a third, AP round into the machine, each shell rocking the Mobile Type 8 back, but not stopping it from gathering energy for a final attack.

The Lunatic Pandora suddenly rumbled, and a tremendous roar sounded within the crystal walls, reverberating and echoing along the chasm. A tremendous wind filled the chamber as a shape swooped down from above, long and tapered, and looking like nothing less than the bow of the Ragnarok fleshed out and real. Except this creature's skin was dark blue, not crimson.

The dragon flipped over as it descended and spread its wings, stopping in midair, crying out as it did so. It stood tall, many times higher than the humans below or even the machine it faced, with wide, powerful wings, tipped with ivory claws. A high crest extended back from its head, and the humanoid dragon's tail was long and whip like, yet heavily muscled and powerful.

The dragon roared once more, and looked upon the Mobile Type 8, before opening its mouth and unleashing a torrent of pure destruction, breathing annihilation down upon the machine. A barrage of blasts smashed into the war machine, crumpling armor and blowing off panels, before a final, massive, singular blast cored the machine, shattering it where it floated in a tremendous explosion that hurled shrapnel across the chasm, burying chunks of metal in the crystal walls.

The dragon roared one last time, and flapped its wings, ascending toward the ceiling, where it vanished in a whirlwind of whipping air.

"Okay," Irvine asked, looking at the scene of devastation. "What in Hyne's name just happened?"

"Its called Bahamut," Rinoa answered, opening her eyes. "One of the most powerful Guardian Forces." She looked over her friends, and smiled. "Edea gave him to me."

"Well, jeez, she could have given us gifts too," Zell remarked, eliciting some chuckles.

"Thanks, Rinoa," Squall said, and she shook her head.

"Any of us would have done it,' she replied.

"Now, all that's left is Seifer," Quistis added, and Squall nodded.

"Let's go," he said once again, and led the way toward the control room.

The doors parted, and the looked upon the wide chamber, filled with computer consoles, and with a high pedestal at one end, before a wide view port, showing the outside world. Standing on the platform, framed by the setting sun, was Seifer, leaning on his gunblade. His coat was in tatters, and the sleeve was a bit shorter along his right arm, but he still looked vibrant, and defiant.

Before him stood Fujin and Raijin, Fujin holding Ellone's arms. No one else was in the room.

"Heya!" Seifer called, waving jauntily. "About time, I was waiting for you guys to get here. Almost got bored." Raijin glanced back, and Seifer nodded. "Show 'em our hospitality," he said, hopping down off the platform and advancing. Raijin stepped forward, raising his staff. Fujin gripped Ellone's arms tightly, pressing her lips together, seeming to think hard about something.

"RAIJIN, STOP!" she ordered, and both he and Seifer wheeled, shocked. They were even more shocked when Fujin released Ellone's arms, and pushed her forward, toward Squall's group. Raijin seemed confused, but then nodded, standing aside and letting Ellone reach the safety of Squall's group. She reached out, and Squeezed his hand.

"I knew you'd come," she whispered, and he nodded.

"There are Dollet soldiers outside, tell them your name and they'll keep you safe," he told her. "Go." She nodded, and ran through the others, thanking them and receiving words in reply, before leaving. Seifer watched the exchange, and turned toward Fujin, not angry, but rather resigned and to a degree, seeming to understand.

"Fujin," he asked, "Why the change of heart?"

"We had enough," Raijin said, shaking his head. "We're done with this stupid shit, ya know?"

"We're a posse, you know that," Seifer replied.

"Yes," Fujin said, surprising everyone with a relatively quiet and soft voice.

"We are a posse, Seifer," she continued. "Always are and always will be. We're your friends, and because of that, we want to help you. We want that dream to be achieved, your dream to be the greatest."

"But you've lost it, man," Raijin continued.

"You're being manipulated," Fujin continued. "You've lost yourself on this crazy quest and are just a puppet being used by Ultimecia. We don't want a puppet, we want you."

"Can't go back, not yet," Seifer replied sadly.

"Then we gotta let Squall beat some sense into you!" Raijin rumbled.

"Are you going to keep this up?" Fujin asked. "You going to keep going?"

"I'll ride this train a little longer," Seifer replied. "Maybe I'll live. Maybe I'm destined to die. If its my time, I'll grin and laugh at the reaper when he comes after me. But you know me, guys, I can't back down. I never back down. Ever. Not when there's only me at risk."

"If you say so, man," Raijin said, and Seifer nodded. He raised his gunblade, flat to his face, and saluted with it.

"Fujin! Raijin! Its been fun! Hope to see you guys when its all over!" The other two members of Seifer's posse nodded, and slowly turned, moving past Squall's group, leaving them alone with Seifer Almasy.

"You continuing this knight thing?" Squall asked as his comrades lined up alongside him.

"I'm about to retire the knight," Seifer replied. "You could call me a young revolutionary. I've made it this far, Squall. I'm going to keep on running, until I reach the end, my goal! And I'm not sharing it with you, Squall." He pointed Hyperion at Squall's face.

"You seriously want to fight us?" Quistis asked, and Seifer smiled.

"Looks like there's no chance for me to win," Seifer commented, looking at the six arrayed against him. He turned around holding his arms out wide. "That never stopped anyone. I guess I've got no choice, but to-" energy gathered in his palm as he spun toward Squall "fight to the very end!"

Lionheart snapped up and, shockingly enough, actually deflected the bolt of magic up into the ceiling. Seifer ignored this and leapt forward, gunblade rising in preparation for a wild slash. Hyperion descended, and was caught on Squall's gunblade.

A simultaneous blast of magic from Selphie and Quistis hurled Seifer back, and Zell rushed at the former knight, planting a quick punch to Seifer's side. Seifer growled in pain, and doubled over slightly as an uppercut smashed into his ribs, and the sent a fast, hard elbow into Zell's face, snapping his head back. Another bolt of magic, from Rinoa, caught him in the chest, tossing him back, but Seifer retained enough of his wits to duck and twist aside as Irvine fired his rifle at the former knight. Bullets tore past his head as Squall rushed forward. Hyperion weaved into his attack, deflecting a quick cleave out to the side, but Squall's left hand released his gunblade and shot into Seifer's face, rocking his head. Seifer ducked and spun away, and took another hit in the head from Selphie's nunchaku.

Squall struck again with another cleave, and this one his Seifer's gunblade, knocking Hyperion from his hands. Seifer spun toward it, diving for the weapon, and leaping over another barrage of gunfire from Irvine, who tried to cut him off from his weapon. Seifer's hands closed on the gunblade, and he spun back, in time to catch a second bolt of energy from Rinoa, which rocked the knight backward for a split second, long enough for Quistis' whip to wrap around hi right arm, holding it in place. Seifer tugged on the chain for an instant, until he caught sight of Zell coming back in, with a flying double kick. Both the brawler's feet crashed into Seifer's face, launching him across the room to smash heavily into one of the metal walls, denting it inward. He dropped to the floor, unconscious.

"That it?" Irvine asked, a bit surprised. "Thought he would have put up more of a fight."

"Did the best he could," Squall replied with a shrug. "Let's figure out how to shut this thing down." He and the others moved toward the abandoned control panels, with Rinoa being the only exception as she stood close to Seifer's unconscious body. She crouched near him, almost feeling sorry for her old boyfriend, and wondering what was going through his head.

He stirred slightly, opening his eyes. His gray eyes met her brown, and Rinoa watched him slowly raise his head. A slight smile spread across Seifer's face, and then to Rinoa's surprise, he winked at her.

"Hate to do this, Rinoa," he croaked, and his hand shot to his gunblade, laying on the floor beside him.

"Hey, look at this!" Selphie called as she looked over one of the panels.

"What it is?" Squall asked, moving over to her control panel.

"There's a device built into the Pandora, called a Lunar Cry Countermeasure," she explained. "If what I'm reading is right, it creates a resonant wave within the energy field generated by the Crystal Pillar and Tear's Point, that sends out an energy pulse that scrambles the energies latent within lunar monsters."

"Translated?" asked Zell, moving nearby.

"It kills the lunar monsters that have recently arrived," Selphie explained. "Engineered by Doctor Odine."

"Only good thing he's likely to have ever done," muttered Irvine. "What are you waiting for, Selphie? Flip the switch, Esthar needs all the help it can get."

"Sure thing!" she replied. "The radius is pretty wide," she added as she hit a few buttons and moved a holographic panel that changed colors. "Should reach all across the plains and maybe partway into the city. It'll really help Esthar's army out!"

The Lunatic Pandora began to hum, vibrating slightly as the device went to work.

"Should only take a few minutes to charge up," Selphie continued.

"And with the 125th securing the upper levels and the SeeDs clearing out the lower floors, the Pandora is secured," Quistis finished. "All in all, not a bad day."

"Adel's still iced," Zell stated. "Let's get up there and knock her off before-"

Zell was cut off by a cry of shock and surprise from where Rinoa had been crouching over Seifer's body, and the SeeDs spun, to see Seifer edging toward the doorway, Rinoa held out in front of him, Hyperion pressed to her throat.

"Come on, Squall!" the battered but far from beaten knight shouted as he pulled Rinoa out of the control room. "You think its over? Not by a long shot!"

"_Rinoa!"_ Squall shouted, and rushed after Seifer as he disappeared onto the walkway outside, the others chasing him.

* * *

Whee! Its coming, its coming, its coming! The final battle is on its way! Literally one more chapter and the final battle begins! I'm so excited! Three, maybe four more chapters until the end! And like Seifer, I'm going to keep on running, until I reach the end of this thing!

And before anyone complains, I'd like to say that this is not the end of Seifer and Squall's battles . . . .

I felt the need to be unconventional with the Squall and Laguna scene. Its not a moment where Laguna outright says it, but he fills in the final detail that tells Squall all he needs to know. I loved that scene, and I had imagined, from about the fourth chapter into this fic, that Laguna would have made and given Lionheart to Squall as an apology.

And I included Bahamut. I liked my own idea there, surprised no one mentioned that one.

Shout out time! And there's a bunch, too.

OniRazz: I did more build-up here, I think. The battle wasn't quite as big as I expected, but hey, I like it that way. And in all honesty, I wondered if I did a decent job with the field sequence, too. Thanks for telling me.

Daniel Wesley Rydell: Well, even if Laguna did stop Odine from developing the machine, doubtless someone else would have built it themselves, no? Clearly the research continues after Odine dies . . . .

DBZ Fanfiction Queen: Well, the war wasn't quite as big as it could be. But hey, it's a war, right? I would have love that conversation in CG, too. Oh, Laguna's was blue? I could swear it was pink . . . .Maybe that's just the sky in the background fooling with my memory. I haven't actually played the game in months. XD

Funny you mention Tiamat . . . .

Arkv01: Whee, a new reviewer! Your review makes me extremely happy, you know that? I've said it before, I don't like side quests, unless I really can fit them in, and for the most part, side quests ruin the flow of a story. Gameplay-wise, they fit fine, but storyline wise, they wreck it.

Shootski: the Big One is one chapter away . . . .

Anime Obsessed Fan: Psh. Go review it then. XD one of my objectives last chapter, and this one, was to make the time-travel thing work out and make even more sense, to a degree. Think it worked?

I've considered a novelization of FFVII, but only once I get over my raging hatred of Cloud. I do NOT like Cloud. Everyone else is great, but Cloud . . . No.

Chris Ganale: Doh! I made that one without thinking. There's a combined reference in here, a mix of Halo 2 and the Wraith Squadron books. Easy to spot if you look closely.

Kaze is a mad crazy psycho guy who is like the ultimate embodiment of fighting game characters everywhere. His shoulder block is the stuff of legends. (in that RP, the guy playing Kaze power-bombed Hitler - yes, _Hitler_ - into the sun and shoulder-blocked the moon onto his corpse. It was lethally funny) Kaze beats down dinosaurs bare handed.

Rusty Knights Productions: Again with unthinking references! XD I didn't even realize where I had gotten that from.

Rinny Leonhart: In the game they met in Esthar, and Dollet and Galbadia had no part in the meeting or the war plan. Laguna knew Squall was his son for a long time, in my interpretation. I can't wait to get to the end, myself.

Sherif: Heh, I tend to focus exclusively on the primary GFs that they've had for a long time. Maybe later I can start using other GFs, in the final battle against Ultimecia? I got this image of her just flicking her fingers and banishing GFS for the remainder of the battle.

Karthan Rockland: Nice to see someone who's been with me the whole way! I might go back and redo the flower field scene again. I intend to remaster this fanfic when I get done, likely after boot camp.

Kaiser-Kun: Wow, it is ruthless. What fic is this? XD No White SeeDs, here, sorry. I like that image of a squad of X-ATM092s, though. Might be cool to see.

Dragoon Swordsman: I actually went to opposite route, having him take it even more calmly than he did in the game. XD Seemed to fit, to me.

Animewatcher: I look forward to your reviews.

Solid Shark: Sorry that the Dollet troops didn't play as big a role as they did before, but hey, they're still here!

Death Dragon66: One of my favorite parts too!

Avion Jade: I always wanted to bring Randolph back. He's a fan favorite!

Kimahrigirl: Yes, you must. Please. It doesn't have the reviews in quantities it deserves! XD

That all? Great. Back to the word processor!

Till next chapter.


	55. Heaven or Hell

_Chapter 47: Heaven or Hell_

"Seifer!" Squall shouted as he ran outside onto the catwalk spanning the chasm. He scanned his surroundings, looking for his nemesis, when he heard a shout overhead. Rinoa's voice! Squall spun, looking up, and saw a flash of a tattered trenchcoat entering the door over the control room. Not hesitating, Squall dashed forward, toward the path that the construction equipment had made, and rushed up the crystal steps, his comrades right behind him.

They passed into the portal beyond the steps and entered another long, narrow catwalk spanning another crystalline cavern, leading to another wide portal. Squall barely paid attention to his surroundings as he rushed across the catwalk, toward the only room Seifer could have taken Rinoa into.

* * *

"That hurts," Rinoa whispered as Seifer pushed across the wide chamber, stepping carefully. The floor was made of metal, with narrow "ribs" poking up a few inches above the main floor, a couple of inches apart. It made going just treacherous enough that one had to watch their steps as the pair moved across the chamber.

In the center of the room, like a massive trophy, was a huge metal circle, framed by a pair of metallic "wings". Contained within that circle, slowly shifting, was a massive figure, easily ten feet tall, looking like a mighty giant. Rinoa gasped, and Even Seifer cringed as he saw the monumental being within that circle.

Sorceress Adel was, long ago, human, but during her rule over Esthar she had her body often and repeatedly modified and enhanced, eventually doubling her height and increasing her strength manyfold. She longer looked female, or even human, instead becoming a giant creature that stirred within that seal. Her skin was a pale blue-white, and her hair was a vibrant red, pulled back into long braids. He black dress was skintight, but the shape it clung to looked far more masculine than feminine. Were it not for her eyes, one would think she was a man.

Those eyes opened as Seifer and Rinoa neared her prison, looking upon the pair as they neared. They glowed a dark red, like a demon's pupils. Her hand suddenly shot forward, stretching the invisible material confining her body. Rinoa cringed and pushed back, trying to stop her forward momentum, but Seifer continued pushing her.

"Please, Seifer," she whispered. "No more. Don't you see what you're doing?" she asked, and he paused, for an instant.

"Rinoa," he said quietly, reflecting back on what they had shared together over a year ago.

"Please, Seifer," she pleaded. "Don't."

"I . . ." Seifer hesitated, and in the silence, they heard a shout far behind them.

"Rinoa!" Squall was shouting, and Seifer glanced back. Squall's sudden shout seemed to have made the decision for Seifer at that moment, and he violently pushed Rinoa forward.

"Have a look Squall!" he yelled, at the top of his lungs. "Ultimecia's WISH!"

Without another word, he shoved Rinoa forward once more, almost savagely, and moved aside as Adel's hands reached out, bursting free of the confinement. Rinoa opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out as energy shot between her and Adel, the evil Sorceress' face locked in predatory hunger.

* * *

Squall, Zell, Quistis, Selphie, and Irvine rushed into the room, weapons at the ready, and prepared to face the threat within. The entered determined, willing for battle, arms held high, but then suddenly stopped. Squall almost felt his fingers slacken at what he saw.

"By Hyne," Quistis whispered. "Rinoa . . . ."

Adel stood tall, stretching her arms as she strode slowly out away from the prison that had held her for the last seventeen years, her smile wide and filled with malevolence as she moved easily across the room. But that was not what captured the SeeDs' attention.

Rinoa hung from Adel's chest, her legs disappearing into the evil Sorceress' body. Her torso emerged from the Sorceress;' chest, but was still integrated seamlessly within Adel's own chest. Rinoa's arms stretched out above her, extending toward Adel's shoulders, and her hands and wrists, like her legs, disappeared into the evil Sorceress' upper chest. Only her head and hair hung free, limply, eyes closed, as if unconscious or worse.

"She . . . They've junctioned somehow," Selphie said in shock. Squall's fingers suddenly tightened around his gunblade.

"Kill that _bitch,_" Squall hissed in cold fury. "We have to kill her and get Rinoa out of there!" The others nodded, all equally enraged by Adel's absorbing of Rinoa's body, and moved forward to meet the threat, weapons raised.

"Not so fast, Squall!" Seifer suddenly shouted, and Squall found his rival's shoulder in his stomach, lifting him up and throwing him back. Squall rolled on the ribbed floor and came u in a crouch, in time to catch a kick in the stomach that tossed him across the room. He landed on his feet, backpedaling, and raised Lionheart as Seifer advanced, cutting him off from his comrades as the massive Sorceress raised her hands, Rinoa hanging limply from her chest.

"Seifer, what the hell did you do?" Squall demanded, looking at Rinoa and Adel in shock and horror. Adel began to look over the others, who glanced from Squall to Adel and Rinoa in confusion.

"Adel and Rinoa as one," Seifer replied, smiling. "This is what Ultimecia wants, isn't it? I don't know, she never was forthcoming with her motives, so I guessed, I suppose."

"Ultimecia wants to kill everything," Squall responded angrily. "She wants to compress time! That's why she needs Ellone! Everything's going to be destroyed if she has her way!"

"Hm," Seifer replied. He tapped a finger against his chin, thinking. "Never thought about that. Make sense. She is totally fucking nuts, I suppose." He shrugged and raised Hyperion, the point leveled at Squall. "But that doesn't really matter, in the end. At least, not to me. I'm sure you'll have no trouble dealing with her and Adel."

"Get out of my way, Seifer," Squall said, narrowing his eyes.

"You don't trust your friends to deal with Adel?" Seifer asked, surprised. "She just awoke. Her powers aren't nearly the equal of Edea's now, and she isn't possessed by Ultimecia. She's actually easy prey, despite her appearance."

"Then why aren't you protecting her?" Squall asked, and Seifer shrugged.

"Maybe I don't give a damn," he said. "Or maybe I just lost my head a while back. Sorceresses have a way of screwing with one's sanity, don't they? But I really don't care about that. What I care about is you," Seifer pointed at Squall, "and me."

"You want to settle the score again?" Squall asked, and Seifer nodded. He casually tossed Hyperion in the air, and flexed the fingers of his right arm.

"You took my hand last time, Squall," Seifer explained, catching his blade. "Maybe its time for payback? Another scar for you? Or maybe we should prove things on a more personal, primal level?" Seifer's smile widened to almost insane proportions, and he took two steps forward, leading into a thrust at Squall. "Let's dance, Squall, one more time, before hell comes to the earth!" Squall countered, Lionheart shooting up into a deflection that rang solidly against Seifer's weapon. A flash of light erupted behind Seifer, as Adel finally opened up on Squall's comrades. Responses came immediately, but were measured, Squall's allies trying to avoid striking Rinoa.

Squall's response was not measured at all, smacking Seifer's gunblade away with Lionheart and bearing in, slashing furiously. Seifer weaved his weapon back inside the attack, catching Squall's shining gunblade and lifting it up, over his head. His other hand rose and discharged a fireball in one of his typical quick magical attacks. The blast exploded in Squall's chest, pushing the SeeD back, and Seifer followed up ith a quick thrust.

Lionheart met the thrust, turning it aside, and Squall deftly turned the gunblade over and launched a counter-thrust. Seifer spun away, coming around and slashing at Squall's neck. The SeeD was ducking before the slash began, however, and as Hyperion sliced the air over him skull, Squall pivoted and drove his shoulder into Seifer's stomach, tossing the former knight back a few feet. Seifer landed with his feet spread out wide, in perfect balance, and parried a follow-up slash from Squall that would have severed his head. Squall retracted and slashed in from the opposite direction, and Seifer raised to parry a second time. The gunblades met again, but this time, Squall stepped forward, smashing into Seifer's chest with a devastating kick to the torso that hurled him back. Seifer rolled along the ridged floor, and managed to regain his footing in time to see Squall come in with a powerful, massive cleave starting over his shoulder. The knight's feet were not properly placed and balanced to let him leap out of the way or twist aside, so he shot up Hyperion, placing his free hand against the flat of the blade and used his gunblade to block the cleave.

Lionheart smashed inward, like the blue-white edge of a lightning bolt, and it met Hyperion in a mighty clash. If Squall had been wielding the Revolver, Seifer's custom-built gunblade would have stopped Squall's weapon, but this sword was Lionheart, the cleaving gunblade perfected, the edge made from crystallized energy. It struck Hyperion with all of Squall's superhuman strength, and the metal of Seifer's gunblade could not hold before that raw power and the unyielding edge of Lionheart.

Hyperion, Seifer's trademark weapon and custom-made gunblade, specially made for his fighting style, shattered just above the gun aspect, falling apart in Seifer's hands. The shards clattered to the floor, and Seifer dropped the broken handle, stepping inside the cleave as Lionheart swept past, and slammed into Squall, his right hand leading into a hook that staggered the SeeD. Seifer quickly pivoted, locking his hands around Squall's right wrist, and slammed his wrist down hard onto his knee. Squall let to a cry of pain, and dropped Lionheart. Seifer rocked him again with another punch before diving for Lionheart. He snatched up the gunblade as Squall spun, and whipped around, Lionheart in hand, in position for a quick block and counter. In one swift motion, the battle had been turned dramatically in the knight's favor.

* * *

Adel wasted no time picking a target. She didn't preface her attack with words or even theatrical gestures. She simply pointed, and Quistis was knocked off her feet by a magical blast of energy, accompanied by a smirk from the Sorceress dictator. She rolled back onto her feet, an act which quickly stole the mirth from Adel's face, replacing it with confusion. There hadn't been SeeDs around when she had been awake, so the concept of someone taking a blast from her head on and standing up was new.

The concept of getting shot, however, was quite familiar, and she frowned as her head snapped back from two shots from Irvine's rifle. She moved her head forward, the wounds running with blood, but only for a second, as the injuries seemed to seal up.

"Okay, this is new," Zell commented, and Irvine nodded.

"Some type of regeneration magic?" Quistis asked, and Selphie nodded.

"Has to be," she said. "I've read that some Sorceresses had the power to heal wounds, but this can't be just magic."

"Estharian tech, huh?" Zell guessed. "Makes sense."

"Well, enough with the talking," Irvine added. "Let's take her down!"

"Be careful, though," Quistis warned. "We don't want to hurt Rinoa!"

"Precision magic," Selphie added, and matched words with action. A narrow bolt of lightning shot from her hands and struck Adel in the throat, rocking her back a step and quite clearly pissing her off.

"Guess we can't use our new spells," Zell muttered, and ran toward Adel in one of his typically suicidal charges. "Here goes nothing!"

Adel, ever confident, seemed to have been content to let the SeeDs talk among themselves, but as soon as Zell advanced, she made a quick gesture and launched two bolts of lightning in Zell's direction. One flew over his head, and the other struck his shoulder, spinning him around momentarily, but not slowing him much at all. Twin bolts of shining light shot past him, striking Adel in the face, courtesy of Quistis and a quick barrage of covering fore with her blue magic. Irvine and Selphie joined in the barrage, launching fireballs and firing bullets that sent the Sorceress dictator reeling back in pain and confusion. Zell neared Adel and leapt up into the air, intending to plant a devastating flying kick into her head, when she gestured to him once more and swatted the brawler out of the air with a flash of brilliant light.

Zell hurtled across the wide chamber as the other SeeDs poured on the fire, pummeling Adel with precision magic, but not seeming to do any appreciable damage whatsoever. Adel absorbed the attacks like sponges and retaliated brutally fast, launching barrages of electrical and ice magic that picked up Quistis and Selphie and hurled them back. Irvine managed to dive aside, getting clear of the assault, and responded with a pair of gunshots that struck Adel between her eyes. The Sorceress turned toward him and leveled a hand at the sharpshooter, but caught another stream of bullets in the arm for her trouble. She blinked and looked down to her bleeding hand, and shook the arm, flicking the blood away like mere water. Irvine's rifle clicked empty. He needed to reload, immediately.

"We have got to come up with a new strategy," the sharpshooter muttered. Zell then reentered the fray for an instant, leaping at Adel while she was distracted with Irvine and planting a massive airborne punch across her face, almost spinning the giant of a Sorceress around. Adel whirled on him and countered with a hand that slapped Zell straight down into the ridged floor.

"Zell!" Quistis shouted, and launched a barrage of magical projectiles from her hands, the bolts tightly clustered around Adel's face. Adel growled in anger at the annoyance, and ice formed in her hands. The frozen water formed into a spear, which she hurled at Quistis. The SeeD rolled aside, the edge catching her along her side and drawing blood, before exploding in a flash of cold energy that tossed her back across the room.

"No!" Selphie cried as Quistis went flying, and looked her way. She should have been looking ahead, as Adel focused on her next. White light gathered in her hand, and the Sorceress flicked a finger at Selphie. The bolt slashed out and took Selphie in the chest as she was momentarily distracted. The tiny SeeD was hurled back, flying end over end to crash hard into the floor, groaning in pain and shock.

"_Selphie!"_ Irvine shouted, and he spun toward Adel, eyes locked in fury.

* * *

They hesitated for a brief moment, assessing the change in their quick battle.

"Such a perfect weapon," Seifer said after a moment, admiring the shining edge of Lionheart, and the intense glow of the concentrated energy. He paused his analysis of the weapon as Squall went into a defensive crouch, ready to fight unarmed and get his weapon back if need be. Seifer grinned and, almost casually, the onetime Sorceress' Knight threw the weapon back over his shoulder, away from the two rivals.

"I once heard a man say something interesting," Seifer commented as he reached up, grasping the front of his tattered trenchcoat. He pulled it back, doffing the coat easily. "He said, 'True combat, in its purest essence, is not with a blade or club. Back when man was first walking, he didn't use tools for war. He used his hands, his feet, every part of his body. As time progressed, man always returns to that primal level, battling without weapons, in the arena of the true warrior. After all, the greatest measure of a man's skill as a warrior is his ability to wage war with only his own body and nothing more.'"

Seifer threw the coat away, leaving him with only his vest, pants, boots, and gloves, the latter of which he casually took off.

"He simplified it with nine simple words: 'Only a fool trusts his life to a weapon.'" The gloves fell to the floor, and Seifer kicked them away.

"Who said that?" Squall asked, understanding what Seifer was edging toward.

"I dunno," he replied. "Some crazy ninja guy. What matters is, he's right, no matter how you look at it." Seifer then nodded toward Squall.

Squall felt a rumble in the background, where the others were engaging Adel. He paid it little attention, trusting in Quistis, Zell, Irvine, and Selphie. They would save Rinoa. He had to have faith that they would. Here, now, he had the greatest challenge yet facing him, and he would meet that challenge head on.

Squall's jacket fell to the floor, followed by his gloves. He removed his sword and ammunition belts as well, and set his necklace atop the pile, moving them out of the way, before returning to face Seifer as an equal. It was time to truly decide this battle. The others would win, and he knew it; that gave him a sense of freedom, an almost peaceful acceptance of this challenge.

"And now, we begin," Seifer said with a wide grin. "Once and for all, we decide this." He raised his fists, evenly balancing his feet shoulder width apart. Squall nodded.

"Let's go," he said, mimicking Seifer's stance. They stared at each other for a few brief moments, eyes meeting, gauging the other's stance and willingness to continue. Both rivals found what they were searching for in their enemy, an indomitable willingness to succeed, and to win, once and for all. Here, now, they were fighting in the circle of equals, the proving grounds for true warriors. Ideology, hatred, enmity, everything was thrown away in the face of the challenge. Hell was coming, but neither man cared in this moment. All that mattered was the challenge, and the victory.

"Come on, Squall!" Seifer roared, and at he same moment, both the SeeD and the Knight stepped forward, wading into the battle.

It started off slow, both men circling each other for a moment, eyeing their respective stances, before Squall launched the first blow, a quick snap kick aimed at Seifer's chest. The blow wasn't intended to land, and Seifer certainly didn't let it, snapping a hand down to catch the foot as it shot up toward him and knock it back down. Squall followed this attack with a straightforward jab that Seifer caught as well, smirking as he did so. Squall then went low, with a cross aimed at Seifer's ribs, that again met Seifer's forearms as he blocked. The knight then countered with a jab aimed at Squall's face, which the SeeD's other forearm deflected just as easily.

The routine was quick, and the deflections were precise. Squall's next action was sudden and unexpected, however.

Both hands closed around Seifer's jabbing wrist and he pulled the knight closer, the muscles in Squall's neck flexing and snapping like a striking snake, crashing his forehead into Seifer's mouth. Seifer reeled back, and Squall followed up with two quick crosses at close range, thudding into Seifer's chest, and an uppercut into Seifer's gut that bent him over slightly. Squall's left foot rose, beginning a knee strike to Seifer's face, when the knight rose, an elbow flying across and striking Squall in the temple. Squall reeled away, and Seifer followed through with a powerful cross of his own that rocked Squall's head back, and then a jab that impacted just below his right eye. An uppercut followed, smashing into Squall's chin, and Seifer spun around into a high kick.

That kick gave Squall the instant he needed, and ducked low beneath the flying foot, diving forward and tackling Seifer's other leg. Both fighters went down into a roll across the ribbed floor, grappling and scratching as they jostled for control. Seifer ended up on top somehow, and clasped one hand over Squall's throat, the other smashing into Squall's nose once, then twice as he was pinned. The third blow fell, but Squall's hand was up, catching it and holding it by the wrist, an the SeeD coiled his legs beneath him, pressing both boots to Seifer's chest. A quick kick hurled Seifer up and away, and Squall scrambled to his feet, blood streaming from his nostrils.

Seifer came back in immediately as Squall was rising, refusing to give up his advantage or momentum. He led with a powerful punch that Squall took across the jaw. The SeeD rolled with the hit and responded with two rapid-fire uppercuts to the stomach that rocked Seifer back a step, and a left cross to the face that bloodied Seifer's own nose. Seifer snapped off a jab that took Squall in the chest, but the SeeD quickly countered, locking a hand around that wrist and pulling Seifer close into a rising knee that bore into the knight's stomach. Seifer doubled over, groaning in pain, and Squall dropped an elbow into his back that sent him down. Squall spun, raising a foot to stomp down into Seifer's back, but the knight spun himself as he was dropping, sweeping both legs out and taking Squall off his feet.

Seifer stood quickly, and dropped down onto Squall, elbow leading, and smashed into Squall's stomach. The SeeD gasped in agony, spitting up blood, but rolled away as Seifer rose, coming in with a soccer kick to the gut as Squall tried to rise. Squall was lifted a few feet into the air before crashing down to the floor on his stomach. Seifer strode over to the SeeD as he began to stand again, and stood behind him. He locked an arm around Squall's neck, putting him into a choke hold.

"You're losing it, Squall," Seifer hissed, Squall's blood streaming down onto his bare arm. "You can beat me with a gunblade but not with your bare hands?"

Squall didn't reply, instead suddenly pushing off the floor, lifting his chin above Seifer's locking arm, and pressing it against his neck for the brief instant he had gained. Then, h e coiled both legs beneath him and ducked, while at the same time reaching behind him with both hands and jabbing his thumbs into Seifer's eyes. Seifer cried out in agony, his grip slackening and allowing Squall to slip free and spin, planting a side kick to Seifer's chest that hurled the knight back. Seifer hit the floor and rolled a few times before kicking himself up onto his feet.

Squall bore in hard and fast, pummeling Seifer with a pair of rapid jabs to the stomach, Seifer countered with an uppercut that almost struck Squall in the jaw, but he leaned back an instant before it met, and the fist passed before his face. Squall came back in with a brutally hard punch to Seifer's gut that doubled the knight over again, and he snapped up a knee that connected with Seifer's forehead. The knight was knocked back up into a standing position, clutching his face, and Squall wasted n time pummeling him with a barrage of jabs and crosses that thudded into Seifer's chest and stomach.

Seifer stumbled back as Squall came in with another quick combination, fists striking his face and chest in rapid succession. At least one of Seifer's ribs cracked under the barrage, and blood streamed down his face as Squall pounded away. The knight fell back, and with another pair of solid hits, alternating hooks to the temples, Seifer dropped to his knees, eyes almost swollen shut, nose crushed and bleeding. He managed to look up to Squall, and surprisingly enough, the knight smiled, blood trickling out the side of his mouth.

"Damn," he said, eyes glazing over, his voice faint and almost dreamy. "I guess . . . You won that one too, huh, Squall? Good . . . job . . . ." Seifer trailed off, and then fell forward, face down, to the ridged floor, unconscious.

* * *

Galbadia Garden wasn't too big on teaching Limit techniques to its SeeDs, mainly so that such information would not be leaked to Galbadia's military and the officers that trained at Galbadia Garden. Nonetheless, the basics of harnessing anger and fury were indeed taught at Galbadia Garden, though not at the level of sophistication that they were at Balamb Garden.

Irvine Kinneas, Galbadian SeeD, recalled those techniques at that moment, and let the anger lend his muscles inhuman strength and speed. He didn't use Guardian Forces, but he didn't need them or any "hokey magic". All he had, and needed, was that fury, and the arsenal hidden beneath his trenchcoat.

The Valiant had expended all of its ammunition, and Irvine was to pissed to reload the weapon. Rather than reload his rifle, he dropped it, and his hands dropped to his hips, pulling out a pair of 9mm handguns. He leveled them at Adel's smiling face as she turned her eyes toward him, and pulled the triggers.

Adel's head snapped back as Irvine loosed precision gunfire, yelling at the top of his lungs as he advanced. Slugs slammed into her head, rocking it back as he fired, blood flying from her face. In a matter of seconds, the handgun magazines had been exhausted, and Adel turned her injured but rapidly-healing face toward the sharpshooter, now more angry than amused. She raised her hands and loosed twin bolts of destruction at the sharpshooter.

Irvine moved faster than one would have thought a man could move, spinning around the lethal magical blasts and drawing his Calico sub-machineguns as he came back. Both weapons were leveled at the evil Sorceress' head, and Irvine cut loose again, spraying precision gunfire in rapid bursts at Adel's painted face. Blood flew from her head even as the previous wounds began to seal back up, and Adel roared in fury. Irvine charged forward, trenchcoat flying out behind him as he advanced, brass casings leaping past him as they were ejected from his weapons.

Adel fired off another spell, a ball of destruction that shot low, aimed for Irvine's feet. He actually continued the charge, still firing, and dove forward, leaping up and over the energy bolt, still firing. The shot passed beneath Irvine harmlessly, striking the floor behind him and blasting it apart. The sharpshooter hit the floor in a roll, tossing his spent Calicos aside as he came up, and in one smooth motion drew his revolvers. Irvine came up firing rapidly, blasting chunks out of Adel's head, refusing to give her the moments she needed to regenerate the damage through her magic.

Adel launched another attack, almost blindly infuriated by Irvine as he advanced to almost point blank range. The spell lanced down at him, but the sharpshooter was spinning around to Adel's left side even as the magic left her fingers. Irvine seemed to be dancing around her attacks with almost effortless ease, his raw anger giving him all the agility and speed he could ever need in this one-man assault against the Sorceress dictator.

The revolvers ran empty as Irvine approached Adel's side, and he wasted no time pulling out his AB-10 machine pistols and jamming them into her side, literally digging the barrels into the Sorceress' skin and holding the triggers down. Adel screamed in agony as sixty-four steel bullets ripped into her body in that instant, and swung her arm down at Irvine in desperate fury. Irvine saw the arm coming long before it reached him, and ducked beneath the swing. He dropped the AB-10's and grabbed her arm with one hand, the other going into his trenchcoat. Adel retracted her arm, bringing it up toward her head, and Irvine released it, planting his feet against the top of her chest, just behind Rinoa's limp head. His free hand shot forward and grabbed Adel's red hair, using it to anchor him in position for the instant he needed. Adel opened her mouth roaring in a mix of fury, surprise, and pain, giving Irvine the opening he needed.

"Eat AP, bitch!" Irvine growled, and jammed an armor-piercing round into her mouth, pulled from within his coat. The shell lodged in Adel's maw, and her eyes bugged open wide as Irvine reared back with one foot and kick the shell with all his fury-enhanced strength. The shell ignited and blasted forward, into the back of Adel's head.

Adel's face literally exploded.

Irvine and Rinoa were showered with blood, gray matter, and bits of bone as the massive Sorceress' corpse slumped to the floor. The sharpshooter dropped down, hitting the floor hard, and groaning in surprise and pain as Adel and Rinoa went down. Rinoa's eyes opened slightly, her hands beginning to pull free of Adel's corpse, when the Sorceress' body began to glow a brilliant pink-white light. The headless corpse quickly seemed to disintegrate, the light engulfing Rinoa as she looked around in shock and confusion. The light quickly began to recede, flowing around Rinoa as she started to stand up, before finally completely melting into her body.

Rinoa blinked for a moment, shaking her head, and looked to the others, somewhat surprised, but also happy and relieved. The SeeDs gathered around her, battered but otherwise fine, despite Adel's beatings. Even Selphie didn't seem to badly injured.

"You okay?" Irvine asked as he stood, and she nodded.

"What about Squall?" she asked, and looked around. She spotted Squall, approaching, and was shocked at his condition. Blood stained his shirt, and his nostrils were still bleeding. His face was bruised badly, and he was carrying his jacket in one hand and his gunblade in the other. Behind him, Seifer was down and out cold, looking even worse.

"Is he-" she began to say, and Squall shook his head.

"Just unconscious," he replied. "We finally settled it." he nodded toward her. "How about you?"

"Surprisingly fine," she said, looking to the others. "I didn't even feel anything. I just blacked out, and then, I'm here."

"Thank Irvine," Zell added. "Went crazy when Selphie went down and kicked her ass." Rinoa turned to say something to Irvine, opening her mouth, when the sharpshooter suddenly went flying away.

"Hey, that's no way to thank-" Zell began to protest when he, alogn with the other Seeds, was hurled back. Squall managed to keep his footing and step close to Rinoa, before he was finally tossed away from her, with the same telekinetic force that he had felt in space.

"Its Ultimecia!" he warned as he hit the floor, rolling a few times before recovering.

"Well, no big surprise there!" Selphie replied, standing.

"Where's Ellone?" Zell began to ask as Quistis ran to Irvine. The sharpshooter was fine, though he looked about as battered as everyone else now.

"I'm here!" came a shout from the entrance, and the SeeDs looked back, to see Ellone rushing into the room, with Laguna beside her, followed by a squad of Dollet soldiers led by General Randolph.

"What's going on?" the General asked, and Laguna pointed toward Rinoa, who was teetering back and forth, just as she had in space.

"Ultimecia!" Laguna shouted. "We're going to initiate the plan now!" Randolph nodded as Ellone and Laguna moved forward, the other Seeds moving with them.

"You know the plan?" Squall asked Ellone, and she nodded. Squall's sister closed her eyes, and focused on Rinoa. An instant later, Rinoa dropped to her knees, and then opened her eyes a half-second after that, blinking.

"Is that it?" Quistis asked, and Ellone nodded.

"Ultimecia acted quickly," she replied. "She must have been hoping this would happen. She started the process almost instantly."

"Then that's it," Laguna added, nodding, as Squall helped Rinoa stand up.

"No turning back now," Squall stated as Rinoa steadied herself. "Everyone, get ready." The SeeDs nodded, and he looked to Rinoa. "Are you ready for this?" he asked, and she nodded firmly.

"It was over so fast," she said, shaking her head. " I got a glimpse . . . I think it was the young Adel, but I'm not sure. One second I was there, then Ellone brought me back here."

"Time compression is about to begin," Squalls warned her. "Stay by my side." He clasped her hand tightly in his own, and she nodded.

* * *

It began with a feeling of coldness within everyone's hearts. There was the sensation that something was falling apart, as if some cosmic order was being disassembled. Nothing violent or shocking, but definitely different, as it, piece by piece, existence was being taken apart and not rearranged. The sensation was difficult to place, but when Zell took a step forward and the floor rippled like water, something was definitely _wrong._

Then, the floor took on the consistency of water, and all six of the companions fell straight through into darkness.

It lasted for only a split second, and then they found themselves in free fall, dropping into an endless void.

"Don't lose yourselves!" Squall shouted to his comrades as they fell around him, and there came responses from all around. Squall reached out, and his hand brushed fingers. He looked over, and saw Rinoa falling with him. H reached out a second time, and clasped her fingers, tightening the hold. He would _not_ let her go.

"Hold on!" he shouted. "We're heading into the future! Think of everyone you know and care about! It's the only way to survive!"

Squall tightened his grip around Rinoa's fingers, and they plunged into time, diving headlong into the future.

* * *

Wow. This chapter came out fast, didn't it? I'm cutting it short here, so that I can rest up and get ready for what is likely going to be a challenge for me to write: the Sorceress battles across time and the exploration of Ultimecia's castle, and battles against Ultimecia's guardians. I've got some ideas here, and if I did include them, this chapter would become a big huge monster to write. Plus, I need to wrack my head for inspiration on writing the trip through time!

So. I mean it this time, one more chapter until the battle with Ultimecia. The next one will likely be shorter, about this chapter's length or less, so expect it soon! I've been on spring break for the last week, so it may take a little longer to put out, but its coming, trust me! And it will blow you away, I think.

Some notes: Yes. Seifer and Squall settled it bare-handed. That was always the dream I had with writing that battle, and I wanted it close, in your face, and brutal. Blood flying, fists cracking, feet impacting, close-range brutality is what I was aiming for. Think I succeeded? Let me know.

Also, did it. I finally included Irvine's Limit. Or Limit-like thing. Matrix bullet-time sort of stuff. I thought it up on the spur of the moment, and I thought it would be awesome if the guy to take down Adel was not a SeeD with all these enhanced powers, but an ordinary soldier with mortal weapons. Laguna was an ordinary guy, and Irvine is too. Ironic, huh?

Chapter title comes from Guilty Gear. Its what the announcer shouts before every match. Fitting, huh? The original chapter title was "Headlong into the Future" which I added at the end.Also, Metal Gear reference in there. Very obvious.

Okay, that it? Good. Shout-out time!

Prodigy: Oh yes, my Metal Gear fic is progressing nicely. I stopped at the Nuke Building, but I'm working on it some more now. I want to write the Ninja vs. Snake duel! Three more chapters and an epilogue to go, and its over!

Chris Ganale: BZZRT! WRONG! it's the scene where Irvine was pointing the laser sight at Zell in the hangar. Combination of the covert misison in Wraith Squadron to bomb to transparisteel refining plant (Donos laser-sighting Face) and the beginning of Delta Halo, where the Marine makes the "Dear Sarge: Kicking ass in outer space, wish you were here." comment and Sarge responds with a "I heard that! Jackass."

OniRazz: What? That? Squall's talking like an Elite. Yeah. Right! Erm, I need to fix that. XD

Solid Shark: Faster update:P Laguna was always evasive about that. I wish he'd just outright say it, maybe in the ending.

DBZ Fanfiction Queen: Here it is!

Hee. Your idea is not quite what I had in mind. Remember Edea vs. Ifrit? Back in Scars of Circumstance? And Seifer's eyes are gray. Watch the opening cutscene again. :P Time Compression will be crazy. I'm gonna go all out with the insanity there.

Actually, last chapter was typed up mostly over spring break, with the exception of the Squall-Laguna scene. However, I did pre-write this chapter's lead-in to the Seifer vs. Squall brawl.

Anime obsessed fan: Honestly, I can't wait to get to work on the Sorceress battles across time. I'm kind of nervous about fighting Ultimecia now. I need to play through the game and get back to that point!

Daniel Wesley Rydell: Everyone loved the Laguna and Squall talk. Heh.

Rikke Leonhart: I have the same problem. XD Well, I didn't wait too long for this chapter, even if it was just an extended boss battle.

Shootski: Hey, maybe I will too. Nah….

Ange Sinistre: I'm on a mission. I HAVE to get this done before May. I have to go to boot camp then, which won't be too bad, but still. Won't do for me to constantly update and then leave everything off for three months and then come back.

Lizardios: Hee. Thank you. I love praise, boosts my ego so much.

Dragoon Swordsman: My initial idea for Lionheart was it would be like the energy swords in Halo. I scrapped that, though. I even had Seifer deactivating Lionheart in my first draft of this chapter. I like the Deep Sea Deposit. Great for leveling once you get those nifty Bonus abilities.

Avion Jade: Seifer didn't exactly trick them. He was unconscious, just recovered fast and took advantage of Rinoa.

Rusty Knights Productions: I almost had Zell comment on "This bucket of bolts will never get through this!" XD

JadeAlmasy: No problems with taking your time. You're not rushed like I am. Phew. Three more chapters! Three more chapters!

Red Eyed, Divine Dragoon: I originally planned for someone to give the heroes another GF, likely Cid or maybe even Laguna, but people clamored for Bahamut, and then "Edea" hit me in the head, and I jumped on the idea.

Sherif: Yeah. I'll have to write other novelizations to make up for the lost time! Synthesis and my Metal Gear fanfic are coming along, and I have a Halo and even a resident Evil fic working. I may end up asking someone trustworthy to post my stuff up in increments while I'm at boot. (Kaiser, I'm looking at you!)

That all? Great! Its late here as I write this, and I need sleep. I have a ton of stuff to do in the morning, like study and write up papers and junk I was supposed to be doing during spring break, but I put them off to produce these chapters! So! Be happy!

Till next chapter.


	56. The Festival of the Damned

_Chapter 48: The Festival of the Damned_

The whirling strands of the music Squall had danced to with Rinoa months ago flew past, the notes brushing his ears as the image of a severed Galbadian head flew past, chased by Squall screaming in agony as he was chained to the torture rack in the prison. Rinoa shouted something in his ear, but her words were pulled away across time as blood ran down Squall's face, Seifer towering over him, smirking with lunacy and satisfaction. His gunblade met Seifer's, a clang of metal on metal in the yellow torchlight of the parade float, quickly shifting to the soft white light of the headmaster's room in Galbadia Garden as Seifer spun away. He was then pulling Rinoa close, hugging her tightly, before crashing through a glass wall into the small control room in Garden's MD level. Squall's fist crunched into Seifer's face followed by him kicking off the top of the carousel clock and hitting the ground, speaking to Rinoa on the starry night at Fisherman's Horizon. Missiles streaked down from on high, chased by Squall leaping from the Forest Owl's train car to the back of the Galbadian train and just as quickly replaced by him awakening in the similarly dead train on the Horizon Bridge. The memories melted away in the face of flashes of light around Edea, her eyes fixed on Squall and a horrid predatory smile played across her face as she readied an icy spear aimed for his chest.

Squall felt Rinoa near him, and looked to her, seeing her plummeting with him as what could only be a stream of memories whirled past them all. He could dimly make out the others in the chaos, Zell grabbing Quistis while Irvine held hands with Selphie, the six of them dropping through time as they flew into the future.

Squall caught a jumbled flash of more memories, the more vivid showing Rinoa arguing with her father, followed an instant later by bitter cold nipping at his skin as he saw Selphie putting a hand on the grave of a close friend killed in Trabia garden. He saw Quistis being informed of her demotion, and then Zell, crushing a Galbadian helmet inward as a battle raged around him. He saw Irvine lining up the sights of his rifle, trailed by another of his own memories, slitting an enemy throat in Fisherman's Horizon immediately followed by being pummeled by one of the huge alien beasts on the Ragnarok. Squall then suddenly shifted an older memory, of him standing in a shop, gunblade in hand, and the corpses of two armed criminals on the floor. Seifer stood beside him, nodding grimly as blood dripped from their weapons.

Then, without any warning, the maelstrom of memories simply boiled away, revealing a wide, expansive ocean below, less than a second away.

"Hold on!" Squall screamed, and then they went into the water, splashing down. The wetness faded I instantly, and they dropped through the ocean without feeling any water on their skin, and plummeted as if their fall had never been arrested. Fish and other aquatic animals flew past, their shapes oddly distorted in the altered existence, and then they fell through the water, dropping into a pale yellow and orange sky.

Squall wasn't sure what was happening as thousands of white birds flew past, screaming and cawing at the temporal travelers, flapping their wings. They brushed up against him, but like with the water, he felt each contact for a whisper of an instant before it faded into nothing. Only one sensation was constant, and that was Rinoa's hand, holding his tightly as they fell through nonexistence. Something picked up around them, a strange wind that swirled and twisted, buffeting the travelers, and before anyone could cry out, they were swallowed by both shadow and light, somehow existing together in the folded existence of time.

* * *

Squall opened his eyes, and looked around. He recognized this room. The others stood shakily around him, apparently unharmed by the surreal adventure across existence and through time.

"Where are we?" Quistis asked, and Squall looked around the white-draped room, filled with a strange white fog that limited vision. He knew this chamber; his sword arm throbbed faintly where it had been bitten by one of the animated statues months ago, in this very chamber.

"Deling City," he replied. "The chamber where Edea was staying."

"Why are we here?" Irvine asked, and Squall shook his head, stepping into the fog. It gave way before him, and with a few steps, he saw, in the center of the room, a small but elegant chair, within which was sat a woman in a flowing dark purple dress. Squall, and the rest of his comrades, knew the figure all too well.

"Matron?" Zell asked, and the alabaster-skinned Sorceress craned her head back, at an impossible angle for any living creature. Her face was shrouded by the mask Edea had worn, and she stood slowly, her body moving weirdly.

"Squall, its not human!" Rinoa suddenly warned, and the Edea doppleganger turned, loosing a strange sound, a hideous laughter that resonated around the room, high-pitched and distinctly feminine, but also decidedly inhuman.

"What is it?" Squall asked, and then froze, as the Sorceress split apart, mirror images of the Edea shadow appearing beside her. As one, they began to shift, features melting away, slowly replacing their familiar shapes with flowing, elegant dresses and painted, clown-like female faces.

"Temporal manifestation," Rinoa replied, narrowing her eyes and brows bunching up in though and confusion. "Fragments of magical energy brought together by time compression."

"Living magic?" Selphie asked, and Rinoa nodded.

"Brought together in humanoid form," she continued.

"In other words," Irvine finished, raising his rifle. "they're Sorceresses created by time compression."

The laughter repeated, and the chamber around the six comrades began to, for a lack of a better word to describe it, melt. The walls began to run down, the edges of ceiling drooping, and the gossamer white drapes began to warp and distort, everything running into the ground, which lost its distinctness, colors and objects coming together like mixing oils on top of water.

"The hell?" Zell shouted in confusion, and Selphie cried out in pain as one of the pseudo-Sorceresses launched a weak blast of magic at her, sending the small Seed stumbling back. Irvine replied with swift retribution, putting two shots into the thing's head. It's face snapped back, burning away, and the Sorceress swirled, crying out in strange laughter and pain, before fading away, half saddened and half-mocking.

"Manifestations or not, we can kill them!" Squall shouted, and the other Sorceresses drifted forward, bolts of raw magic lancing out at the SeeDs and Sorceress. Squall took two in the chest, barely staggering, and Zell caught one in the leg, spinning him around, and counter-fire came quickly, a barrage of magic and bullets that seemed to shatter the magical manifestations where they stood.

The outer walls seemed to slough away, letting daylight in, followed by revealing the polluted skies of Timber, followed by its skyline. However, like the palace, the structures seemed to be falling in on themselves, colors and objects melting together into the ground around them. The group stood in a street that had lost all distinction, its cobblestones coming together like a single gray and blue puddle of water.

Then, seeming to form out of the air or emerge from the melting structures, came more of the strange Sorceress manifestations, swooping in to surround the humans.

"Perimeter!" Squall ordered. "Six sides, cover each other!" The SeeDs, followed by Rinoa a split second later, whirled into a quick six-person defensive circle, weapons facing outward and magic and bullets immediately ripping out into the enemy. Several of the magical manifestations collapsed under the assault, fading away with their mourning, laughing cries, but the remainder, five of the creatures, closed in, sending responses of flashing magic. Squall took a quick step forward, closing with two of the Sorceresses, and struck fats and hard, an arcing slash that lopped off one's head and a quick stab, the perfect edge of Lionheart chopping the other almost in half. Both vanished with the same cries. Behind him, Zell put his fists to quick and deadly work, beating one of the Sorceresses as it neared and crushing its face, which faded with a shriek of pain and laughter. Irvine wounded another with a blast that blew off its arm, and Selphie and Quistis put it down with quick flashes of their chains. Rinoa overwhelmed the last one with a potent fire spell that utterly annihilated it.

There was a brief moment of silence, followed by the structures of Timber continuing to melt, revealing, beyond them, a thick forest covered with snow. The frozen ground poked through the mixing cobblestones beneath their feet, and, as if heralded by the new landscape, more of the mysterious Sorceresses emerged, flowing out of the ground, stepping out of the woods around the humans, or simply appearing from thin air. The SeeDs and Rinoa reacted instantly, pouring magic outward from their defensive circle, blasting a half-dozen of the creatures into oblivion, but unlike before, their deaths seemed to simply spawn more of the things. The manifestations floated forward, giggling in their horrid high-pitched voices, a multitude of dozens encircling the SeeDs and the Sorceress.

Zell shouted in defiance of the hordes as one floated near him, and crushed its face with a swift kick, which triggered a surge of the enemy, rushing forward at the humans and launching bolts and blasts of magic into their midst. Quistis snapped her whip into one, sending it spinning into oblivion, and a spiraling rush of absolutely cold air flew from Selphie's fingers, enveloping two other Sorceresses. Selphie quickly turned as another of the Sorceresses closed in, and smashed it with the bars of her nunchaku as it got too close. Another was right behind that one, but Quistis filled the gap with a striking whip that bit into that manifestation's painted face.

Irvine cocked open his rifle and jammed two buckshot shells inside before slamming it closed and firing at point-blank range. Two Sorceresses were ripped apart by a single blast, and he spun, firing at another thick concentration, taking three out and wounding a fourth. He quickly snatched a 9mm handgun from his hip and shot the Sorceress twice, finishing it.

Squall entered the mix instantly, his gunblade lashing up in a sweeping stroke that tore through a Sorceress without even slowing. The SeeD spun, chopping down with a measured cut that bisected another opponent, and whirled, Lionheart flashing out and severing another Sorceress' head, before stopping and stabbing back, impaling another of the magical manifestations before ripping up through its head and dropping upon another's skull, chopping it in half. Squall whirled again, gunblade chopping twice, the blade a white streak zig-zagging between three more of the Sorceresses and sending them flying apart, swirling into the air. He didn't see the landscape begin changing again, the trees melting away and the ground giving way to the walks of Balamb Garden. The familiar terrain quickly twisted as the sky itself melted into the ground, pouring down like dripping paint.

Beside Squall, Rinoa dominated her end of the circle. The Sorceresses had magical strength, but they paled in comparison to what Rinoa wielded within herself. Almost effortlessly, she gestured toward a swarm of the manifestations of magic and launched a spell. It flew from her hands like water flicked from her fingers, the magic that normally required tight concentration flowing from her body almost of its own will. The fiery magic struck the Sorceresses and detonated, quickly enveloping the horde as it closed in and burning them into nonexistence. She glanced to Squall, to see him with his situation well in hand, and turned to her comrades behind and beside her. They, too, were doing well, but just to ensure they would be safe, Rinoa placed a quick set of defensive barriers over them, further protecting them from the Sorceress' magic. The others were too busy with targets to thank her, but she knew they would appreciate her efforts.

A slight jolt of pain struck Rinoa, and she spun back toward the offending hostile manifestation, and speared it with a bolt of lightning with nonchalant ease, a slight smirk of satisfaction appearing on her face, which surprised her an instant later. It wasn't like her to take pleasure in combat.

"Bring it, bitches!" Zell roared, smashing both his clenched fists into a Sorceress as it closed in, extending a hand toward his face. The impact launched the manifestation back across the surreal battlefield, and Zell paid it no more mind, instead turning toward another an planting a rapid-striking foot across its painted face.

Quistis snapped her whip, twirling it over her head, and the blade cut into another Sorceress' chest. The creature fell back, wailing in agony and mirth at the same time, and Quistis pivoted, lashing out with a fist at another Sorceress as it drifted far too close for comfort. The creature squealed in pain as it was knocked back, and the SeeD snatched a knife from her belt and stabbed it into the side of the manifestation's head.

Selphie's magic lanced into a pair of the magical entities, sending them spiraling away into the melting landscape, and she quickly fended off another one with two quick jabs with the bars of her nunchaku, followed by stepping back and crashing the flail into the Sorceress' gut. It doubled over, and she spun the chain in the air and smashed it down on top of the thing's back. It fell into the melting floor, seeming to be absorbed into the fluid pavement.

Irvine battled beside her, slinging his rifle from his shoulder as he resorted to his sidearms to beat back the magical forces assaulting them. Both of his Calico machineguns were in hand and blazing away, rivers of metal ripping into the advancing entities. What he lacked in magic or hand-to-hand skills, the sharpshooter made up for in sheer firepower. He paused for an instant to switch out his emptied Calicos for a pair of handguns, leveling them at the oncoming threats and firing.

Rinoa rapidly gestured and launched spells at opponents as they came in. Energy lanced into and froze or fried a dozen of the magical manifestations in rapid succession. Beside her, Squall's gunblade wove and danced in what could be described as a dance of annihilation. Each stroke or cut took down at least one of the manifestations, and often cut through them outright to wound another beyond.

The assault continued for several minutes, the landscape around them transforming and melting, shifting as they fought on, showing forests, deserts, the insides of homes, the Galbadian D District Prison, the interior of Garden, Esthar, and a dozen other places that the SeeDs and Sorceress could not see because of the furious war they were engaged in. However, as time passed, the hordes began to slacken, and the SeeDs slowed as well, becoming somewhat exhausted with the number of enemies they had been fighting, but still standing strong due to their Guardian Forces. Within another minute, Squall had felled the last of the Sorceress manifestations, sending the things laughing and crying away into the landscape.

"That . . . ." Irvine asked, taking a panting breath as he reloaded his weapons, "That it?"

"No," Rinoa answered, before anyone could say anything. Squall looked to her, to see her staring into their melting surroundings, which now displayed the image of the town square of Winhill, the buildings rapidly collapsing in on themselves. She looked to Squall, urgency in her eyes.

"Its coming!" she shouted, and Squall opened his mouth to ask what she was talking about, when the pavement shuddered, and the time travelers were almost thrown from their feet. The pavement took on a blood red hue, and the buildings finished collapsing, replaced by rising red light shooting up all around them, the color of blood and painting them with what could be thought of as the lights of hell.

Erupting from this ground, a split second later, was another manifestation of magical power, a greater version of the Sorceresses they had faced before. However, this one was barely even humanoid, its body in the shape of a massive snake, with heavy, gnarled, thickly muscles arms dropping from its "torso," just below a human-like female head.

"The hell-?" Zell asked, before it gestured toward them and launched a shockwave of magical energy that staggered the SeeDs and sent Irvine off his feet. Counterattacks ripped out simultaneously as Irvine struggled to his feet, powerful blasts of magic thundering into the snake-like creature's chest and staggering it back as well.

"Why is every weird-looking thing we run into _out to kill us_?" Irvine muttered as he pulled several AP shells out of his coat and began to load them. As if in response, the horribly twisted Sorceress swept its arms out. Fire blazed from its hands and shot out in gouts at the SeeDs, who quickly scattered, barely evading the fires. The sorceress made another vicious gesture, toward Quistis, and an explosive inferno erupted around her. She cried out in pain as the flames burned around her, fires which were suddenly cut off as Zell hurled himself at the Sorceress and crashed into the thing, cutting off its focus on Quistis. Zell's forehead impacted with the monster in fury, and pulled his head back for another attack, when the Sorceress shot a hand up, grabbing him by the back of his coat and flinging him down to the ground.

In the brief respite that Zell had bought, Irvine fired one, then a second armor-piercing round, which buried into the Sorceress' face and rocked it back again. It lurched forward, seemingly uninjured by the impacts, save for two gaping wounds in its chest hat began to seal up.

"Is she okay?" Squall asked, glancing back to Quistis. Rinoa crouched beside her, and nodded, helping the wounded SeeD sit up, skin badly burned in some spots and her clothing charred, despite her defensive junctions. Rinoa cast a spell over her, healing energy mending her wounds.

"We need some heavier firepower!" Selphie called, and Irvine nodded. He reached into his coat and dug out a pair of shells, two of a few he'd managed to convince President Loire to let him use for the mission ahead. Beside him, Selphie focused, crossing her nunchaku before her, and then forcefully gestured toward the Sorceress creature they were battling.

Intense flames erupted around the magical manifestation, burning close and furiously around it, before expanding in intensity. The fires tore at the Sorceress, eating at its skin, and as the flames grew more and more ferocious, the very air around the creature began to shift and change.

The fiery spell lasted for only a few seconds, but those few seconds had frozen their enemy long enough for Zell to scramble away, Rinoa to help Quistis get back up, and for Irvine to load up his special ammunition. He leveled the rifle at the Sorceress, and pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened for a second, except that the tip of Irvine's rifle began to glow. He looked at it, confused, and then had to hold on with a vise-like grip as the rifle shuddered, and a column of pure white destruction pulsed from his weapon, blasting into the Sorceress. Skin peeled away and evaporated in the onslaught of furious energy, and when the light faded, the Sorceress was reeling.

"Whoa," Irvine said, looking at his rifle. Squall and Zell had taken advantage of the momentary respite and their off-balance opponent to rush forward, Zell once more going airborne and planting a thundering kick that rocked the creature's head, while Squall chopped hard, gunblade boring into the creature's snake-like body. Lionheart chopped in effortlessly, and scored one, two, then three rapid cuts before the Sorceress retaliated.

There was a flash of green light, and Squall was laying face down, twenty feet away, steam rising from his body. He sat up, every muscle aching and his skin screaming in pain, and he looked around. The Sorceress before them was regenerating the damage, but had expended a lot of energy in the attack, and was holding back for a moment. Zell was beside Squall, equally injured, but starting to rise again. Quistis had been knocked flat again, and Rinoa, who seemed the least injured, was helping her stand. Selphie had been hit as well, but had apparently shielded Irvine from the attack, and both were standing up, battered but still combat-effective. He turned back to the Sorceress, and saw that it was itself facing them, its wounds almost mended, and knew that they would have to launch another concentrated assault like before if they were going to finish it off.

The Sorceress didn't let Squall call to his friends for the combined assault, however, instead quickly launching another stream of potent, rapid-fire magical blasts. Irvine took a blast in the shoulder and was sent spinning to the ground, and Selphie ducked down beside him. Zell took two bolts one in the chest and another directly across his forehead, and was literally flipped over backwards from the impact. Squall was staggered by two hits to his torso, but he froze as he saw Rinoa step in front of Quistis and catch four different attacks, and was hurled to the ground, smoke rising from her slender body.

"_Rinoa!"_ Squall shouted, and whirled on the Sorceress. It fired another shot at Squall, who took it in the chest unflinchingly, and narrowed his eyes in anger that the beats had dared to hurt Rinoa, to say no less about his entire team.

A yellow aura rippled around Squall, and time slowed to a crawl for everyone except the SeeD Commander. He raised his gunblade over his shoulder and, in an eye-blink, he had leapt upon the Sorceress. Lionheart chopped down hard, the gunblade chopping deep into the enemy monster's flesh. He pulled the trigger on his gunblade, and a concussive blast exploded in the creature's midsection. He rapidly repeated the assault, gunblade chopping and beating, explosions sounding within time compression with each slash and cleave. Squall beat upon his enemy with raw fury, hacking away ten, then twenty times with Lionheart, the gunblade seeming to eagerly bite into flesh and slice chunks of his enemy free.

Time began to return to normal around Squall, but he wasn't finished yet. With a quick leap, he kicked off the front of his victim and flipped backwards, spinning around in midair. His fury took hold in that instant, directing his body of its own accord and he came around, furious energy gathering at the tip of Squall Leonhart's gunblade. He pulled the trigger as it came around, and tidal wave of destruction poured out over their opponent, blasting its body and ripping it apart. Pieces of the Sorceress flew away into the blood-red void beyond, followed by escaping magical energy. The Sorceress flexed every muscle in its unnatural body, standing straight and tall, body stretched out, and then shattered in a flash of white light that rushed out, washing over the six time travelers before they could even blink, and swept them away across time.

* * *

It was as they remembered. Squall reached out, pushing open a solid oak door, and stepped out into the courtyard at the center of Edea's orphanage. This was not the broken series of marble structures and overgrown walls that they had known mere weeks ago. This was their home, restored to perfection.

"Its like we never left," Quistis said as they threaded through the structure. Squall nodded and turned, looking back at his comrades. They had all made it through the trip together, and surprisingly enough, the SeeDs, and Rinoa, had been uninjured when they had come out of the light, standing in Edea's ancient, almost forgotten kitchen.

"Are we in the future now?" Rinoa asked, and Squall shrugged.

"Might be the past," Selphie added as he led them into the living room, empty and silent. "We're seeing the orphanage as it was. Maybe we took the wrong turn?"

"Fighting crazy Sorceresses from beyond time does that," Zell panned as Squall opened the back door of the orphanage, leading out to the coastline behind the houses. He looked out over the sandy gray beaches, littered with scattered broken stone and marble and strung clotheslines, and shook his head.

"We went into the future," he replied. "We did everything Odine and Laguna said. We should be seeing something different. Hell, this orphanage shouldn't even be here!"

Then, as if on cue, everything changed. Almost instantly, the sandy beach gave way to a glass coastline formed of obsidian, with jet black waters, filled with sewage and dirt, washing over the edges. The marble gave way to black stone and gray dirt, with broken red and blue statues littering the landscape. Scattered amongst these were splashes of bright red, and among them were multitudes of bodies, many wearing familiar white uniforms.

"SeeDs!" Selphie gasped as she looked over what had to be a brutal battlefield. Squall looked out, and as far as he could see, up and down the coastline, were mangled corpses, many wearing the familiar white gear of the White SeeDs. There had to be hundreds of them, and all of them were bloodied and torn, many atop broken weapons. A line of impaled corpses hung down the beach, and others laying pieces, hacked apart after their deaths. Others, nearer, were intact, or as intact as they could get after having been burned and stabbed and hacked so brutally.

"We're fighting across generations," Squall whispered as he looked over the carnage. He glanced at one pair of corpses nearby. A White SeeD was impaled on a spear, the shaft penetrating through his stomach and the head buried into a rock. He still clenched a sword in a death grip, and his expression was a mix of anger, pain, and satisfaction. Directly before the dead SeeD was another figure, in red and black, metallic armor shaped like medieval gear, vaguely similar to Estharian armor. The man was clutching the end of the spear, but was clearly dead; the SeeD had run him through with his sword, the blade punching through his throat, leaving the dead man shocked and confused.

"Who are these guys?" Zell asked, crouching next to another of the dead red and black-garbed men, a knife in the soldier's throat.

"Ultimecia's soldiers," Quistis replied, nodding. "They must be."

"I've never seen anything like this," Rinoa whispered, gazing across the field of battle. The dead SeeDs and soldiers had been so viciously and brutally ripped apart that it was almost impossible to imagine that it had been humans in battle. It wasn't just the SeeDs who were mangled so ferociously; the soldiers themselves were chopped apart or stuck on boulders or pinned up on statues with spears and blades. Squall stepped past one open-mouthed Ultimecia warrior, who had a halberd jammed down into his maw, eyes bled over and impossible to see through the dried blood.

"What kind of war is this?" Rinoa whispered.

"The worst kind," Squall replied, shaking his head. "Bitter, bloody, and grudging. Both sides hate each other with a passion exceeding words. This isn't warfare. Its organized butchery."

"All because of Ultimecia," Zell growled. "Hynedammit! We have got to take that bitch out, Squall!"

"Yeah!" Selphie agreed.

"But first we have to locate her," Quistis reminded them. "But where would we find her?"

"Quistis?" Irvine cut in, nodding toward the ocean. "I think we have an idea about where to start." The others turned to look, and were shocked. They hadn't seen it because of the clouds, but now that they saw it, and they saw the chains, starting from the edges of the coastlines and rising up, they were amazed they had missed it.

Dominating the skyline, above the black, polluted ocean, was a massive island, formed out of gnarled and twisted gray stone, pieces of it stretching out like roots gasping for water. Resting upon that island, however, was what struck the SeeDs and Rinoa, for upon it was a singular, massive castle, a stone edifice projecting power and malice as if they were tangible things. It was formed out of solid granite, gray and black stone walls and towers, multitudes of battlements and walls, with leering gargoyles standing guard upon each ledge and structure. Two dragon wings projected from a central keep, which was surrounded by multiple walls and structures, beyond which was a massive clock tower and a single narrow tower with a long bridge leading out to it. Black clouds swirled around the structure, shrouding the dark castle within its depths. Black chains of solid iron bound the castle to the coastline before them.

It was Ultimecia's keep, her base of power, where she projected her wrath upon this ruined, bleak, and broken world.

"Let's move out," Squall whispered, hands on his gunblade's hilt, and he stepped across the bitter battlefield, toward the nearest chain.

* * *

The chains rose up for miles, and with each step the SeeDs knew they were being watched closely. They clutched their weapons tightly, except for Zell, who clenched his fists, watching the structure rising up before them as they ascended, prepared for any attack.

Nothing came from the castle, however. No rain of magical attacks, no swarms of roaring soldiers rushing down the chain, no futuristic aircraft swooping from the skies. All that attacked the SeeDs was a swirling, shrill wind that whipped past them, and growing darkness as they neared the dark clouds surrounding the castle.

The chain Squall had chosen, it turned out, had been a good selection, as it led directly toward what appeared to be the front entrance to the castle, a massive pair of wooden doors that looked like they could deflect air strikes. The entrance towered over them, just beyond a small landing with a wide staircase leading up to the entrance to Ultimecia's lair. Squall paused as they steppe doff the chain and onto the stone landing, looking up at the edifice before them.

"Everyone who's creeped out, say aye," Irvine commented, but no one spoke. Squall continued his survey of the castle, and then turned, looking to his comrades.

"Time compression's already begun," Squall addressed them. "I don't know what's happening, but we're still here, so we still have time to stop Ultimecia. We're going in. We're going to cut to the heart of her castle, and kill anything between here and there, understand?"

"Damn straight," Zell said, and the others nodded. Squall nodded as well, and turned. He took a breath, and set a hand on his gunblade's hilt, and marched forward up the steps, the others right behind him. He reached the door and his hand extended, opening the portal into Ultimecia's lair.

The wood creaked open slowly, almost as if hesitant to let them in, and from the interior of the castle, a pale blue haze began to roll out. Squall steeled himself, and then stepped through the portal.

The first thing that assaulted Squall was the opulence. The chamber they entered was wide and long, featuring a elegant and beautiful twisting staircase leading up to a balcony encircling the room. Rich paintings and vibrant colors adorned the open sections of the walls.

But the outer image of opulence and beauty of the entry chamber of Ultimecia's castle was overwhelmed by the darkness that permeated the construction. The only lighting in the chamber was from a number of candles throwing dim orange and yellow illumination about. Beneath the staircase and balconies were wide areas of shadow, deep and thick, where anything could be crawling. Thick silky cobwebs dropped from the ornate columns around the room, and dust settled on everything in the chamber, even on the dull black brick walls. But more than the physical darkness was a malice, permeating the structure and pressing in on them, from all sides.

The entry chamber was empty, and as the SeeDs fanned out, searching for a threat, they found nothing present, no soldiers, no creatures, nothing slowing their path. There wasn't even a hint that any living being had inhabited this castle in years, beyond the eerie candles and the watchful darkness surrounding them.

"Ulty's a rude host," Selphie commented. "Not even greeting her guests?"

"Yeah," Zell muttered. "You'd think at least she'd have guards or something."

"Ultimecia doesn't need them," Rinoa replied, quietly, looking out into the shadows of the room. "She's a Sorceress without a knight. She doesn't need or want any guards."

"Makes our job easier," Irvine commented. "No pre-game show before the big bout."

"We don't have time to wait," Squall added, and looked around the room, seeking a doorway leading deeper into the castle. He spotted one under the shadows of the balcony, almost invisible, and signaled his team toward it. They moved up, surrounding the door, weapons ready. This was hostile territory, after all, and even if Ultimecia didn't have any guards apparent, she could just have them waiting in ambush. It was her style, after all.

Squall kicked the portal inward, shattering the door open. The SeeDs burst into the room beyond, to find a long, dark hallway lit by familiar candles. Leering gargoyles high above them were barely visible in the dim light, and if one didn't know any better it would seem that the statues were actively watching them as the moved out into the hallway.

There was a single door at the end of the hall, and the SeeDs similarly breached it, finding themselves in a ruined ballroom. Empty of living threats as with the previous room, the only danger came from debris on the floor. The room was paneled with gray wood and marble, and lit by the same dim lights as before. Dust coated everything, and two flights of stairs running up to an overhead balcony were rotted and broken, as was the balcony itself. A massive chandelier, made of iron and gold, hung above, but the SeeDs and Rinoa avoided it; it looked like it was waiting for any opportunity to crash to the floor. Squall nodded toward another pair of double doors at the north side of the room.

As with before, these doors crashed inward, throwing expensive wood everywhere, across a small courtyard, dominated by a small, elegant fountain, complete with running water. Beyond the water and the dark clouds overhead, nothing moved.

"Man, this is getting way too easy," Zell commented as they approached another set of double doors, which seemed to lead into a chapel on the other side of the small courtyard. So far, nothing but doors had stood in their way, and Squall shattered another of the impediments. The Seeds rushed in again, and once more, they found an empty chamber of ruined wood and marble, with a single massive organ towering at the far end of the chapel, beside a flight of stairs running up into darkness. Unlike the floors and ruined furniture, the organ appeared to be gleaming and polished, which further put the SeeDs ill at ease. The castle seemed abandoned, but the candles and fountain and organ, and especially the omnipresent foreboding surrounding them, put all of the intruders on their guard. They were being watched, they knew it, and they understood that Ultimecia was observing every step they made.

* * *

"I tire of this," hissed the creature, crouched above the throne room in the far tower of Ultimecia's castle. It slowly turned, moving its bulk around to face its mistress, who sat back calmly, almost relaxed, her elongated fingers drumming on the throne's arms as she watched an image from the chapel, showing the intruders moving up the stairs leading from the chapel.

"They defile your castle with their filthy footsteps and dare to ruin your home!" the creature growled, infuriated but knowing not to raise its voice in the presence of Ultimecia. It looked to its Sorceress as she placidly observed the intruders moving toward the clock tower.

"They draw closer," it added. "Soon, they will be here, in your tower! There is not much time remaining!" Ultimecia showed no reaction at first, and then slowly turned her black eyes toward the creature. It watched her, muscles tensing, eagerly awaiting her command.

"Time?" echoed a voice, beautiful and graceful, yet full of malice at the same time, and wicked, vicious pleasure. "There will be no time, my servant," the voice continued. "Or at least, no time but what I make of it."

"Temporal compression draws near," the creature stated, leaning forward. "You should not be distracted when it comes upon you, my Sorceress. Allow me to battle them. Let me delay them so that you may do what is required!"

The creature waited for several long seconds as his Sorceress watched the intruders rise up the rickety paths of the clock tower, before finally looking back at him. Ultimecia said nothing fro several more moments, and finally, without a word, or even moving her body, she flicked a single finger.

The creature whirled and leapt away from the tower in an instant, its mouth open in a smile as it hurled itself at its mistress' enemies with all its heart. They had come, and it would bleed and slaughter them before they would ever laid eyes upon Ultimecia.

* * *

Squall stepped carefully up the rickety wooden path, careful to test his weight with each step. The wood beneath his feet groaned as he ascended the narrow path spiraling up around the interior of the clock tower. They had been rising up it for the past few minutes, everyone alert for an ambush or attack. The narrow path and confined space made for a perfect site for a surprise attack, but no threats came. They were almost to the top of the structure, and squall was relieved when he stepped off the platform and onto solid wood, before a doorway. He walked into the room beyond, and his ears were assaulted by the sound of working machinery and gears as the clock tower's mechanisms rotated and turned all around them.

Squall found a way between the moving parts, a narrow metal path that led out into the dark nigh air. He stepped outside, onto a narrow metal platform on the face of the tower's huge clock, and was followed by his comrades in single file. Together, they saw what had to be their objective, ahead: the single tall, narrow tower with a long bridge running toward it, starting from about fifty feet down. There was no readily available ladder or other approach, so Squall did the next best thing.

He steppe doff the platform and dropped fifty feet to the bridge below, landing in a crouch, with barely a grunt of effort from the impact. He turned around, and was about to call for his comrades when Rinoa landed lightly, right beside him. He glanced to her, and she shrugged. Quistis followed, right behind Rinoa, and Squall looked up, waving for the others to follow suit, when a shadow flashed past above the clock tower, followed by a bolt of white light.

It smashed into the face o the clock tower, shattering the glass and massive iron hands of the structure, twisting them in and hurling them down the interior of the tower's depths. Something screamed, and slammed hard into the stone beside Squall as he ducked, scanning the sky for their attacker. He looked down to his side, and saw Zell laying face down, steam rising from his body. The brawler began to get up shakily, body burned roughly. He had clearly taken the brunt of the attack.

Up above, Selphie and Irvine were still alive, barely evading the attack. By ducking back inside the tower. They saw the shape most clearly as it swooped around the tower, coming back in.

"I see it!" Irvine called down as he quickly pulled a large, drum-shaped magazine from inside his coat and slapped it to the bottom of his rifle.

"What is it?" Squall shouted as Quistis quickly sent healing energies washing over Zell.

"A dragon!" Selphie shouted back, and launched a triad of lightning bolts at the creature as it ducked into the clouds, highlighting the beast. It looked much like Bahamut, a humanoid, clawed dragon, but was dark blue and black instead of gray.

"Ulty's got some guards after all," Zell muttered as he stood, nodding thanks to Quistis. Squall nodded as well, and turned toward the creature as it burst free of the clouds, coming back around for another pass. He pointed toward the monster as it started to dive towards them.

"Take it out!" he ordered, and in response, magic surged from the quartet on the bridge, lancing up at the dragon as it came about. The beast was speared by the blasts, flapping its wing and banking, when it took another barrage of magic from the ruined tower. This was followed an instant later by a stream of bullets pouring from Irvine's rifle as he fired it on fully automatic. Stinging magic and stabbing metal forced the dragon to break off and pull away, but not before it turned its head toward the tower and launched another bolt from its mouth, that impacted below Selphie and Irvine's position. The tower groaned and tottered momentarily, clearly wanting to give way, and the dragon let out a cry of triumph as it came around for another pass.

"We have to kill it fast!" Quistis shouted, and concentrated. "Use the spells we refined on the Ragnarok!"

"Forbidden magic?" Zell said, closing his eyes. "Man, I wanted to wait until we met Ultimecia to use that stuff!" Squall followed suit, as did Rinoa, but she did not focus on spells.

Meanwhile, Irvine and Selphie looked down at their precarious position, and then to each other. Before he could say anything suitably heroic, Selphie reached out and grabbed his hand and pulled him close. The sharpshooter was momentarily confused as the tiny SeeD ducked, and then he found himself literally being picked up, cradled in Selphie's arms.

"Banzai!" she shouted in his ear, and peat off the platform, dropping below. Irvine began to shout something, but then they hit the bridge a split second later, and an instant after that the spot they had been standing at exploded as the dragon came back around. The beast overhead pivoted in midair and swung around towards them, roaring a threat of doom and death, and was refuted by a storm of dozens of stones that streamed down from the heavens, from seemingly nowhere. They roared down, crashing into the dragon and pummeling him, exploding with each impact and driving the beast down, flipping it over in midair with each thundering collision. The meteors poured down, seemingly endless in their numbers as three Seeds cast the same spell at the same time on the monster.

However, the meteors were not unending, but as they started to slacken off, Rinoa opened her eyes, and another roar sounded in the skies over Ultimecia's castle. A pair of gray wings propelled another dragon through the air, out of the black clouds and into the dark dragon the SeeDs were battling. Bahamut answered Rinoa's call with fury and viciousness, teeth locking around Ultimecia's servant, biting and tearing its throat as they met. The other dragon cried out a thundering roar of fury and pain, and began to claw at the dragon attacking it, but Bahamut was a Guardian force, an eternal spirit, compared to the earthly dragon Ultimecia had bent to her will.

Bahamut's claws dug deeper and his teeth bit harder, jaws crushing scaled armor and skin, and rending gristle and cracking bone as they flipped over in mid-air. The other dragon managed to get its feet underneath it and press against Bahamut, forcing the Guardian Force off itself (and tearing a chunk of itself away in the process) Bahamut flipped over in mid-air, flapping his wings and opening his mouth. White light shone from within the Guardian Force's jaws, and then shot out in a series of rapid-fire bolts that shuddered the mortal dragon as it tried to come around. Then, flapping his wings once more, Bahamut shot forward, swooping toward the wounded dragon like a raptor swooping in on its prey. The other dragon, off-balance from the surprise attack and Bahamut's magical assault, was unable to evade the Guardian Force as he collided.

Bahamut drove the servant of Ultimecia through the air, hurling both of them into the clock tower, just below the bridge. They crashed into it, blasting apart stone and brick, earth-shaking roars sounding within the structure as they impacted the far side of the building. Bahamut thundered and the other dragon roared in response, and the bridge shook as the two did battle.

Then, a few moments later, the Seeds and Rinoa felt the rumbles increase, and clock tower groaned in protest. Far below, stone racked and broke around the two dragons, and the hundreds of tons of stone and iron that made up the tower above could not remain aloft. The tower began to give way, and the human onlookers, well aware of this fact, turned and ran far down the bridge, well away from the tower as it snapped and groaned and began to crumble. Within moments, the tower had started to fully collapse, shaking the entire island as it dropped. Deafening roars could be heard over the collapse as the dragons finished their battle, and then, as the top of the clock tower crumbled into dust below, silence fell over the castle.

"Y'know, the place looks a lot nicer now," Zell commented, looking over the ruins.

"But how are the schools?" Quistis added, and Zell burst out laughing. Beside them, Squall turned to Rinoa.

"Bahamut?" Squall asked, and Rinoa smiled, nodding.

"He's fine," she replied. "He went silent, but he's not injured, though I think he'll need time to recover."

"Good," Squall said, and he put a hand on her shoulder. She smiled and put a hand of her own on his. He looked past her, toward the tower beyond, now much closer, and tightened his grip on her shoulder.

"You ready for this?" he asked, and she nodded, determination appearing on her face.

"She took over my body and did so much evil," Rinoa whispered, steeling her jaw. "I want to pay her back.

"Same here, man!" Zell added, punching his fist in the air. Quistis nodded as well.

"For everyone and everything," she said firmly. "Let's end this."

"Uh, thanks," Irvine said as the others were talking. Selphie shrugged.

"What? You wouldn't have done it for me?"

"No, no!" Irvine replied, a bit embarrassed. "Normally it's the big huge hero man who is saving the girl with the brave leap of faith and all."

"Sounds like something Squall would do," Selphie added, glancing back at the team leader.

"What, you think he's the only hero around here?" Irvine asked, and Selphie chuckled. She paused for a moment after that, considering what he was implying.

"Hey, you two ready to roll?" Zell cut in, stepping toward them, and both SeeDs nodded, Irvine shouldering his rifle. Squall walked past them, toward the tower before the group, hands on his gunblade. He looked to his comrades, meeting their eyes.

"Most people would want to hear a speech right now," Squall said after a moment. "Something big and important and inspiring." Squall looked down at the bridge for a moment, and sighed.

"Ultimecia fucked up our world," Zell growled, punching a fist into his palm. "We don't need a damn speech!"

"We have a job to do here," Quistis added. "Our world needs us to end this."

"So screw the speech," Irvine added. Squall nodded again, looking over his friends once more. Zell clenched his fists eagerly, ready to fight. Quistis was also ready for this battle as well, preparing herself mentally and steeling herself for the final confrontation. Irvine and Selphie stood side-by-side, both equally eager to go into this battle, weapons ready. And Rinoa, a little behind them, was free from hesitation or uncertainty. She had never embraced war or battle, but she was ready to enter this one with all her heart.

And what of him? What of Squall Leonhart, orphan, SeeD Commander, and a man who had risked everything for his love? What about Squall?

"Let's end this, here and now," Squall said firmly, solid resolve and determination appearing on his face. He turned, looking toward Ultimecia's tower, and strode forward. The others followed right behind him, marching toward the final confrontation with their ultimate foe. Squall reached for the double doors leading into the slender tower.

It was time to dance with the devil.

* * *

Quite the challenge this chapter was, actually. Sorceress battles especially. I enjoyed writing the confrontation between the SeeDs and Tiamat (yes, that was what that dragon was)

I was originally considering having the heroes battle those Ultimecia soldiers I mentioned earlier, but I changed my mind, considering how Ultimecia was so "welcoming" before in the game, like she was so confident that you couldn't defeat her. I cut out most of her guardians both for that reason and for thematic reasons, being the final battle and not wanting to bog it down with lots of really unnecessary combat. (I hated having my powers locked, too, heh.)

Hey, I just noticed, I remembered to bring back Quistis' knife! Heh, I forgot about that, and felt like I should bring in her backup weapon before the final battle, just for kicks.

Squall did use Fated Circle in the battle with the uber Sorceress as well. I also wanted to include some more above-average abilities with Rinoa, like a preternatural sense of magic and whatnot. That's why she was able to sense what the strange Sorceresses were, for example.

And for once, I don't think there were any references in this chapter.

And with that, the final battle is looming! Yee-haw!

And as always, yon shout-outs!

Spikestrife: That was a big image I always had for a long time, having Squall and Seifer settle things hand-to-hand, while the others battled Adel. Was quite satisfying to write.

DBZ Fanfiction Queen: Indeed. Really, you don't mess with any of the FFVIII heroes, but especially not Irvine or Squall. You did catch the Hellsing reference, right? And if you think Irvine got pissed, wait until you see Squall really get mad . . . .

Rikke Leonhart: Final battle is on the way!

Chris Ganale: yeah, that's a great scene. Just stop the Warthog right after the pair of Jackal snipers, right after one of the Marines goes "Whoa." Its really funny.

Jade Almasy: my evil plan to kill fanfiction readers has been revealed! Ack! Seifer's comment is basically a big reference to Metal Gear Solid, where the Ninja says something similar to Snake during their fight.

Dragoon Swordsman: The "Only a fool trusts his life to a weapon" was indeed quoted from Gray Fox, yep.

DarkAngel-Jessie: Oooh, kisses!

Kimahrigirl: I'm glad so many people loved the fist fight between the two. Typos were because of excitement while writing and the fact that I missed them while going back over quickly. That and I'm dyslexic. Please let me know when I make typos!

OniRazz: I forgot to put in a point where Squall or Seifer would slam the other's head into the floor, too. XD My Metal Gear fic is a novelization of Shadow Moses. Lots of new things for Snake, like having a grenade launcher and a knife as well as all his other awesome stealth skills.

Solid Shark: yeah, I have a problem with quotes, myself. Use them too much.

Sherif: my original idea was that Irvine would use his limit much like bullet-time and go crazy with the double guns and such. I never got around to implementing it, though. Speaking of which, remember way back at the beginning, where I was first writing about Squall's first kill? I finally managed to include a blurb about it in this chapter! Not too hard to miss.

Kolostraminindincranin: Adel drawing energy was her absorbing Rinoa. I agree that movies do these battles a lot better, but that's a point I make behind my battles, to make them very cinematic and involved. It was they way I learned to write my duels and battles, so I tend to write them that way.

Kaiser: The battle was Liquid-Solid inspired, actually. I used Fox for justification. And yes, you have discovered my secret. MIND-VIAGRA!

Prodigy: Squall cursing is a product of my interpretation of Squall. A healthy bit of Squall in this story is me, which makes sense, after all. Nearly everyone in this story is, to some degree or another, reflecting my personality. But that's beside the point. The Squall I envisioned is of course passionate about what few things he cares for, among them Rinoa. Its just, the Squall I developed and created for this story would say that. Basically, he's evolved into that type of character as I write.

I happen to disagree myself about the final battle. I believe that final battles really do need to be settled at the hand-to-hand level to be truly "final." I recall, very clearly, a statement from the director of Predator, where he wanted the final battle between Dutch and the Predator to be settled at that primal level, without guns or weapons, but at a primitive, vicious, caveman-like level. A lot of action movies do the same thing, having the hero and his nemesis face off in a final confrontation of fists and feet. Perhaps it's the romantic in me, but I love the image of ending a battle at the basic, primal level or unarmed combat.

DeathDragon66: Irvine's use of AP was another little homage to Hellsing.

Akira Stridder: oh, yes, the people sing the praises for the hand-to-hand! I knew people would love it!

Icedragon6171: Nice to see new reviewers! The Ultimecia-Rinoa theory? No. Not in Gunblade. I hate that theory with a passion, as it ruins the happy ending to the game. FFVIII has such a wonderful ending, but thinking that "Gee, that's nice and beautiful, but Rinoa's going to go crazy in the end and try to kill everyone" really puts a damper on things. Thus, I vehemently deny it.

That everyone? Great. Now, to do that darn "college" thing I need to do.

Till next chapter.


	57. Lionheart

_Chapter 49: Lionheart_

The chamber was open to the black night sky, a wide area surrounded by high walls. A quartet of columns, ornate golden structures, rose up in a square around the center of the chamber, holding up an equally ornate golden halo engraved with dozens of images.

Squall saw none of it, instead focusing on the center of the room, where a single tall column rose, widening at its top to reveal a throne of gold and satin, set with numerous statues and engraved images, along with a pair of torches, a mirror image of the throne Edea had ridden on a lifetime ago. But Squall did not see the throne., but rather saw what sat on the throne itself.

Perched there, reclining back, was Ultimecia.

Her beauty was surprising, as was her apparent tendency to flaunt it. An elegant, open carmine robe wrapped around her body, but it did little to hide that which was not meant to be shown. Her slender body was covered in paint of various colors, blues, greens, and blacks, in stripes running along her skin. Her face, narrow and delicate, was possessed of an elegant beauty, also covered with the same body paint.

But while someone like Quistis or Rinoa's beauty was a thing to be admired and cherished, pure and un sullied, this creature's beauty was little more than a façade over a demon in human shape. While outwardly she seemed sensual and attractive, it was her eyes that betrayed her. Ultimecia's eyes were yellow orbs burning like a hellish inferno, with black pits beyond them, like the darkest reaches of hell itself. Those eyes projected madness and malice, pure, unfettered evil in a very basic and true form.

Ultimecia was a mockery of humanity itself.

There was a long period of silence as the SeeDs and Rinoa entered the chamber, weapons in hand. They sized up their nemesis, who did the same to them as they spread out slowly, scanning the room for other threats and preparing themselves to battle the future Sorceress.

"SeeD," Ultimecia hissed after nearly a minute of staring down at her opponents.

"SeeD," she repeated quietly, her whispered voice dark, promising pain and malice. She waved a hand in the air, as if slapping away an annoying fly.

"Seed, SeeD, SeeD!" she continued, and sat forward, brows knotting in anger and contempt. "Swarming across generations like locusts! Interfering where you had best leave alone! Vile, insolent, _children!_"

"Gotta admit, she'd dead on with that," Irvine commented quietly. He was apparently unheard by the ranting Ultimecia.

"It ends here, at this moment!" she continued. "The universe is on the verge of that ever-elusive state of temporal compression, and you dare to interfere? Your punishment will be death beyond death." She speared each of the SeeDs with her blazing gaze.

"I will recreate existence!" she roared. "And you will be my slaves for a new eternity! Kneel before your new god!" She stood up, raising her hands, and Squall struck.

A low-powered spell exploded in Ultimecia's face as a punctuation mark to her last sentence, and the SeeD commander dashed forward. He did not leap into the air to engage Ultimecia atop her throne - Zell, from the sounds of things, was doing that himself - but instead went under the throne, toward the column that was supporting it. Lionheart flashed out in a quick and powerful cleave, the edge shearing straight through the stone column and out the other side.

With a powerful groan, Ultimecia's throne toppled over, literally chopped down like a tree. The Sorceress on top of the throne toppled over, her eyes wide in shock, and widening even further as Zell, flying through the air in one of his typically suicidal charges, planted an airborne hook into the Sorceress' chin. She spun around, Zell roaring in triumph-

And Zell went straight down into the stone floor below as the Sorceress came around, backhanding Zell with incredible, supernatural force. Ultimecia touched down on the floor lightly, almost as if she had hopped down instead of falling, and the throne toppled down behind her a split-second later, crashing to the floor and sending a shudder through the tower.

Ultimecia had barely recovered from the drop when magic lanced out at her from three separate sources, potent blasts of fire, ice, and electricity that struck her in rapid succession. The magic seemed to almost wash over the Sorceress without harming her, but she had to raise a hand an instant later as Irvine fired his rifle. A fast-moving armor-piercing round almost gutted the Sorceress, but shattered against her palm as she created an energy shield before her to deflect the attack.

A figure moved behind Ultimecia, and she raised a hand unflinchingly. Squall, Lionheart arcing overhead for a skull-splitting slash, went flying over Ultimecia at her gesture, arcing above her and crashing down right on top of Zell as the brawler was standing up. Both SeeDs were crushed down into the floor, and a second gesture from Ultimecia sent both warriors flying across the chamber, past Irvine, to crash into a wall. Cracks spider-webbed out from the impact as both dropped to the floor.

Selphie broke off from the battle to rush to her wounded comrades, but Quistis and Rinoa countered Ultimecia's attack with another magical barrage. Quistis loosed bolts of light from her eyes that were stopped almost casually by the Sorceress' extended palm, while she had to work a bit harder to fend off a powerful series of magical attacks from Rinoa, who unleashed her potent Sorceress powers upon their enemy. Magic seared off Ultimecia's body, scorching the ruined throne behind her, as Rinoa pounded away.

However, while Rinoa's attack was impressive, it was Irvine who snuck in an attack that meant something. Distracted by Rinoa, Ultimecia was almost too late to spot Irvine fire another armor-piercing round, the shot flying for her gut. Acting fast, the Sorceress snapped her hands over her gut and formed an energy shield. The round shattered against her barrier, but not without doubling the Sorceress over from the force behind the impact and forcing her to take a step back. She looked up a few moments later, eyes narrowing with anger and wrath.

Rinoa and Quistis redoubled their efforts, launching a third barrage of withering magic that would have decimated a platoon of normal soldiers, but Ultimecia deflected the magic with a single gesture and responded with an off-hand telekinetic sweep that knocked both the SeeD and the Sorceress off their feet. Her eyes, however, never left Irvine's spearing his gaze with their hellish fires and promising pain and death for the sharpshooter. Irvine began to raise his rifle, but as he looked into those soulless pits, he began to see what a true monster Ultimecia was.

Irvine hesitated, and for the first time in a long time, he began to feel fear. He took an involuntary step back as Ultimecia raised her hands, spreading them out wide. There was a tiny flash in the air beside her head, and a single narrow blade of metal, two feet long, appeared next to her left hand. There was another flash, and then a third, and then a fourth, and then eight, and then sixteen, as the demon Sorceress summoned more blades. The air quickly filled around her with dozens of the metallic edges.

Irvine took another step back, knowing hat she was going to do. But those eyes, gateways into hell, kept him rooted to the spot. His rifle began to tremble slightly as Ultimecia twirled her hands in the air, and then a smile devoid of joy or humor appeared on her face.

"_Irvine, move!"_ came a shout, and Irvine looked back, to see Squall rising, rushing forward, Selphie beside him and Zell right behind them as well. The order sent a jolt through the sharpshooter, and his legs twitched, starting to send him to the side.

He stopped, then, blinking, and felt a thousand needles of pain shooting through his body. He took a step forward, and found his lungs would not take in air. He was confused, until he tried to look down. A slicing pain went through his neck as he moved his head, and it was then that he saw what had happened.

From his throat to his thighs, Irvine was impaled with the dozens of blades Ultimecia had created. He turned, looking back at his comrades, mouth opening to say something to them, but nothing came out as blood poured down his body.

Irvine Kinneas, sharpshooter, self-appointed ladies' man, and SeeD from Galbadia Garden, dropped to his knees, and then fell onto his back, eyes open wide with the shock and disbelief of the moment. The last thing he saw before darkness claimed him was the moon, shining above with a pale white light, almost soothing.

The last thing he heard was his name being screamed.

* * *

Selphie dropped down beside Irvine, who lay still, in a pool of his own spreading blood. Crimson washed over her knees as she looked down at him in horror, her hands opening and closing as tears started to run down her face. The tiny Seed lowered her head, almost starting to sob. 

But she didn't cry or break down. One second she was shocked and grieving, the next, she was rising, spinning toward Ultimecia, and pointing both rods of her nunchaku at the Sorceress.

"_Die!"_ she screamed, a tone that shocked her comrades. Ultimecia was unperturbed by Selphie's fury-filled cry, but her smirk shifted to confusion and surprise an instant later as white light gathered in the air before her. The Sorceress' eyes suddenly went wide as she realized what Selphie was doing, but before a defensive barrier could be raised, the white light peaked in blinding intensity, and exploded in a rapidly expanding green shockwave of annihilation that swept over Ultimecia. The other Seeds were blinded by the flash, and as the light faded, Ultimecia was staggering back, her own expression filled with rage and shock. Steam rose from her body, and her clothes seemed badly burned by the raw magical fury Selphie had launched.

"Ultima magic?" she hissed. "Well-armed you whelps are."

"I said _die!_" Selphie responded, and began to summon up another forbidden magic spell.

"I insist," Ultimecia replied, and flicked a finger at Selphie. An iron strand of metal shot out of nowhere and wrapped around her throat, cutting off the small SeeD's concentration, not to mention her breathing. "That you proceed me!" Ultimecia flicked her hand to the side, raising Selphie up by the throat with the iron wire. The evil demonic Sorceress then staggered back as the four remaining warriors around her pummeled her with a barrage of spells while she was distracted. Ultimecia was rocked back several steps, almost dropping Selphie, and then had to shift her concentration to Zell and Squall as the two fighters came in. more magic blasted Ultimecia as Quistis and Rinoa covered their comrades, but Ultimecia was only slightly distracted as she stopped Zell dead in his tracks with a gesture. The brawler went flying into one of the stone columns, cracking it, and a flick from Ultimecia's fingers brought Selphie down in front of her, in Squall's path as he was slinging Lionheart.

The SeeD Commander froze in place, his gunblade almost slashing into Selphie's back, and Ultimecia laughed at him before unleashing a torrent of fire that lifted him up and hurled him away. Selphie, grasping at the strand around her throat, was then shifted into line with Quistis and Rinoa, pausing them in their magical attacks.

Suddenly, Ultimecia's head was rocked back as Selphie abandoned the unbreakable metal around her throat and lashed out with her nunchaku. The iron bar bounced off the Sorceress' forehead, and she snarled in fury. The metal wire slackened for an instant, an a telekinetic shove from Ultimecia hurled Selphie back hard into one of the walls with incredible force. She bounced off, crying out in agony as her backbone was shattered by the impossible impact, and then screamed as Ultimecia sent out a torrent of flame that wrapped around Selphie, followed by a stream of raw destructive energy that pressed her back into the wall.

Quistis and Rinoa poured countering spells upon Ultimecia in an effort to save their comrade, crying out for Selphie even as she screamed in pain, but it was Squall who broke Ultimecia's concentration as he came in like a whirling dervish, Lionheart chopping down hard at her face. She spun on him and caught the blade on an energy shield, but was amazed as Squall pulled the trigger on his weapon, shattering the barrier and cutting down, blade missing Ultimecia by a hair. She launched him back again with a bolt of lightning, and the SeeD Commander crashed hard to the floor twenty feet away.

Quistis and Rinoa had rushed to Selphie's side as she had fallen from the wall. The tiny SeeD was horribly burned by the attack, and Quistis began to cast a healing spell when Rinoa stopped her. The Sorceress looked to Quistis, and shook her head. Quistis was about to protest, when she saw that Selphie's body was too still to simply be unconscious.

"Oh, Hyne, Selphie . . . ." Quistis whispered, dropping a hand to the small SeeD's burned forehead.

Zell Dincht rose from his spot where he'd impacted the stone column, and saw clearly what had transpired. Ultimecia was smiling with obvious pleasure at the pain she had caused, and Quistis and Rinoa were crouched over Selphie's still form, but not using spells to heal her.

The brawler looked to Ultimecia, then back to Irvine's bloody, impaled corpse, and then to Selphie's burned body. His face locked in raw fury as he turned back to Ultimecia, that _bitch_ who had killed two of his friends within a matter of minutes, and pulled all that raw anger into himself. Raw fury shot through his body and mind, giving Zell all the power he needed to avenge his friends.

Ultimecia never saw the first hit. One second she was reveling in the slaughter, the next, she was on her knees, staggered by a shockingly powerful punch from Zell. The brawler grabbed her by her hair and pulled her up, before kneeing Ultimecia in the stomach. She doubled over, shocked and confused and hurting as Zell uppercutted her in the chin, sending Ultimecia flying backward. The brawler was right behind, leaping up after her.

Zell unleashed his fury at that instant, focusing it into himself, and time slowed for the brawler as he neared Ultimecia in midair. His feet lashed out I rapid succession as he neared her, impacting Ultimecia's face and torso with stone-shattering strikes. Zell struck with nearly a dozen kicks in midair before spinning around, a foot rising high up in an axe kick that smashed Ultimecia back and down, actually hurling her into the remnants of her throne and shattering the massive stone structure. The crushed rocks and masonry collapsed upon Ultimecia's body as Zell hit the ground, and the brawler punched a fist into the floor beneath his feet, cracking it.

"Yeah!" Zell shouted in fury. "Die, bitch!"

Silence filled the battlefield for several moments as Zell stared at the rock pile, which refused to move or shift. Squall walked up beside Zell as the brawler stared at the stones, unmoving, _daring_ Ultimecia to have survived the assault.

Nothing happened, and squall let out a slight sigh, knowing that the battle had ended, but at a tremendous cost to their team. He looked back toward Irvine's still form,a nd then to Selphie's, as Quistis and Rinoa stood, both of them shaken. He kenw theyw ere trying to hide the fact that their comrades' deaths had hit them hard, but that sooner or later,t he anguish would come out . . . .

"_Fuck. No."_

Squall looked back to Zell, who was staring at the rock pile intently, and then a sound assaulted his ears.

A stone shifted, and another followed suit, clattering down the pile of ruined stone.

"She's still alive!" squall warned, and the stone pile exploded. Ultimecia's battered form rose from the ruins, bruised and damaged, but more than reayd to continue the battle. Zell stood as well, face locked in rage, and Quistis and Rinoa rushed up beside them, preparing to finish this war.

"That hurt," Ultimecia hissed, wiping blood from her mouth with the back of her sleeve. She smiled as she did so, and spread her arms out wide.

"You believe my power is limited solely to my own arts?" she asked a second later. "I wield more than just Sorcery. You think you are the only ones who use Guardian Forces?"

"Dammit," Zell hissed. "That's how she survived . . . ."

"My Guardian is far stronger than those pathetic motes of power you wield," Ultimecia continued. "Allow me to show you the most powerful Guardian Force of all time." Ultimecia swept her hands forward, and a glowing white orb of light emerged from the air before her, and rapidly expanded, launching rays of white energy that struck all around the throne room. The SeeDs fell back, Rinoa putting up defensive barriers around her allies, averting some of the destructive powers. Stone cracked and was rent around them, blasting away into the sky, and when the light cleared, the throne room had been decimated, reduced to a single tall platform which the SeeDs stood upon.

A tremendous roar filled the air, and the Seeds looked up at the creature Ultimecia had called. Squall felt his knees go weak as he saw it.

"By Hyne," he whispered.

It towered fifteen feet in the air, its skin jet black, excepting a cross of white across its chest. White wings tipped with red claws extended from its back, and a white mane ran down the back of its head, beneath a blood-red crest. Its face was shaped like a lion's, with golden eyes that were twisted in viciousness and raw hunger, and a tail, long and whip-like, flew about as it hovered in the air before them.

"Squall, what is that thing?" Rinoa asked.

"Its . . . ." Squall swallowed, shocked to see the creature he knew so well. "It's the ultimate Guardian Force.

"Griever."

"Griever?" Rinoa asked, and her hand went to the rings around her neck, touching Squall's, fingertips brushing across the engraved image of a crouching lion.

Griever sized up the quartet of surviving warriors before it, and floated silently for several moments. Then, without warning, the massive Guardian Force suddenly swooped forward, letting out an earth-shaking roar that deafened the humans facing it, and launched a wave of raw energy.

Squall accepted the brunt of the attack, still shocked and awed by Griever's appearance, and was hurled back. The others took their share of the damage as well, but quickly countered with a withering stream of powerful magic that bull's-eyed Griever in its chest. The massive GF was rocked back a few feet, and responded to the assault with a mocking laugh that shook the humans' bones. Rinoa quickly silence that laughter with a powerful blast, unleashing the same potent "ultima" spell that Selphie had used before. The brilliant green flash of destructive energy washed over Griever and sent the Guardian Force reeling, its skin smoking from the blast. Griever narrowed its eyes at Rinoa promising swift and painful wrath with its gaze, and then crossed its massive, burly arms.

Quistis was helping Squall stand up when Zell shouted a warning. The two SeeDs whirled toward Griever as it closed its shining eyes, and white orbs of energy swept around the quartet, and the warriors felt themselves rising up into the air, spinning and twisting as Griever unleashed the most potent power in its arsenal at Ultimecia's bidding.

Reality was ripped around the Seeds and Rinoa, and they entered a swirling vortex of white, with a single glowing core at the center, resonating with intense strobing silver lights. Rinoa shouted something, and began to create defensive barriers around her comrades, when the silver lights intensified and the orb exploded in a tremendous stream of expanding energy that engulfed the humans. The warriors screamed and cried out as the energy passed right through them, burning and searing their bodies with raw destructive power.

Squall momentarily blacked out, and when he came to, he was lying face-down, his skin and body blazing with burning pains. He turned his head, and saw Rinoa beside him, groaning as she lay rolled up in a fetal position. He saw Quistis beyond her, barely moving, trying to regain her senses.

Squall heard feet scraping along the ground beside him, and saw Zell step past, his body smoking, skin burnt all over, clothing charred by the devastating attack. His blonde hair was missing in patches, but despite all the damage, his eyes burned with raw determination.

"Griever!" Ultimecia ordered from wherever she was observing the battle. "Again! Finish those worthless children in my name!" Griever slowly nodded and began to cross its arms again, when Zell spat on the ground, blood accompanying his saliva.

"Fuck. No." the brawler snarled. He suddenly burst forward, rushing across the stone platform, and leapt high into the air, screaming a incoherent battle cry as he flew. Griever opened its eyes in time to see Zell's fist smash into its face, rocking the guardian Force's head back. Zell reached forward and grabbed the spirit's crest and held on tightly as he pounded away, roaring in fury, each impact accompanied by a shouted word.

"You! Will! Not! Hurt! Them! Again! Bitch!"

Griever thundered I n pain as the last punch hit, and its head snapped back at an angle that would have been lethal for a human. Zell reared back for another punch, and the fist dove in.

Griever snapped its head forward, and as Zell's fist dove in, it shot the head upward and closed its jaw around Zell's wrist. Its teeth crunched in and the Guardian Force twisted, and Zell screamed in pain. Griever turned its head and casually spat out a bloody mess that thudded on the ground before the other humans below. Squall narrowed his eyes as he saw what the object was.

Zell's hand had been hacked off at the wrist.

The brawler clutched his severed limb to his chest as blood poured out, and raised a foot for a kick to Griever's face, when the Guardian Force reached up and grabbed the brawler with both hands. It yanked him off its face like he was a mere child, and turned. Clutching Zell in one hand, it looked out beyond the castle and raised that arm.

"Zell!" Squall shouted, standing up, his body exploding in pain. Griever pumped its arm forward, and Zell was launched from its hand and out over the castle, dropping beyond it toward the ocean below. The brawler shouted in defiance as he was hurled, and dropped out of sight beneath the level of the castle. The SeeD Commander watched Zell fall, and turned toward Griever as the Guardian Force turned in his direction, a bloody smile on its lips.

"Hyne, no," Quistis said, her eyes rooted to the spot where Zell had disappeared. "That height . . . There's no way he . . . ."She turned at the sound of Squall launching another barrage of magic, firing off flaring bolts of flame at Griever, which seemed to do little more than amuse the Guardian Force. Almost casually, it flicked a paw toward the enraged Squall and took him off his feet with another blast of magic.

"Finish him, Griever!" Ultimecia urged from the distance. "Tear out the heart of SeeD!" the Guardian Force roared an acknowledgement and moved toward Squall, hovering near the fallen SeeD and raising its arms, energy forming before its hands. White light shone from Griever's arms, and it swept them down, toward Squall, unleashing a torrent of killing magic at the SeeD. Squall looked up, seeing death rippling down from on high.

And then a figure leapt in the way, screaming his name, stepping into the path of the magic, crossing her arms before her to absorb the impact of the magic.

"No!" Squall screamed, rising to his feet. _"Quistis!"_

Energy washed over her, boring Into Quistis' body as she protected Squall from harm. Her form began to dissolve into the white light as it played over her body, and she spared Squall one last pained look, managing a smile. Squall dove forward, reaching out to her, and then the light consumed her.

Quistis vanished from existence under Griever's assault. The magical barrage continued on, colliding with Squall and searing his already burning skin, and hurled him away. He impacted the ground and rolled almost to the far edge, dizzy and dazed and still shocked and appalled by Griever's raw power and fury.

"Hyne _damn you!_" sounded another furious shout, from Rinoa. She was standing, her body badly burned, much like Zell's had been, but her eyes burned with ferocious rage.

Golden light washed over the battlefield, illuminating the entire remainder of the tower and casting a new sun over the ruined future world. The light was centered at Rinoa's back a sthe golden angel wings emerged, shining with pure Sorceress power. White light ran down her finger and into her palms, and she unleashed her furious wrath, the anger and rage lancing out from her hands and ripping into Griever. Light swept through the Guardian Force, blasting and tearing it at the same time, ripping pieces from its body in Rinoa's divine Sorceress wrath.

The light shone for several seconds before subsiding, and Rinoa hovered in the air, her wings holding her aloft, her eyes glimmering with white rays of divine essence. Griever, its skin horribly burned and magical energy flowing out from its body, seemed terribly wounded, but the beast did not show any pain. It turned its eyes on Rinoa, mirroring her wrath in its expression. Rinoa followed up with a second barrage of Sorceress power, destruction in its purest essence tearing into Griever, rocking the Guardian Force back.

The light faded a second time, and this time Griever retaliated, crossing its arms and laughing, a bone-chilling sound of raw power. Rinoa's eyes widened and she began to cast a defensive spell when a white orb of magic surrounded her and swept her into the gray-white maelstrom once more.

* * *

Squall stood, his body burning all over. His jacket was shredded and charred, and his shirt and pants were in tatters, portions of them flaking off from the incredibly raw fires of griever. He clutched Lionheart tightly in his hands, grimacing at the pain and bringing a new round of searing fires throughout his face. 

Griever towered before Squall, casting its shadow over his body. It clutched something in its hands, and echoed its laughter from before as it dropped the object in front of Squall. He looked down at it, and his gunblade dropped from his fingers, and he dropped to his knees.

Rinoa lay still, her eyes closed, her body burned and clothes ignited. Her chest did not move, and Squall felt only the warmth of the heat from Griever's furious magical assault on her skin as he touched her face. His eyes widened as he felt her body, and Squall knew the truth. He whispered her name, and warmth, that from his own tears, ran down his charred face.

Griever had murdered Rinoa.

"What now, SeeD?" Ultimecia asked Squall. "What can you do against my power? Nothing, not even your Sorceress slut could harm my ultimate servant. Crawl before my power and despair!" Squall stopped, her words echoing in his mind, and the beginnings of grief were replaced by a rage that saw a beginning but not an end.

Squall looked up, facing Griever, and reached up, wiping the tears from his eyes with one burned hand, while the other reached down and grasped his gunblade. Sadness was swept away as vengeance took hold in his gaze, and the SeeD stood, locking eyes with Griever. The Guardian Force's smile wavered as it began to realize something was different.

Lionheart rose, and Squall opened his mouth. What emerged was a raw scream of rage and fury, of complete and utter hatred, loud enough to resound in every hall of the castle and make even the invincible Griever flinch.

What followed that roar made Griever more than flinch. Squall simply appeared on Griever's chest, feet planted to its torso, and stabbed his gunblade into the Guardian Force's throat. He ripped it up and cleaved down, splitting the GF's head, and slashed across, bisecting it neatly before chopping twice more, roaring in fury and hatred. He kicked off the Guardian Force and landed back on the platform, and allowed his rage to fully consume him, focusing it into his blade.

Raw destruction surrounded Squall Leonhart's gunblade, shining with all the colors of the sun, and extended upward as he held the weapon high. Squall poured all his anger and fury and pain and hatred and vengeance into that focused wave of annihilation that reached high into the sky, extending beyond the castle and even further, grasping at the heavens above.

Squall unleashed another roar of fury, and swept his gunblade down, all of the power of his emotions rushing down in a wave of apocalyptic fury that literally split the sky and cut down into Griever, before going further, chopping down through Ultimecia's castle and slicing the entire structure in half.

Griever hovered in the air for a moment, its expression one of complete shock and confusion, before its body literally split apart, chopped in half down the middle from head to groin. Binding magical energies spread between the two parts of its body as it fell, portions breaking off and dissolving into the air. Squall watched the thing die, his vengeance far from sated, and felt the rumbles as Ultimecia's castle fell apart. Whatever was holding it in the air had been compromised, as the castle began to drift toward the ocean below.

Chains snapped, and segments of the castle broke off and plunged into the ocean, and the main portion of the castle and its island began to follow. The tip of the island dipped below the waves.

But then the castle seemed to dissolve, breaking down into a million pieces, which themselves shattered and whirled away. The ocean below followed suit, as did the blackened landscape beyond, everything breaking down and shattering and whirling away into a spreading void of darkness.

* * *

The pain was gone. All of his injuries seemed to have simply vanished. He looked down on himself, seeing his clothing fully restored, undamaged and unblemished. His skin was clear and undamaged, his hair still long and brown. Everything was as it had been before he'd even set out on this mission. But there was something inherently wrong in the place that he stood in, and that was the fact there was nothing there. 

Darkness surrounded Squall, and empty void of shadow and space extending all around him. He looked about, seeking Ultimecia, still enraged and furious, but he saw nothing but an empty void. He drew his gunblade, growling as he looked for a target, something, anything to kill. It took Squall a few moments to realize that the gunblade in his hands was heavy, the solid reinforced steel of the Revolver, not the light, perfect edge of Lionheart. Just as he came to realize this, there was movement and light within the void.

Squall whirled, raising the weapon, and stood still as he took in the figure that was materializing in the void. He shook his head, trying to come to grips with what he saw.

It was almost impossible to describe it. The figure was distinctly feminine, but where is face should have been there was only a glowing light. Its arms were long and spindly, with long, sharp claws, and it featured a wide red cloak-like lower body that seemed to reach out to encompass the entire void. Other features seemed to be lost in the insanity of the strange figure as it stretched its arms out, grasping at the void, and as it did so, tiny motes of light, thousands of them, seemed to flow from the emptiness and into the thing's cloak.

_The hell?_ Squall thought, though he quickly suspected what it was he was dealing with. He narrowed his eyes, and looked around into the void, and understood then that he was too late. A voice started to waft up from all around him, soft and soothing, far different from the harsh, screeching cries of the Ultimecia that had murdered his comrades.

"I am Ultimecia," the voice whispered. "Time has come to its end."

"What do you mean?" Squall answered back into the void, facing the monstrosity.

"Time has finally compressed," Ultimecia answered. "All existence is denied. Everything has been gathered into this place, and now it will become a part of me." Ultimecia paused, and squall could feel pleasure and ecstasy emanating from all around him. "Glorious . . . ."

"What about me?" Squall demanded, clenching his gunblade tightly.

"You remain because of your will," Ultimecia replied. "You and yours were the only humans who survived temporal compression. Of them, only you lived. Thus, only two remain in this place, and that is us." Ultimecia reached out toward Squall with a hand, clawed fingers reaching for him.

"Your essence is all that remains of existence, and until it has become part of me, compression will not be complete."

"Then fuck you," Squall snarled. "You should have killed me if I was going to get in your way."

"You are defiant," Ultimecia answered. "You resist. You were not always this way, were you? I see it in your past-"

Squall lashed out suddenly, without warning, perhaps feeling violated at the notion of Ultimecia seeing his past, seeing parts that even he had never experienced. He leapt forward, at Ultimecia, and chopped down hard with his gunblade. The weapon seared through Ultimecia's maddening form, but seemed to have no effect. Squall attacked a second time, and then a third, his gunblade hacking furiously, but did no damage whatsoever to the thing. Squall felt a powerful force pushing him back, and he hurtled away into the void for a short distance before righting himself.

"You do not understand," Ultimecia stated. "In this world, no physical body exists. You are nothing but a projection of yourself in this place."

"A battle of wills, then?" Squall answered.

"Yes," Ultimecia replied, and Squall suddenly felt a tug on his existence, as if Ultimecia was trying to pull his soul in. He fought back ferociously, holding on to himself.

"Your will is strong," Ultimecia said, her soothing voice full of respect. "It is no wonder you survived when all the others died-"

"_Fuck you!" _Squall screamed, and he leapt forward again, slashing with all his might, screaming in rage. His assault had no effect, his blade seeming to pass right through Ultimecia. She repelled him once more, and Squall felt the pull on his mind and soul strengthen.

"Stubborn," she stated. "Why is that you fight? What is this? Your sensations . . . Your emotions . . . Your words . . . What is it that drives you on? You cannot harm me. Even with your fury and your will and your thirst for vengeance, you cannot hope to damage me in this place. I am Ultimecia, and I am time. I am the new Hyne."

"Nothing but a demon," Squall answered, gritting his teeth as he felt his mind being pulled harder. Ultimecia was tearing at his soul, trying to pull it in toward her, to end the last thing preventing her from recreating existence.

"Why do you persist, Squall?" she asked, and he flinched at her use of his name. "what is the reason for this? Your stubborn determination is but a fantasy. it's the last fantasy of this world. Why do you persist in prolonging his final fantasy? There is no reason. You will not succeed. You anger and will alone cannot stop me here. Once you have submitted, nothing else will be able to draw upon time as I will be able to, and it will all be over." Ultimecia paused, and her voice laughed.

"Or rather, it will all begin anew, in my image."

Squall held on, pulling back against Ultimecia's grasping hold against his mind. It took several moment for her words to sink in as he fought, but then, two phrases resounded clearly in his mind. His will was not enough, and Ultimecia wasn't the only one who could draw upon time.

Squall felt the tugging, pulling him in, demanding he submit to her will, but he refused, focusing his mind, and screaming in rage and denial. Ultimecia's grip slacked for a moment, and Squall took that instant to reach out. His mind extended outward, performing the same basic Drawing that he did to pull in magic, but on a much larger scale.

Motes of light drifting toward Ultimecia shifted, and some of them pulled away from her attraction, and drifted toward Squall. He clenched his fists, drawing upon that power, felling the emotions sweeping through him. He was not pulling time itself into his body, however.

Squall had a singular objective and a select concept that he was pulling in. His mind was focused on pulling in the moments of rage and fury and desperation and grief from all across time, grasping these moments of anguish and pain, pulling them into himself. Every mote of light that touched him sent the emotions swelling to new heights, and Squall felt the power ripping through him as he pulled them in.

He saw a wounded Galbadian soldier cradling the head of a dead comrade, crying out his name. He saw a formation of medieval-clad soldiers rushing in rage at a far greater number of foes. He saw the lunar Cry through the eyes of a child of Centra, horrified as the maelstrom descended. He saw grieving families over the graves of their children, infuriated men fighting one another tooth and nail, anger and rage and fury from millions of people from all across time, pulling itself into his mind. He grasped at the power, pulling it in, solidifying it, feeling the emotions and feeding off them.

The rage hit its limit, a tremendous source of power that threatened to utterly annihilate Squall if he didn't release it.

But he did unleash that power.

The soul of Squall Leonhart became the vessel of the ultimate force of raw fury and emotion, literally drawn from all across time, the sheer destructive power focused into his metaphysical gunblade as he dove forward. The rage drove him on, and he smashed into Ultimecia, his gunblade whirling and chopping, slashing and beating, Squall screaming over and over again as he unleashed all that fury from the breadth of time itself. All the rage that had existed or would ever exist bore into Ultimecia, shattering the creature that was absorbing time, breaking it and severing it, ripping it apart at its very core.

The void shuddered, and time began to rip itself apart, pouring out from Ultimecia even as Squall continued his mad assault. Her body, her soul itself began to fragment under the almighty annihilation Squall was bringing, and searing lights flashed out of her body as Squall tore away.

Then, there was a final flash of white light that filled the void, and everything and every when detonated, blasting out from Ultimecia's body.

Squall, even as he landed the last blow and struck Ultimecia down, was hurled away as time restored itself, swept away into the void that was rapidly refilling, cast across the endless breadth of time.

* * *

* * *

**A/N:** Its time for a long hearty "Holy crap". I have done it. It is done. The final battle has passed. Nirvana has been obtained. Life is complete. All that remains is the ending. Phew. Man, I'm tired.

I had a lot of fun with this chapter. The battle with Ultimecia was like the Edea battles on steroids, just this long, intense uber battle against what is essentially an almost invincible and incredibly powerful enemy. That raw power was shown with how Squall's comrades died constantly all around him.

So, there you have it. Chapter complete, and with some nifty Limits tossed in as well. Just for reference, Zell used Different Beat, Griever used Shockwave Pulsar, and Squall used Blasting Zone and Lionheart, respectively.

The final use of Lionheart was envisioned from the very beginning. By about the fourth or fifth chapter I had the basics for Lionheart in my head, that Squall would take advantage of time compression to pull all the anger and hatred from across time and put it to use in the be-all, end-all Limit.

On a side note, I did leave out the Ultimecia-Griever fusion, as that seemed kind of hard for me to fit into the battle itself. Not to mention Ultimecia-Griever looks totally freaky. XD

And now, for the Final Battle Shout-Outs!

Solid Shark: Hope you enjoyed my rendition!

Deathdragon66: Psh. I kept getting torn up by pulsar Shockwave. May be part of the reason it had such a big impact in this chapter . . . .

Shiftyness: Again, I hope you liked this chapter! I try my hardest to capture the characters and add some of my flavor to them as well.

DBZ Fanfiction Queen: Hellsing reference was the "Eat AP bitch!" line, which was a reference to when Seras was kicking ass in the second to last episode, where she shouted "Eat Halconnen, bitch."

Tiamat did use Dark Flare. What do you think he blew up the tower with? And I know he was created from a Guardian force, but I wanted to make him more "mortal" so that Bahamut would really tear him up.

Chris Ganale: Nah, the sword assault was just the standard Renzokuken, followed by Fated Circle. Lionheart was used here. XD

Dragoon Swordsman: Well, yeah, there's that too. XD

Daniel Wesley Rydell: You have no idea how angry the waiters get at my restaurant when they have bad tips. They match Squall in lethality. XD

Ma-Chan1: I'm actually seriously looking forward to writing that ending myself. It shouldn't take too long, its not too much to actually write, and its some of the best parts of the game!

JadeAlmasy: Well, not stupid as much as really annoying and forcing you to wander all over the castle looking for things to kill.

OniRazz: Actually a Soul Caliber reference, specifically to one of Kilik's attacks. "Midnight Carnival" was another option, though, for the chapter title.

Kimahrigirl: Heh, I put this on out pretty fast. Hope you liked it!

Rikke Leonhart: oh, heavens no, not Omega! I'm going to go run and hide at the mention of his name.

Prodigy: Darn it, don't die before I can finish this:P

Akira Stridder: Yeah, I'm kind of sad it has to end too. I'm getting sniffles just thinking about it.

Icedragon6171: oh, I hate puzzles. With a passion. I ignore them whenever possible.

Anime Obsessed Fan: He didn't actually use Lionheart in that battle; that was just Renzokuken plus Fated Circle. And I'm going with insane, along with a healthy bit of surreal thoughts due to her absorbing time.

Kaiser: Selphie always makes me smile when I write her. Of course, here she was a little bit angrier than bouncy-happy.

That everybody? Great! Now, to get back to Resident Evil 4.

Till the epilogue, people!


	58. Epilogue: Waiting Until the End

Epilogue: Waiting Until the End

Am I . . . Alive? Again?

He opened his eyes, and was filled with a sudden rush of vitality, as if everything that had hurt and injured him was suddenly wiped clean. He had been staring at the pale moon, hearing his name screamed as he felt blood run down his clothes and thousands of points of pain all across his body. Now he was looking out across a white void, empty - yet filled with possibilities.

"Irvine?" Selphie's voice echoed through the void, and the sharpshooter rose, turning, and he saw her rushing across the emptiness, her image blurred and trailing behind the tiny SeeD.

"Selphie!" Irvine responded, smiling. He moved toward her, hearing his voice echo across the emptiness all around him. She collided with him, pulling him into a hug, and he returned the favor.

"I thought you were dead!" she exclaimed.

"Me too," Irvine said. "I remembered being stabbed with all those blades, and then I was here . . . ."

"Ultimecia, she was choking me," Selphie said quietly. "She started hitting me with magic, and my skin was burning. Now . . . ."

"Are we dead?" Irvine asked.

"I don't think so," came another voice, and both SeeDs turned to see a confused Zell jogging across the void toward them. Closer, however, was Quistis, walking toward the pair as well, looking around the white expanse.

"Hey, what is this place?" Zell called, his words echoing. No one answered him as he got closer.

"We all died," Quistis added as she got closer. "I was consumed by Griever's magic."

"And that bastard threw me into the ocean," Zell added. "At that height, even water can kill. I hit, and then I woke up here."

"Me too," added another voice, and the group turned, to see Rinoa walking toward them, her eyes distant, as if looking at something far away. "Griever use that high-powered magical attack on me again, and I couldn't survive it. Everyone else, all of you died before me."

"Then, Squall was the only one left?" Selphie asked, and Rinoa nodded.

"Did he win?" Zell asked. "I mean, Ultimecia's powerful, but this is _Squall_ we're talking about here. Nothing can stop him, right?"

"I think he did win," Rinoa answered, looking away. "I think time is restoring itself."

"Then all this is what?" Irvine asked, gesturing toward the emptiness.

"We died," Rinoa said, nodding to herself. "We were the only people left besides Ultimecia and Squall in time compression. I think our spirits weren't fully absorbed into time like everything else was."

"So we're stuck here?" Selphie asked, and Rinoa quickly shook her head.

"We're outside of time, but we can return," she answered firmly. "We have to know where we want to go."

"Back to the orphanage!" Zell declared.

"Back to _our_ orphanage," Quistis added. "We don't want to go into the wrong time."

"But, what about Squall?" Irvine cut in.

"I . . . don't know," Rinoa relied. "He was outside of time when it was restored, I know that. He won against Ultimecia, but I don't know what happened to him afterward."

"He's probably just waiting for us at the orphanage," Selphie cut in. "We go there and he'll be waiting for us, right?"

"I don't know," Rinoa replied, shaking her head, and starting to look worried. "But he promised he'd be there, waiting for us, and for me. Let's go. I have to see if he's there . . . He _has_ to be there."

"Then let's move," Irvine said, and Rinoa nodded. She closed her eyes, and together, they willed themselves to return home, to the place they were all connected to by their pasts and those they cared for.

* * *

The void had enveloped Squall for what felt like an eternity. Slowly, the SeeD rose, shaking his head, and looked out upon the emptiness surrounding him as he did so.

Where am I? I won, didn't I? Time has been restored?

He looked around the void, searching for his comrades, but he saw nothing. After a few moments, he closed his eyes, and began to focus, remembering what Laguna had said. They would have to return to the place that was closest to their hearts: the orphanage they had all lived in as children.

He envisioned the growing ivy, the crumbling, ancient stone, the scent of the wooden floors, the vast flower fields stretching into the horizon, the waves crashing on the beach . . . And he opened his eyes, inhaling the sweet scent from the flower fields, and the orphanage opened up before him, appearing all around him.

"Squall, wait!" came a call behind him, and he turned, eyes flashing over the white stone walls. The orphanage was restored, perfect, exactly as he knew it from when he was a child.

But something was wrong. It wasn't supposed to be this way, was it? No, he had ended up somewhere else.

A short figure dashed past Squall, with a mop of dark brown hair, an orange shirt, and bright blue eyes. Squall turned, seeing the child race by, and stop, putting his hands on his hips as he looked out across the vast flower field beyond the orphanage.

"I'm going to find Sis!" the boy proclaimed, and the memory rang out clearly in his mind. Squall's eyes widened as he realized who they little boy was.

That was me . . . . thirteen years ago. Ellone had been taken away, and I was all alone.

The young Squall dashed off into the flower field. Squall considered chasing after the boy for a moment, stopping him, but he remembered clearly what happened next. He had run out into the field, but had only searched for Ellone for a few moments, before he had come back to Matron, worried sick about his sister.

"Wait, Squall!" came the voice again, and Squall looked at the speaker, to see a slightly younger-looking Edea rushing out of the main living room of the old house. She sighed as she looked around, shaking her head. Edea looked to Squall, momentarily surprised to see him standing there, and then looked back out toward the field.

"Did you see a boy run past just now?" she asked, and Squall nodded.

"Don't worry about him," Squall replied. "He won't run very far." _Yeah, definitely thirteen years ago. I picked the wrong time?_

"I think so too," Edea replied, smiling slightly. "Poor child. He just lost his sister. I can understand his feelings."

There was a whisper of wind, carrying feelings of despair and sadness, and dark resignation, and Squall whirled, drawing his gunblade. Lionheart slid into his hands, the return to the real world restoring his new weapon to his grasp, and Squall stepped defensively in front of Edea. He saw what the figure was, approaching through purple mists and flames, a haggard, bleeding creature, too damaged to even be alive. He knew what it was, judging by the carmine robe and body paint.

"Still alive?" Squall hissed as he looked upon Ultimecia as she slowly strode forward.

"A Sorceress?" Edea asked, and Squall nodded.

"We had defeated her," he replied. "She must have followed me here . . . ."

"Its alright," Edea assured Squall, putting a hand on his shoulder as she stared at the ruined Ultimecia. "She is dead. That Sorceress is merely looking for someone to pass on her powers to before burning away. Human souls cannot die while possessing the powers of Hyne, and so a Sorceress must walk as an undead creature until it finds a suitable vessel."

"I understand," Squall stated. He knew what needed to be done.

"I will take her powers," Edea added. "I do not want one of my children to become one of them." She calmly strode forward, toward Ultimecia, who looked up, her eyes, now dead orbs of gray, seeming to focus on her.

"I . . ." she hissed quietly. "I cannot . . . Disappear yet. My powers . . . ."

"I will accept them," Edea replied, and Ultimecia's body smiled slightly, and raised her hands.

"Be at peace," Edea whispered, and closed her eyes. Purple light flowed from Ultimecia's body to Edea, striking her repeatedly in a series of bolts of raw power. Edea shuddered with each strike, and Ultimecia seemed more and more diminished with each jolt, until the last blast flowed between the two. At the same moment, both Sorceresses dropped to their knees, but Ultimecia dropped further, onto her face, where pink and purple flames erupted around her body, quickly consuming it an leaving not even a trace of ash behind.

Squall rushed to Edea's side, helping her to stand, and sat up, looking at Squall, her eyes glimmering for a moment with the power she had absorbed. Something passed between them at that moment, a sense of understanding. Squall understood now where much of Edea's power, and Rinoa's subsequent powers, had come from. This understanding was somehow transferred to Edea, and she caught the import of what she had done.

"Is this the end? The end of your battle?" she asked, and Squall nodded.

"Yes," he agreed. "Most likely."

"You called me Matron," she whispered as Squall helped her rise. "Who are you?"

"A SeeD," Squall replied after a moment, speaking honestly. He knew now why Cid had known, and why Cid had founded Garden at this point in time. There was a reason why Squall had come to this time. "From Balamb Garden."

"Garden?" Edea asked, and Squall nodded.

"Garden protects the world from the Sorceress," Squall explained. "It trains SeeDs to fight them when they become corrupted by their powers. It was both your idea and that of Cid's. Or at least, that's what I always was taught."

"What are you saying?" Edea asked, still confused.

"My name is Squall," he explained. "Squall Leonhart." Edea's eyes widened.

"You are that boy, from the future?" she asked, and Squall nodded.

"It's a very long story," Squall explained. "But its over now, Matron."

"You must return to where you came," Edea said after a moment. "You do not belong here, you know that?"

"Yes," Squall replied. "I was supposed to come here, but this was the wrong time. I'll leave now." Squall heard footsteps on the pavement, and turned, to see his much younger self dashing up the cobblestone path towards them.

"Matron!" the young Squall shouted. "I can't find Sis!" he stopped in front of Edea, his eyes obviously filled with worry, but trying to hide it. The adult Squall didn't miss this.

Funny. Even as a kid I tried to hide the weaknesses in me . . . .

"Who's he?" the child asked, looking up at Squall.

"No one important," Edea replied, dropping down beside the child and rubbing a hand in his hair. "You should forget about him." She turned back to Squall. "Can you make it back from here?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Time is still repairing itself," he said, mostly to himself. "And besides, I'm not alone. Not anymore."

* * *

"Is this . . . Home?" Selphie asked as they looked around. They stood in the ruined orphanage, the walls crumbling and broken all around them. Zell poked his head through a door leading out of the main living room, and saw ruined marble columns and broken flagstones scattered across the property, overgrown with grasses and weeds.

"Looks like it," he said, stepping outside. The others followed him, moving across the ruined landscape, but taking note of the dark pall over everything. Rinoa looked up, and saw the clouds overhead were thick and dark, ominous and filled with flashes of light and swirling eddies of wind.

"What's going on?" Quistis asked, and Rinoa shook her head.

"Something's wrong," she whispered. "Time hasn't fully sorted itself out yet. Its like there's something stopping it. Some kind of unfinished task."

"You think it might be Squall?" Irvine asked, and Rinoa nodded after a moment. She suddenly ran forward, around one of the ruined buildings and out into the expansive flower field beyond the houses. She looked around quickly, and couldn't see anyone standing in the field.

"_Squall!_" she cried, her voice reaching out across the expanse, but no response came. She called his name again, louder and more urgently, but still heard nothing. The only thing that moved was the swirling storm clouds overhead and the flashes of light.

"I don't think he made it," Quistis whispered behind Rinoa as she stepped out into the field with her. Rinoa adamantly shook her head.

"He's out there somewhere!" she responded, and suddenly took off, running across the field. "I have to find him!"

She dashed out into the center of the field, and turned, looking around.

"Squall!" she cried out. "Where are you? You told me you'd be here! I'm waiting for you! We all are!"

There was no answer, not even an echo, and Rinoa stood there silently for several long moments. There was no response at all, and Rinoa waited for what felt like an eternity, before finally nodding.

"Squall, I know you're out there, somewhere," she whispered, and closed her eyes. "And if you can't find me, I know I can still find you."

Time was still compressed, though rapidly restoring itself, and she could still step through it, she new. She turned back to her comrades as they followed her across the field, and held up a hand to them.

"Wait for me!" she called out. "I'll be back soon!"

"Where are you going?" Quistis asked, but Rinoa didn't answer, instead clenching her fists, taking a breath, and melting away into time like sand blown away by the wind.

* * *

Squall was back in the void of time, willing himself to return to that place. He knew where the others would be, and he understood that they would come to him if he called to his comrades.

He called out to them, yelling their names in the darkness, reaching for them, thinking of each of them as he tried to bring them to him. But something was wrong. It was as if they were beyond his reach, some place where Squall's voice could not touch them. He desperately cried out to his comrades, and reached out across time with his mind, seeking them. The SeeD cried out to Rinoa, calling to her as well, but heard nothing in the emptiness, nothing but silence and nonexistence.

Where are they? Am I alone again? Why can't I reach my friends? Zell? Selphie? Irvine? Quistis? Rinoa? Rinoa! Can you hear me? Is there anyone out there?

Squall grasped at the void, looking, seeking any kind of voice or presence, but he could see nothing, he could feel nothing. It was as if time had simply left him behind, in the void after it had passed, alone and forgotten. The thought of that jolted him, and he almost let loose a scream of denial when he felt something give within the void.

One second there was nothing, then there was something. His feet touched ground, solid dirt. Squall spun, looking around, and took in what was little more than a flat, barely rolling plain of stone and cracked dirt, stretching off into the distance, as far as he could see, in every direction. Squall turned around a few times, trying to get his bearings, but he could see nothing definitive about the landscape before him. The sky overhead was a dark gray-green color, and swirling with some kind of wind or weather he wasn't certain of. Squall could hear nothing in the empty, lifeless plain stretching out all around him.

After a few moments, Squall sighed, and picked a direction. This plain existed, so it had to lead _somewhere_. He might as well get moving. He put one foot in front of the other, and strode off across the plain.

Hours passed, and Squall continued walking nonstop. Nothing seemed to change as he strode, not the way the plains rolled away or the color of the sky. He continued walking on and on, but as each minute passed it became clearer and clearer that he wasn't going anywhere. Squall closed his eyes as he moved, not bothering looking ahead with his steps anymore, and as time began to pass, a weariness struck him.

Squall Leonhart was a resolute, determined person, but something had worked into his mind as he walked, a sense of despair and resignation. It wasn't so much that there was nothing he could do as much as there was no effect that his actions could have on his future. Every step was utterly and completely meaningless in this void.

Squall opened his eyes as his steps began to falter, and saw he was standing on the edge of a precipice overlooking a gray expanse of nothing. It took him a few seconds to really register that he had reached an edge, and Squall turned around.

He froze in place as he saw that the plain had somehow been reduced to nothing more than an island before him. The dirt was now nothing but a small island Squall stood upon, overlooking the gray stretch of emptiness.

Squall felt his legs give, and he dropped to the dirt. Somehow he remained sitting up, despite the slackness and weakness overcoming his entire body at that point. Despair and resignation swelled up inside Squall, though he fought to keep the feelings down. He knew, in his heart, that it was over for him. He was trapped, on an island in the emptiness of time itself, lost forever.

"_Rinoa . . . ."_ he whispered after a few moments, wishing he could see her face again. It was several moments before he noticed something floating through the void, directly toward him, turning along nonexistent air currents. He reached out to the tiny object as he saw it, his eyes widening. It was a feather, a pure white angel feather.

Rinoa? Squall wondered as his hand grasped the object, and as he touched it, Squall felt a sudden surge of images and memories assault him. She was reaching out for him, he realized, trying to find him too, and in his mind's eye he could see it, see everything.

The sun was setting on the flower field, and Squall could see her just ahead, looking away, the white angel wings on the back of her coat standing out against the light blue of her outfit. He reached out to her, and called her name.

Rinoa didn't respond, and he cried out again, more desperately. She began to turn, and Squall started to take a step toward her, when the world began to blur into a gray pool of flowing darkness and emptiness around her.

He saw her in the Estharian space suit, tumbling through space, face blurred by time. He saw her at the inauguration party, flickering into and out of existence, her blurry face smiling warmly at him, like it had so long ago. She took a step toward him and vanished.

Squall caught the image of his ring flashing past, flickering with flaming lights and the clash of metal on metal, and he saw her face, suddenly replaced by the stomping, deathly specter of the Galbadian war machine he had fled from in Dollet. The machine shuddered as Quistis, the flash from her cannon's muzzle on her face, cut it down in a rain of fire. He saw Zell pumping his fist to urge Squall on, Rinoa's horror-filled expression as she saw him impaled, Selphie tumbling down a rocky slope, and Irvine smiling as he hefted his rifle to his shoulder. Ragnorok whipped past, cannons blazing as it assaulted the Lunatic Pandora, the air battle raging beyond. Rinoa smiled at him, her face blurring once more as her hair flew in the wind, and then she was being dragged by Seifer toward Adel's tomb. Squall saw his fists crashing into Seifer's face, and then his rival was replaced with an extending hand as he saw Rinoa reaching for him as he fell of the float, an icicle buried in his chest. As each image flew past, the sensations associated with them, heat, coldness, aching pain, happiness, fury, determination, burning heat, sweat running own his face, perspiration stinging his wounds, rippled through him at a thousand situations in a single second.

Then, everything suddenly stopped as Squall found himself inside the ballroom of Balamb Garden, alone with Rinoa. She walked toward him, as she had when they'd first met. But as she closed in, her face and body burned away into the gray emptiness, accompanied by the twisted strands of the ballroom music. She returned to that place, and walked forward again, before vanishing. She approached again, and again, and as she neared, the room began spinning. Rinoa stood before him, her blurred, faceless body turning in the swirling maelstrom, laughing, smiling, screaming, crying. He focused on her, trying to reach out to Rinoa, and he saw a thousand moments with her flash past, each one faster than the next, over and over and over and over again and again and again. The images blurred together until he could only see eyes, those of Rinoa, then Seifer, then Edea, then Ultimecia, then Zell, and Selphie, and Irvine, and Quistis, and then others he didn't know, flying by faster than he could comprehend them. Squall felt his mind burning, his soul compacting as he saw Rinoa's figure form within the blurring eyes, leaping toward him, arms outstretched. He reached out to catch her, and then he was in absolute cold, frozen in the void of space.

Rinoa hovered before him, her space suit's visor shattering, and exposing blue lips and cold, gray skin, that of death and nothing more, his ring floating in the void just before her face.

Squall screamed, an overwhelming, instinctive desire to deny and grieve at the sudden image that seemed so real before him. Tears exploded from his widening eyes, and Squall was suddenly free of the chaos and the confusion, dropping onto his back, whiteness overcoming his vision and consuming him within time.

His hand released the feather he had been grasping, which drifted down to the dirt beside him, silent and still in the void.

* * *

My last night here with you

Same old songs, just once more

Her footfalls sounded throughout the empty plain as she walked across the hard, cracked dirt. She drifted through the fog, brought here by his calls, following his thoughts through time. She used his memories, rapidly closing in with each thought, homing in on him from across the breadth of time. He had sought her out many times before to save her, and now it was her turn to seek him out and save him.

My last night here with you

Maybe yes, maybe no

The fog parted before her, and she saw him there, still, silent, unmoving. Slowly, Rinoa crouched next to him, lifting his head. She stared into Squall's still, peaceful face as he lay there unmoving, not even breathing. It was as if he had given up completely, dying in body as he had died in heart. Slowly, Rinoa reached forward, running her hands through his long brown hair. She whispered his name, but there was no response.

I kind of liked it your way

How you shyly placed your eyes on me

She had been too late. She had reached out to him, a tiny strand of herself touching his mind, and had ignited a firestorm of memories, using each one to close in on him across time. Rinoa had used her powers to bring her closer and closer, but as each thought flashed through his mind, the stress had grown. The memories had given way to despair. And in despair, Squall Leonhart had fallen where no mortal wound could hurt him.

Did you ever know

That I had mine on you

Rinoa knew this, and she understood what had happened. Emotions surged through her, and she pulled Squall's body close, hugging him tightly. She felt the tears start to erupt from her eyes, when a sudden surge of warmth struck her, and she felt something, a breath of warm air from his lips on her cheek.

So let me come to you

Close as I want to be

Sunlight struck the void, and grasses replaced cracked dirt. The thunderclouds above gave way, rapidly expanding outward, letting light flood through the gap and illuminate the flower field. Winds chased the clouds, and threw up thousands of loose petals from the field, filling the air with multicolored strands of light, reflecting every glorious ray from the sun.

Close enough for me

To feel your heart beating fast

Rinoa looked up in wonder, and realized that they had succeeded. Time had been saved, and with their final reunion, everything had been repaired. She turned her eyes back toward Squall, and suddenly felt a hand gripping her arm, and saw his blue eyes, open in surprise and wonder and disbelieving hope as he saw her.

And stay there as I whisper

How I love your peaceful eyes on me

"Squall . . . You're . . . ." she said, her mouth opening in a joyous smile.

"I waited for you," he whispered, and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.

"I came for you," she responded, pulling him tightly to her as well. "I wouldn't let you go. I'd never let you go, Squall. I never will."

"Me neither, Rinoa," he promised firmly. "Me neither."

Did you ever know

That I had mine on you?

* * *

Two weeks later . . . .

* * *

It bobbed on the clear blue waters, unmoving except with the lapping of the waves on the harbor. It sat there, still, undisturbed, peaceful and calm and unmoving.

That was the _damn problem,_ Seifer Almasy thought as he stared at the little red and white bobber, indicating whether his fishing line was being assaulted by the ever-deadly Balamb Grouper, a fish reputed to lay low the strongest men if it wasn't cooked right.

He sat back, shaking his head as his butt rested on an overturned fish bucket, one which was being used as a seat since nothing else was ending up in it. He had been out here for three hours without a bite yet, and was getting understandably aggravated. Fishing demanded patience, and Seifer was not a patient person.

"Ooh, yeah, I got another one, ya know!" came a shout behind Seifer, and he looked back over his shoulder. Raijin stood, fishing pole in hand and with another damn fish on the hook. His bucket behind him had a half-dozen more unfortunate fish, which he'd been catching regularly all day.

Seifer stood up and growled something in anger, and threw his pole down on the deck, more out of frustration than anger at Raijin for being better at this than him. The big bear kept dancing around, waving his fish in the air, and Fujin, standing behind him, arms folded behind her back, seemed less than amused. As he turned around, toward the dock, Fujin calmly planted a boot in his back and shoved her massive brother off the edge of the dock. With a surprised cry, Raijin belly-flopped into the sea, accompanied by a mighty splash.

Seifer burst out laughing as he heard Raijin burbling in the water, moaning in unhappiness at the fact that his fish was swimming away. He was glad to be back with his friends, and actually glad that Squall had won their last encounter. The SeeD Commander had proven he was the better, and Seifer accepted that. Not that he'd leave Squall alone; they would have to meet again someday, and Seifer was going to keep the rivalry alive until they were both in their graves. He bet that Squall secretly would as well, if he knew the Commander at all.

A shadow passed over the dock at that moment, attracting the attention of the trio (even Raijin, who was pulling himself up onto the dock, without any help from Fujin) Seifer recognized the shape, and the golden ring of the mountain-like structure.

"Well, speak of the devil," he whispered as Balamb Garden flew past. Seifer knew he would likely never see its interior again; he and Garden were through. His transgressions would assure he'd never return to Garden, insanity or not. At least President Loire had been more forgiving.

He smiled to himself as Garden flew past, and then turned to help Raijin back up onto the dock.

Wondering where I am, Squall? We'll meet again, I know it.

* * *

It had been a long time since he'd been back home. While he kept his residence in Esthar's Presidential Palace, Laguna's heart remained in Winhill, despite the locals' temperaments toward him. He had dropped back by his old home every year or so, usually very quietly, and only for a short while, to do this small, important thing.

He climbed up the grassy hill, separated from many of the other hills, and covered with flowers, just like the kind she would have loved. He reached the top of the hill, and dropped down by the headstone. He ran a hand over the marble device, and smiled slightly as he read the name on the headstone:

"Raine Loire"

Laguna glanced down at the ring on his right hand, a simple silver band. It was all that they had needed; no adornments or other embellishments on the ring, just simple round silver. Looking at it brought back a rush of memories for the old soldier.

"Hey there," she had said, walking up behind him, on a bright, moonlit evening. Laguna, who had been looking down at the ring in his palm, turned, a bit startled.

"Umm, hi," he quickly responded with a nervous grin and a wave with his other hand. Sudden anxiety swept over him, and Laguna felt his leg start to cramp up as usual in this kind of situation.

"Nice night, huh?" she said, looking up at the moon, and Laguna nodded.

"Oh, yeah, it is," he said quickly, trying to cover up his nervousness.

"You said you wanted to see me?" she asked, and turned back to him. Laguna hesitated, his mouth locking up, and actually blushed.

"Umm, well, its just that, you know . . . ." the words fumbled out of his mouth, and he opened and closed his hands nervously. He was dying right there, trying to say the right thing at that ever-important moment. He spoke a few more unintelligible words and finally managed to shake his head. For an instant, he felt like bugging out, and he actually started to turn away, but then felt Raine put her hand on his shoulder.

In that instant, Laguna Loire loosed a mental "the hell with it" and spun. He grasped Raine's hand gently but suddenly in his left, and slipped the ring onto her finger before she could react. Raine looked down at the ring in surprise and confusion, and then up at Laguna, her eyes suddenly asking him if he was serious.

Laguna didn't say anything, just holding up his other hand, with a matching silver ring on it, and smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah, that was it," he said quietly, and Raine, after a second of wide-eyed joy, pulled Laguna into a tight hug, laughing as she did. He pulled her in close as well, and they stayed that way for a long time in the moonlit night outside Winhill.

It was a while before Laguna even realized the cramp was gone.

Laguna smiled fondly at the memory, and all that he and Raine had shared in their life together. He had only wished it could have continued beyond that, that they could have seen their son raised together, but so much had happened, and Laguna had often wondered if it had been better that everything had happened the way it had.

"I miss you," he said softly to Raine's headstone. "I always have. The flowers are beautiful this time of year, you know that? Just like you were." He paused, almost choking, before continuing. "If you're watching, you know what's happened. You know what our son did. He saved everyone, and everything. I know you've got to be proud of him."

Laguna heard a shout from behind him, and he turned, to see a distant trio of figures standing on a hill a short distance away, waving to him. He laughed and waved back.

"Kiros! Ward! I didn't know you guys followed me here!" he called. He paused when he saw the third figure, moving down the hill, smiling and waving too. Ellone, her brown hair flying in the wind, started moving up the hill Laguna sat on, when she paused and looked up as a shadow flew past. Laguna looked up as well, and saw Balamb Garden drift by overhead in the sky, far above.

"There he is, Raine," Laguna whispered, looking back down at the headstone. "Our son is flying high." He brushed the headstone again, and smiled. "You'll be waiting for me, right? Because I'll be looking for you when I get there, too."

Ellone came up beside Laguna, putting a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up to her, grinning before standing up.

"You ready to head back?" she asked, and Laguna nodded.

"Let's go, Elle," he said. "We've got a lot to do now, for the future and for everyone."

* * *

"Okay, let's see if this Galbadian hunk of junk works right," Selphie mused, and looked down into the lens of the camcorder. She pressed the power button on the front, and the little red light on the face of the camera, just above the lens, flicked on. She grinned and flipped the camera over, lifting it up to her eyes and turned around, taking in the ballroom. Music was playing, people were talking, laughing, and eating, and everyone was having a good time. And why not? It was a party, and not just any party, but a real Garden Festival, orchestrated by Selphie and Irvine as an unofficial celebration of their victory and survival.

Selphie stood on the upper floor of the ballroom, where the lighting was more muted, and turned her camera around, and very quickly caught sight of two of her friends, and the camera shook with her laughter. Irvine, n full coat, boots, and hat, was, as he put it to Selphie, "getting down with his funky bad-ass self," dancing like an idiot, and trying to get Quistis to join him. She simply watched him make a fool of himself, however, and did nothing until she saw the camera pointed in her direction. She was surprised for a moment, before smiling and waving.

Irvine had apparently noticed the camera recording them as well, and took this opportunity to duck down in front of Quistis and rise up into view, stealing the picture. She glanced at him in annoyance, and Irvine wasted no time with draping an arm over her shoulder and waving at the camera. If Quistis was annoyed before, she was doubly so now, and as Irvine continued to wave and demand attention, she roughly pushed him away. Irvine blinked as he stepped away, and Quistis strode out of view of the camera. He glanced back at Selphie, cocking his head to the side in mock indignation. Selphie shrugged and followed Quistis with the camera, to see where she was heading.

It turned out that Quistis was moving to where Cid Kramer was looking out over the party, drink in hand. They said something, which Selphie couldn't catch over the music, and Cid turned his head, calling for Edea. Their Matron stepped over, looking beautiful an elegant in a casual black dress, smiling as she said something to Quistis. Selphie began to step closer to catch what they were saying, when Irvine suddenly stepped in, taking his hat off and bowing to Matron and Cid very respectfully, something totally at odds with what he had been doing moments ago. He said something graciously to the pair, who nodded and bowed back in courtesy, and then Cid said something about catching this for the records. Irvine stood up straight, a bit surprised, and then looked in the direction Cid was gesturing at, directly toward Selphie, who couldn't contain her laughter. With an expression of mock anger, Irvine cut across the room toward Selphie.

"I'll be taking that," he commented, putting a hand on Selphie's camcorder. She pouted momentarily, before grinning and swiping his hat off his head Irvine muttered something in surprise, but Selphie had already dashed away, dropping the hat onto her head. After a moment, Irvine shrugged and raised the camcorder to his eyes as Selphie and Quistis quickly stood together. Something was wrong about the picture, though, and it took Irvine a moment - along with some emphatic gestures from Selphie and Quistis - to realize he was holding the camera on its side, and flipped it over. They nodded, and Selphie began to say something and wave, when Irvine's attention was stolen by a knot of female cadets, complete with their eye-catchingly short skirts. He turned toward them and waved, and they started to wave back, when Selphie cut in, playfully slapping Irvine on top of his head.

"Cut that out," she said, and Irvine shook with laughter as he panned the camera, following her across the hall. Selphie stopped after a moment, and quickly gestured to something out of Irvine's line of sight, laughing she did so. Irvine turned the camera and spotted Zell, seated at a table across the room, along with the girl who ran the front desk of the library. The brawler was stuffing his face rather passionately with hot dogs that were dripping with condiments. Irvine zoomed in as Selphie and Quistis stepped over to him as he began to swallow one hefty chunk of meat and sauces, and then began to look around the table for a drink. He lifted up one cup and, finding it empty, began to search for another drink on the table. He didn't immediately find one, and tried to swallow the bite prematurely. Irvine heard him begin to choke, and Selphie and Quistis wasted no time rushing over to the martial artist and began hitting him on the back in an effort to help him. Zell finally swallowed part of the hot dog after a few seconds, and then looked up at the camera, then at his friends, and realized that the entire embarrassing situation had been recorded.

Zell suddenly stood up, out of annoyance at what had just happened, and everyone backed off quickly, though laughing all the while. Zell spun on the camera and snatched up another hotdog off the table, then cocked an arm back and hurled it at Irvine, who quickly spun away, evading the meaty missile with a healthy bout of laughter. Zell wouldn't live down that incident, he was sure, and the sharpshooter made a mental note to make a few copies of this video.

He spent a few moments with a couple of napkins wiping sauce off the side of the camera, and then Irvine raised the camcorder back to his eyes as Selphie walked back into the shot. She grinned, and looked around, before her eyes widened.

"Quick, look, over there!" she said, and pointed. Irvine took his eyes away from the camera to see where she was pointing, and saw she was looking at the balcony outside the ballroom. Irvine saw who was there and quickly turned his camera, zooming in.

Standing outside, looking up at the stars, was Rinoa, leaning on the balcony railing. She turned her head, smiling at a figure blocked by the doorframe of the balcony's entrance, and raised an index finger toward the stars up above. Irvine began to zoom in, when a light flashed on his screen, indicating a low battery. The other figure outside began to move in as the light flashed more insistently.

"No, no, no," Irvine muttered, and an instant later the screen went dead. He pulled his head away. "Battery died," he reported, and Selphie quickly looked dejected and disappointed.

"Poo," she said, and looked back out toward the balcony. "We missed it."

* * *

The night was perfect. The sky was clear, the stars and moon shining with all their nightly beauty, blessing the earth with white rays of pure light. Her eyes traced across the canopy overhead, watching it with a childlike wonder. She hadn't had time to really enjoy the night sky for the last few months, and now that they had finally caught a measure of peace, she was taking that moment to look at the unparalleled beauty of the night.

What made this calm, quiet, peaceful moment even more perfect, Rinoa knew, was not that she was enjoying the sky, but that she was enjoying it with someone who also appreciated seeing this sky again, someone who had feared he'd never see the sky again.

A light cut across the sky, slashing a pure white line through the dark, back-lit canopy of space, and Rinoa watched it with wide-eyed wonder, remembering a similar shooting star on an equally memorable night. She remembered what had happened, and knew he remembered as well.

Rinoa turned to her right and pointed up at the star overhead, and he turned to her, having seen the same thing. He smiled, an honest, real smile on his face, and stepped closer.

He reached up, left hand closing around her wrist, and then moving up, threading its way into her fingers, interlocking with hers. He slipped a hand around her waist and pulled her close to him.

"There's something I haven't told you yet," Squall whispered to Rinoa as their faces drew close.

"I know," she responded, smiling as she felt his breath on her face, and inhaled his scent. "You don't need to say it. We both know."

For an instant, there was silence, a perfect moment of peace between them, and Squall pulled her closer, and slowly kissed Rinoa. She pulled him in as well, bringing both of their souls together under that starry sky as Balamb Garden flew across the sea, silent, undisturbed, and perfect.

* * *

**The End**

**

* * *

**

**Author's Notes:** No shout-outs or commentary. That's saved for my reflections on this whole story. All I have to say is...its over. Finally. Wow. What a ride, huh?


	59. Insert: Reflections

Reflections on "The Gunblade Saga"

It began on a whim. June, 2003, a bored college student who was trying to write the next big epic fanfiction based on Final Fantasy VIII had read several fanfics written by other authors trying to create a novelization of this most epic of epic games. Dissatisfied with them, he began to write his own. It started simple, a close-to-the-script adaptation that added in details and filled out story elements, starting from the beginning of the game and continuing on, adding twists to action sequences and expanding upon the concepts from the game. Nearly two years later, in April of 2005, a story tentatively entitled "The Gunblade Saga" ended, as a complete and total novelization of Final Fantasy VIII. In all honesty, I never would have realized it was this much of a challenge. The game itself was massive and tremendous, and putting it in written form was an incredible task, yet unbelievably rewarding.

Its been one long, wild ride, I'd have to say. from the beginning I wanted to put my own spin on FFVIII, even after I got done with the game for the first time way back in 2001. I'd written some fanfiction, but going to the extent by which I did when I began writing this was unprecedented for me, and in all honesty, many other writers as well. Looking back I'm amazed to see what I've written, and am honestly staggered by the implications that I, of all people, wrote this stuff. If someone had told me I would do something this massive two years ago, I would have laughed at them. Now I can simply sit here and be amazed.

Why did I write this? I'm not entirely sure myself. One big thing that drove me to write fanfiction in the first place was a love for the characters and the setting. When I got done watching the ending cutscene, where Squall kissed Rinoa and the camera panned back, showing Garden flying over the sea, followed by the shining letters of "The End", I honestly felt saddened that the story was over. To this day I can't watch that scene without thinking that it is a terrible thing that this story ended. I can't say that with any other Final Fantasy I've played to date. I was disappointed with the endings for VI and VII myself, but VIII's ending made me sigh and wish I could see more. I wanted to see Squall and Rinoa's future, to go beyond their kiss and look at what would happen ahead. I wanted to see Selphie and Irvine get together or even break up. I wanted to see Zell's future, Quistis' future, Cid and Edea's future . . . I wanted to see it all. I wanted to see more than that final kiss. I didn't want the story to end. With the sole exception of Chrono Trigger, no other game made me feel that way.

That's the magic of FFVIII, and part of the reason I love fanfiction for it.

But why write a novelization? it's a great question. Some would say that those who write novelizations love the game so much they'd want to see it in print, where they can read it wherever they want, whenever they want. Some would like to see deeper meanings and thoughts within their characters. Some would want to apply their own spin to the storyline and improve upon shortcomings. My motivation really sprang from a variety of sources, among them ones I can't yet name. I think part of my plan was to recapture some of the great emotional moments from the game, including that final kiss. I honestly cried when I was writing the meeting in compressed time, with the Eyes On Me lyrics included, because that scene, and the final kiss, were so emotional for me.

When I look back at this fic, one thing that strikes me the most is this simple fact: never, ever, even once, did I consider stopping. I never gave up. I never even considered giving up. from the first word to the very, very last, I wanted to do this thing, to finish it. I walked in with a dedicated heart, and I walked out feeling an unbelievable sense of accomplishment. At 6:12 AM on April 2nd, when I typed in **_"The End"_**, an incredible rush came over me at my accomplishment. I stood up, I raised my hands, and I laughed, because I had finished two years of joyous writing. Through thick and thin, through computer problems and internet providers, through different universities, majors, jobs, girlfriends, and career choices, through my final decision to join the Marine Corps, this has been here.

To me, The Gunblade Saga was more than just a story. It was a goal, an accomplishment, a calling and a purpose, and, strangely enough, a friend, if you will. I came to know the story of FFVIII intimately with each new chapter, and bound myself tightly to the characters of Squall, Rinoa, Seifer, Irvine, Selphie, Quistis, Zell, Edea, Cid, Laguna, Kiros, and Ward, and even felt some influence from them in my own life. The Gunblade Saga was a part of my life for two years, and I poured my heart and soul into it. I feel that no other RPG has reached the greatness of FFVIII, and I hoped to catch that power in my work, and I believe, in all honesty, that I succeeded.

As with my previous insert, it might be time for a long reflection on the individual chapters, and what was going through my head with each one.

_Cold:_ Inspired by the song of the same name by Crossfade, this chapter was aimed at a concept I wanted to hit during the course of the story: nothing can defeat Squall in physical battle, but when it comes to his heart and his emotions, those are points where he is vulnerable. Inspired partially by Luna Manar's "Falling Forever" fanfic on Icy Brian's site.

This was also the very first chapter that involved Edea as her normal self, and I tried to capture her loving aspect along with her wisdom and a degree of her power as well. I also wanted to remind people that Matron really was a Sorceress while you were controlling her, though her power is dramatically diminished.

I believe that the most important part of this chapter, however, was showing how Squall was very steadily progressing down the road to being in love with Rinoa. I had to establish that there was definitely something between them, and Squall was only realizing it when he was severed from Rinoa. I believe the most important part was the decision that Squall had already lost Ellone before, and he wouldn't lose Rinoa if he could avoid it.

_Interlude: Dragonslayer:_ I knew that, within the constraints of the storyline I was writing, that I wouldn't be able to write the Shumi village sequence, and reflect on Laguna being present there. So, in order to include the village and expand on Laguna's story, I set the beginning of this chapter there.

The Shumi always struck me as interesting, kind of like gnomes or dwarves in a sense, with their ingenuity and underground ways. I enjoyed covering their culture and society.

As for Laguna himself, the chapter was largely self-explanatory. I used some Halo references throughout, and the title was a throwback to the "Ye olde dragon-slayings" of old literature. As a side note, a thread I was planning on following up on in that chapter was the gunblade Laguna used. It was actually intended to end up in Seifer's hands later on and used as a model for him to build Hyperion off of. I must have forgotten that idea as I got near the end where Seifer was going to say it.

_Rinoa:_ One part I really wanted to do was Squall praying. Squall isn't a particularly religious type of person, but I did want him to reach out to a higher power, as many people have to do so in times of great stress.

I only had two other major objectives here: to present Squall's continuing development in the direction of loving Rinoa, and to describe Esthar, and give a truly breathtaking into the city. I think I succeeded on both counts.

_Final Interlude: Hero:_ Another self-explanatory chapter, really. I did want to bring back our good friend Randolph, and I threw in some of my own Corps pride in as well with making him a Marine. For some reason I like Dollet and Esthar more than any of the other nations in this game . . . Though I love all the nations and peoples of FFVIII. This was also the first point where Halo-esque technology was used in large amounts, which I felt fit very closely with Estharian weapons and tech.

And Laguna quotes Bugs Bunny. Pwn, man.

_City of Dreams:_ Ah, the entrance of Spark! I sincerely loved this chapter, even if it was little more than an introduction of the city of Esthar and paving the way for the air war and Selphie's use of the Halconnen. Speaking of which, I really should have changed the name on that thing. Maybe I'm reading too much of Daz's work, eh?

_Lunacy:_ The big air war chapter. I really wanted an Independence Day kind of conflict here, and I think it worked out well. I included some homages to Rogue Squadron with Raptor Squadron, a group that may make an appearance in later FFVIII fanfics.

It felt kind of odd interposing sequences with intense battles between the Estharians and Galbadians and the peaceful scenes on the Lunar Base. Like Chris Ganale said, it sucks having to change the music every few minutes.

Oh, yes, and Selphie got to use the Halconnen! Seriously, that is just the kind of gun you can imagine her wielding, isn't it?

_Apocalypse Now:_ the chapter in which Squall did the thing that made him awesome. I sincerely enjoyed covering the emotional turmoil he was going through in this chapter, and I think I captured it well, especially judging by everyone's responses. One bit I loved the most was Squall's urge to punch Laguna when he said that Squall wouldn't be able to save Rinoa. The moment where the emotion really peaked for me was when Squall screamed "Fuck!" which was what I always imagined was going through his mind as he had to retreat.

One regret I did have was that I was unable to flesh out the Lunar Cry itself, and I think that I did remove the apocalyptic level of destruction it caused in FFVIII.

_Eyes On Me:_ Whoa. I'll say, here and now, that I was actually tearing up as I wrote that opening in this chapter. I had wanted to do a little spiel on the power of love, and that segment was really beautiful for me to write, and I think it was one of, if not the, best sequences in the storyline.

Of course, this was followed up by the discovery of the Ragnarok, the battle with the Propagators, and Rinoa's use of her Sorceress powers, then followed by Rinoa and Squall's beautiful conversation on the bridge, and then Squall musing on losing Rinoa and how it was hurting him inside, and then the talk with Zell and Quistis, and then Squall's rescue . . . I was floored throughout this chapter by its awesomeness and the incredible scenes I had to work with.

Without question, this was perhaps my favorite chapter to write out of nearly all of them, excepting the epilogue.

_A Strange Twist of Fate:_ Ah, the clincher! The promise, the meeting with Laguna, and the final briefing!

I set out here to further the Squall and Rinoa relationship, now that it had reached its critical point. I sincerely enjoyed writing the talk between them, and the promise at the flower field. I knew I had to do it well, and I knew I had to tie everything back to that same field. That was an essential part for me.

Laguna's briefing was placed in Garden because it made sense, especially with the United Nations/Allies-style way the war came together. I hit on this crazy idea that maybe I could bring back Dollet's 125th and everyone's favorite badass Dollet commander, and include Estharian fighters on the attack, and I thought, heck, why not bring in Caraway and the Galbadians too?

And, of course, there was the actual long, long awaited meeting between Squall and Laguna. A bit anti-climactic, but still a fun bit to write.

_Flight of the Ragnarok:_ The most striking parts of this battle, for me, was not the engagement as much as the lead-up. The dialogue for the Squall-Laguna scene where the truth was revealed hit me while I was in the middle of the previous chapter, and I knew I had to write it down before I lost it in my head, and I built the rest of the chapter around that. I also really wanted to have a scene where Rinoa met with Edea and talked to her, and thus I added the talk between them where Rinoa picked up Bahamut.

The Seifer battle was kind of intended as a jab at the cheap "everyone vs. one" battles you fought in-game against him. Really, Seifer never stood a chance in the game once you ganged up on him, and that was reflected here with how easily he was dropped. Of course, that led into the climatic final clash in . . . .

_Heaven or Hell:_ Holy heck, yes! This was a chapter that had been in my head for a long time: Seifer and Squall fighting hand-to-hand with everyone tackling Adel as a backdrop. I had prewritten he Squall/Seifer intro to the battle many weeks in advance, anticipating this battle eagerly, and I enjoyed every sizzling, bone cracking, bullet-flying moment. Of all the Seifer battles, this one was the most brutal and the one I savored the most.

_The Festival of the Damned:_ Originally was going to be two smaller chapters, but I decided that I was done with waiting for the final clash and I wanted this story over with. This is the chapter where I felt that I really was headed down the final stretch, and I barreled through it with ferocity, typing furiously as I wrote out every battle and detail with glee. I was so intent on getting the details right that I actually played through the game from my last save point right after the Sorceress Memorial so I could get this part down right

_Lionheart: I_ wanted the final battle to be epic and desperate, and I wrote with that objective first and foremost. I had already determined the "death order" a while before I wrote this and set out to make each character's fall unique and meaningful, either in impact or in brutality. The image of Squall striking down his foes with Blasting Zone while standing over Rinoa's body was clear in my mind a long, long time ago, and the use of Lionheart was present in its incarnation here even before then. Blasting Zone was supposed to be Squall's rage peaked and unmatched, but Lionheart had to be something so much more . . . The result of the rage taken from all across time, a suitably desperate attack for the end-of-the-universe ending of FFVIII

_Epilogue: Waiting Until the End:_ The ending was sugary sweet and beautiful, and I wanted to seize it myself once again in my writing. I knew I had to bring everyone back, and explain what was happening, as well as provide Squall's point of view. Part of the reason why Squall was the only "survivor" of the Ultimecia battle was because he was separate from the others during the ending, and I used that as the defining reason why Squall was separated.

Including the Eyes On Me lyrics here simply made me cry while writing them, as I've already said. It was so beautiful, I felt, to include them in that final meeting between Squall and Rinoa, where she brought him back. I tried to capture the sadness and then joy of that scene with the lyrics and my descriptions. Heh. Maybe I should try songfics?

An idea I scrapped was to have Squall run into another timeframe at the orphanage, but rather than meet Edea and his younger self he'd see an older version, in which they'd have a talk about Squall's future. But as I said, I scrapped it.

The final few segments . . . Well, I wanted to mimic the feel of the cutscenes with minimizing the dialogue during the party. At the same time, a degree of dialogue would help enhance it at specific points. There were periods where I had the characters talking but wrote no dialogue, to help capture those moments more precisely.

And finally, there was the kiss at the end. I had that music, from that moment, playing in my head as I wrote that part, and I felt tears in my eyes as I wrote that last sentence.

_"She pulled him in as well, bringing both of their souls together under that starry sky as Balamb Garden flew across the sea, silent, undisturbed, and perfect."_

At that moment, I sat back, and managed a joyous laugh, before I typed "**_The End_**" They have to be the two most satisfying words I've ever written in my career as a writer.

Every chapter saw the increase in my skills as a writer. I started as just an action scene buff, with only a little skill in depicting emotional turmoil or angst, or personal beliefs and characterization. I ended as so much more, judging by all the wonderful reviews.

Everyone who has helped me along my path deserves incredible thanks. Without the reviews, this story never would have advanced to be what it was. Without people letting me know that I was doing a good job, I would never have completed this. I speak from the heart when I say that hearing good comments on my work makes me feel good. All authors write for good reviews, whether they admit it or not. I am no exception, and I thrived off my reviews, rushing to my mailbox in the hours after I posted my last chapter to see who had reviewed and said what about what.

On that note, I'll do my shout-outs early, before moving on to my thanking of all who helped me on this path.

Sherif: Mwahaha. Yes, I killed them! I killed them all!

On that note, you've been one of my constant reviewers. Your input has always been great. Thank you so much!

Dragoon Swordsman: "Interesting"? Not exactly the way I'd put it. :P You've been with me for a long time too, since before I can remember. How far back did you start reviewing? Its always been great having you around.

Ma-Chan1: Yeah, I'm almost sad to see its over myself. Of course I'm going to write more! Its in my blood to write! I had a similar theory, but as you can tell, that feather was more of a symbol of Rinoa's consciousness seeking out Squall in time. I would not mind at all if you copied this work. I have no problem with people copying my work as long as they ask for permission first.

Don't worry about not being here since the beginning. Only a few people (among them myself, heh) have been reading this since its inception.

My reasons for killing the heroes range from the fanboyish ("My story is important because everyone DIES!") to the desire to show the desperation of the final conflict and the sheer power behind Ultimecia and Griever. I'm happy to know that you think I'm that good. I'm glad you've been there reading with my writing for all this time!

Jade Almasy: I did want to hint throughout this story that Irvine and Selphie were sort of together. Their development got more and more subtle and yet more apparent as the final chapters progressed. Selphie's rage over Irvine's death kind of showed that, as well as the hug they shared at the end when time was restored.

You're another long-timer that I'm glad has been with me for so long. I always knew you'd review if you had the time, and thank you for it!

Chris Ganale: Cheap win. :P I only used Invincible Moon for my invulnerability, thank you very much. (okay, so I never bothered unlocking Item XD )

Bwaha! I raped your head:P And go ahead, finish your story. I glanced at it, and it looks great, even if I never played FFX. Maybe I should do something similar with FFVIII? Hmmm . . . .

You, too, have always been there for me, man. Spotting my references left and right! Always nice to know you catch these ideas when no one else can. XD Glad to be riding this train with you, too.

Rikke Leonhart: Yeah, killing Selphie made me sad too. I knew she would have to die, and that saddened me. But then I got sadistic and laughed while I was doing it. (I know Kaiser will kill me for saying that XD)

Omega….pardon me while I rock back and forth and cry in child-like terror.

I don't think you've been with me for too long, but you've been there for a while, though. Still glad to see you rode this with me until the end!

Elachim: Hey, handing out military knowledge is no problem for me. If you ever have any questions, ask away! I'll be making my email public soon, anyway.

Solid Shark: Glad to know you love it too! You've been with me for a while too, haven't you? I've always appreciated your reviews, man!

Icedragon6171: I tried to render Ultimecia as this horribly evil enemy that's imply seemed invincible, and I'm glad you think the same way. While you haven't been there for me for that long, I still appreciate what you've written about my work. Thank you!

OniRazz: My MGS story isn't up yet. I'm waiting a while before posting that, so I'm sure I'm ready to finish it when it is time to finish it. And thank you for sticking with me for such a long time. I'm glad you loved my work!

Angel of Apocalypse:

DBZ Fanfiction Queen: Squall used Rough Divide on NORG. Oh, I know Tiamat was a GF, who Ultimecia corrupted. My words must have come out wrong there….

Well, I tried to make sense out of it, and the image I had of Squall using time as his weapon really sealed the idea of what was happening there for me. I always figured she was simply high on all the power she was gathering by compressing time and had really hit a point where she was losing touch with reality . . . Or reality was losing touch with her, heh.

Doing Squall's delirium was actually really hard for me to figure out, but I think I pulled it off well. I really didn't try to explain it too much myself, except as this random barrage of memories he was experiencing within time as Rinoa tried to find him. And yes, I think it's a Garden Festival there too. Maybe not the only one (the one in FH was one as well) but there's nothing to say that there can't be two of them!

As one of my reviewers, I knew I could always expect a great review from you and let me know what you were thinking about the chapter in no uncertain terms. Your reviews are always among the ones I looked forward too especially. Thank you for riding this with me to the end!

Daniel Wesley Rydell: Yes, it is right. :P Thanks for the steady reviews, man. You're another one who's been with me for before I can remember, and I'm glad you stuck with me until the end.

Rusty Knights Productions: Darn you, you silly person (or persons). You need to finish FFVIII! I've always appreciated what you've said, for as longer s you've been with me on this. Thanks for everything!

Kolostraminindincranin: Thank you! I did have that crazy image of the chopping of the castle in half, but you have to remember, this is Blasting Zone here. The blade pokes out into space for crying out loud. I was intending for the strike to leave this massive fissure in the ocean in the future world too, but I decided that that was a little too over the top. Good luck with you Baldur's Gate novelization! Makes me want to actually play that darn game again.

Anime Obsessed Fan: Yeah, everybody died. Pooh. Like I said, the image of everyone falling left and right was there for a long time, and I really wanted it to only be Squall at the very end, just like it should have been, cutting down Ultimecia with a final, desperate limit break.

I agree that the worst part about a great story ending is just that: the ending. But that's why there's fanfiction!

DeathDragon66: What amazes me the most is my devotion. I think I took that out of this fanfic when I wrote it, I went in with a wishy-washy tendency, but I walked out with an incredible feeling of determination to succeed. That's one gift that Gunblade gave to me in writing this.

Wolf of Light: Thanks! You've been there for . . . Damn, a long time, haven't you? Thank you for every review! (You spelled it right, by the way)

Kimahrigirl: You're welcome! That's the kind of response I hoped to invoke with this story, and I'm glad it happened with somebody. And yes! Go read Synthesis! I'll be updating as soon as I figure out what the next sentence in that story should be! XD

Cherieandpepe: Another reaction I love to see. I'm glad you're showing this to others who've played the game and who might love it as well. I hope to get some more reviews! Thank you for sticking with me through it all!

Shootski: No relation to Unreal. That was just something I thought Zell would say. And someone commented on my use of "final fantasy"! Did everyone else miss that? Heh. Thanks. I don't think I'm that good, myself, but that's just me.

Jihan Al-Kwasarmi: hey, that's okay. As long as you're reviewing, I don't mind waiting around for them. Thank you for complimenting my fight sequences. I really get into combat, and I try to make the battles as realistic and fun as possible.

And yeah, I know! What was Square thinking with those glaring scientific inaccuracies? XD

Xephon: I am? Cool. Unfortunately, no one prays to me so I have no power over the world, regardless of my deific standing, according to D&D rules.

Thyana: Thank you! I certainly intend to write more, no doubt about that!

Patronus: Thank you too! I agree that FFVIII was a challenge to novelize but not as bad as other games. Imagine novelizing Resident Evil 4 or something.

Lady-Rinoa: Its okay if you never made a review. You made one now, right? Hey, I'm glad to know I made you smile with my work. I mean, that's half the reason I write, so others can be entertained and let me know that I can entertain them. And don't worry, I'm quite intent on making more fanfics, and obviously around Squall and Rinoa.

Geminidrake: Thanks!

Crazy Lady Georgey: Two words: hanks much:D

Chloe: I've also written the only one. Or rather, the only complete one. XD

E: Ummm . . . Wow. THIS is a review. I'm gonna get something to drink, responding to this monster may take some time. Not even I leave reviews this long!

Thank you about the descriptions. At first, I wanted literal descriptions, but as time progressed I came to understand that having the descriptions flow around the events worked more smoothly. I tried to capture the magic of each moment in my writing.

It did strike me as odd that Quistis was helping you in the battle. Sometimes when I play through I just have her stand there while Squall attacks Ifrit alone . . . Either that or I kill her before we meet Ifrit so Ifrit won't be distracted by her.

The battle with Elvorlet didn't have Squall's limit. That was more of a Matrix-style leap and slash thing, and not Renzokuken. Now, Seifer, he did use a Limit, obviously. Heh.

X-ATM092 didn't have nanorobots. I was imagining that they were more like . . . Little insect robots, like maybe the size of large ants, instead of nanotechnology. And yeah, it does seem like that thing adapts as you flee down the mountain, doesn't it? That's why I made it learn as if followed them.

Timber did strike me as a polluted city, to a degree, when I was playing through it. Well, not so much as polluted as much as it was simply more primitive than other cities. I mean, you pass through Dollet, Deling City, and Balamb, and they're all large, open, clean cities with high technology, and then you get to Timber, and everything seems older and more primitive, and by association, a little bit more dirty. My editor really pointed that out to me.

The train sequence was definitely one of my favorite moments to write, especially because it was a tense action scene with no actual combat, which was a bit different from my previous action sequences.

Hey, I like it when Zell kicks ass too, heh. Throughout the story I kept Zell on this same basic track of being the headfirst, charging guy who ran up to things and hit them until he was knocked away. Made fights easier to write when I was considering how each person would act.

There weren't any other Seeds in the battle with Edea, excepting Rinoa, who helped Squall wounded Edea before he was impaled.

The real guns used in the prison break were there for realism, yeah, but also because I am a bit of a gun nut. Not too much of one, but quite a fan of firearms myself.

And yeah, I did enjoy writing Squall kicking ass against the other cadets in Balamb Garden. Maybe he had too easy a time beating them, but then again, it is Squall, after all. Writing the MD Level segment was a challenge, of course, but I think I laid it out fairly well.

I loved writing Squall owning NORG. Our first use of Renzokuken's Rough Divide finisher as well!

The always irked me about the infiltration of Balamb, how known enemies of the state could just wander around without much question.

A big point on the original chapter, "Art of War" was to shed more light on some of the characters and their interactions, as well as to air out the grievance between Rinoa and her father. I really wanted to have them make up with one another, and I had a few tears in my eyes writing that scene.

Part of my inclusion of Dollet was an understanding that the Garden organization by itself didn't have enough troops for the mass-combat I really wanted to get at here. They didn't have many allies, but of them, there was one army that really would stand out and had already fought beside them, and an army I felt was really underplayed in the game. Thus, I brought in Dollet as comrades with Garden in the huge battle.

Now, THAT is a compliment. I wrote the best battle you've ever seen? Wow. Man, that really is a compliment right there! I agree that I did kind of downplay Quistis and Xu, but I was running out of ideas for them, and of all the combat styles I can really write, Quistis' rante was the hardest for me to write in this story. It doesn't help that Quistis is the least favorite of my characters, but still a character I like.

Squall in that battle was supposed to be very similar to Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings movies, a complete, virtually invincible badass on the battlefield. I've already said it before, but Squall was deliberately modeled around Aragorn as my primary inspiration for how he would fight.

Yeah, I chopped off Seifer's hand! I really wanted to make that battle dead serious, as it was going to be the last real gunblade duel they would have in the story. Seifer was intended to be made just as hardcore and tough as Squall in that battle, if a bit more fanatical and deluded.

The bridge scene was one part that was a real clincher for me. I felt I had to do it properly to convey how Squall had grown to accept Rinoa into his life and how he would do whatever it took to save her. I figure Squall didn't really love Rinoa up until the scene on the Ragnarok, but up until that point simply wanted her back so much that it overrode his feelings for her. Eventually he came to realize that he did love her as he was saving her. An impression I got from the game was that Squall and Rinoa would have ended up together even if she hadn't been possessed, but that the possession itself was a catalyst that rapidly brought them that much closer together. In that sense, Ultimecia kind of caused her own demise.

As I've said before, the final battle between Squall and Seifer was envisioned a long time ago as a hand-to-hand battle. I really felt like it clicked with their rivalry within the story, and I hadn't actually written a fight like that yet, so I dove for it with a relish.

The Ultimecia battle I approached with some apprehension. I felt I had to get it powerful and epic, but at the same time I felt I had to keep it real. Obviously, Irvine needed to go first; he was physically the weakest character without GFs. Selphie burned away in rage at Irvine's death, and this was followed by Zell dying in his final, selfless charge. Quistis sacrificed herself to save Squall, and then Rinoa was murdered, fueling Squall with a titanic rage of epic proportions that sliced Ultimecia's castle in half.

And, well, of course I read the review. I read every review. Especially monsters like this one. This has to be one of the more satisfying reviews I've gotten.

And now, last but far from the least, two reviewers I feel personally close to as comrades in the fanfiction world.

Prodigy: I knew you'd love the ending. We've both been striving for this for a long time, and I knew I had to get that ending perfect, or, like you said, this whole thing would have been meaningless.

400,000 words? Really? Wow. That's . . . damn. I knew it was big, but even that figure staggers me.

Just out of curiosity, how big is my fan base here? Is there a huge running tally or what? Do I have a Peptuck Fanclub or something? Heh.

Please, man, hurry up and write! I want to see what you're doing. And if you need an editor, dial me up. I'll be making my email public after this reflection goes up, so send me some chapters for me to have a look at if you want.

Kaiser-Kun: You've been one my closest reviewers, and I have to thank you for that. Stick with me, I ain't done yet! Keep up your translating, and I'll keep up my writing.

* * *

When it gets down to it, no project is a one-man venture. There are always people who support oneself along the way in one respect or another. I have a few people I need to thank for directly or indirectly influencing this story. 

**Aaron Jordan (aka Xenogears):** If there is one, singular person responsible for helping The Gunblade Saga reach its end, it would have to be you. Aaron served as my editor throughout the long ride of Gunblade, and was directly and indirectly responsible for some amazing scenes in the storyline. The Garden battle would not have been half as amazing if it had not been for his contributions. He was always there to lend me advice and chapter titles, and I can say in all honesty that he was the biggest influence on this storyline.

Aaron, The Gunblade Saga is as much your novelization as it is mine. I thank you from my heart.

**Cesar Carranza (aka Kaiser-Kun):** In the more recent months Cesar has become a great friend of mine, Aside from being a constant reviewer, he's given me great advice on my fanfiction and offered a great deal of support throughout the writing process. If there was any single reviewer who helped me the most on the road to finishing this, its you, Cesar. Gracias, mi amigo!

**CJ (aka Prodigy):** Prodigy, you are the man who made me want to write this thing. I'll state, here and now, that as a writer, you are better than me, and would likely have produced a work superior to mine if you'd had the time to write your story out. I'm going to keep a close eye on your work and give you my thoughts too, and I hope you can succeed as well

**Robert Allen Salvatore:** There has to be at least a few authors who inspired me to write, and R.A. Salvatore is the best of them. His incredible descriptions and top-notch battle scenes have directly and overwhelmingly influenced my writing, as well as his tales of swords and sorcery, and a well-known dark elf named Drizzt, a character so morally strong, honest, and good that I literally use him as my moral compass. Squall was heavily based off him in many respects, and I must say again, all of my writing has been directly influence by Salvatore's novels. Simply outstanding.

**Darren "Edge" Shier (aka Daz Shier):** Darren. One of the gods of FFVIII fanfiction, a writer who has also massively influenced me in my ability to write emotional sequences and make my writing just plain fun. An incredible author who can craft a story like no other. I cannot recommend him enough. He is simply that good.

**Ashbear:** Ashbear has played a major role influencing me as well. As an author, her descriptions and emotional scenes are evocative and gripping, and even more than Darren, made my ability to write emotional scenes grow and expand. She truly stands at the top of FFVIII fanfiction, and I have to thank her for all she's done and how it inspired me.

**The RI Crew:** All of them are amazing writers who put me to shame. Every one of these guys helped me improve my writing skills . . . Even if a few have an irrational dislike for FFVIII.

**Gunnery Sergeant Jason P. Moffit, United States Marine Corps:** Like hell he'll read this. :P Nonetheless, I need to cite my Gunny as a major influence on me, and thus, on my work. A real tough mo-fo, with the attitude to drive me and my fellow midshipmen in ROTC to get things done and get them done right and perfect, Gunny Moffit played a major role in shaping me as a man, and thus, shaping me as a writer. My special tribute to the Gunny is Colonel Randolph, modeled after his hardcore badass ways.

**Lance Corporal Jason C. Myers, United States Marine Corps:** One of my closest friends, a fellow writer, and a major influence on my writing as long as I've known him. A bit crazy, but definitely a true friend and an honest man if I can name one. He earns a mention here, both because of his friendship and the strength he has given me in following his example.

**Bungie Studios:** Because taking over the world is everyone's plan, but only they have the potential to succeed. And they made Halo, too, so that might have something to do with it.

**Linkin Park:** Because Mr. Hahn is a god, its just no one else has realized it yet.

**Bolivian Flame Geckos: **Because for some reason I felt like writing "Bolivian Flame Geckos" here.

**Kohta Hirano:** The insane perverted genius behind Hellsing. This guy is just . . . Weird, but very cool. Mad props to the man who invented Alucard.

**Square:** For making FFVIII in the first place. Without them, this never would have even begun.

**And Most Importantly, and Cheesily, of All, You Guys.** Every one of you crazy reviewers deserve my thanks for propelling me along my voyage to complete this. Thanks to all of you guys, from the depths of my heart. This story is for you guys, and all other fanfic authors out there.

And that's a wrap, people. The Gunblade Saga is now officially completed. Its been a great ride with all of you crazies, and I hope you stick with me in my future writing career. Who knows, I may publish something someday!

Until next story, whenever that may be!


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